Review: BROADWAY LOVES BRITNEY Does It Again at Feinstein's/54 Below

Because Britney Spears grew up in the spotlight, we've seen her as a singer, an actress, a girl, a woman, and everything in between. One thing we haven't seen is Britney the Broadway star, but since that seems about as likely as the second coming of Britney and Justin, it's a damn good thing BROADWAY LOVES BRITNEY exists.

On November 16, a group of Broadway performers came together at Feinstein's/54 Below for exactly what the name suggests---a deep dive into Britney's oeuvre---and, as far as Britney homages go, the show hit all quadrants, running the gamut from playful impersonations to cleverly reworked gems.

In the former category was SOMETHING ROTTEN's Hayley Podschun, who set the tone for the night with her spectacular mash-up of "Satisfaction" (Mick Jagger/Keith Richards) and "Oops!... I Did It Again" (Max Martin/Rami). Podschun donned a tear-away "Me Against the Music"-era Britney suit before revealing a nude "Toxic"-esque nude bodysuit--- though not the only one of the night.

If it had been terrible, it would've been saved by the incredible dance break, with the choreography recreated by Alex Ringler. Fortunately, no rescuing was needed. As Spears's doppelgänger, Podschun was so on point, she garnered at least one "YAAAAAS, Britney" from the audience.

From the jump, the night featured a pleasurable mix of genres. Belting out the opening "La, la, las" of "If U Seek Amy" (Max Martin/Shellback/Savan Kotecha/Alexander Kronlund) with an unabashed intensity, Ryan Vona (Cirque du Soleil: PARAMOUR) made a solid case for Britney: A Rock Opera.

And performing "Stronger" (Martin/Rami) in a gold lamé sweatshirt, Preston Sadleir's (NEXT TO NORMAL) performance read more as a tribute to Britney's ex from *NSYNC, but there's no shame in that game, either.

Vocally, nobody did it better than Ginna Le Vine (TRUTH SLASH FICTION) whose performance sold "Perfume" (Spears/Sia Furler/Christopher Braide), the minor hit from her "less-than-beloved" album, BRITNEY JEAN, as a truly devastating ballad. The urgency in Le Vine's voice continued to build as she repeated a variation on one lyric: "I'll never tell, tell on myself/But I hope she smells my perfume." It culminates in a stunning key change, signaling a well of inner strength that was legitimately breathtaking.

In addition to serving as director and musical director, Benjamin Rauhala played the keyboards, with the rest of the band consisting of Charlie Rosen on bass, David Cinquegrana on guitar, and Jared Schonig on drums. For a show like this, striking the right balance between what fans would want to hear and delivering the songs they didn't even know they wanted is a real challenge. Verbalizing his anxiety about the selection process, Rauhala recalled asking himself, "What if I leave out one of the songs and nobody likes me?" While that's a legitimate concern, as BROADWAY LOVES BRITNEY was fundamentally his love letter to the pop icon, there wasn't a dud to be found in the lot.

While it was a much quieter performance, Jennifer Damiano's (AMERICAN PSYCHO) rendition of "Everytime" near the end of the night was no less affecting. But GLEE alum Alex Newell nearly demolished the stage with his hair-flipping, stage-dominating rendition of "Womanizer" (Nikeshia Briscoe & Rafael Akinyemi), which, as Rauhala pointed out, Newell previously performed on the FOX series. Here, Newell was the main event, of that number and perhaps the entire night, hitting notes that were nearly ear-shatteringly high and drawing laughs while stroking a stray audience member's beard (his tendency toward jaw-dropping runs makes him more of a Christina than a Britney, but that's neither here nor there).

However, WICKED's Nick Adams drew the largest reaction, dressing in Britney drag for "I'm a Slave 4 U" (Chad Hugo/Pharrell Williams). Flanked by two dancers' choreography recreated by BranDon Hudson, Adams writhed across the stage, matching Britney's 2001 VMAs outfit, complete with green top, jean shorts, inexplicable scarves hanging from his waist, and an inflatable snake plucked off the piano.

The singers were assisted by a trio of background vocalists that included Rachel Mackenzie, Matt Rodin and Ashley Morgan. They shined brightest when harmonizing with Janet Krupin (IF/THEN) during the "Whoa-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh" chorus of the club banger "Till the World Ends" (Lukasz Gottwald/Alexander Kronlund/Martin/Kesha Sebert). Krupin, who also performed in the first BROADWAY LOVES BRITNEY three years ago, later returned for an equally energetic take on "Toxic" (Cathy Dennis/Christian Karlsson/Pontus Winniberg/Henrik Jonback), sporting the second bedazzled bodysuit of the night.

Between numbers, most---if not all---of the chatter on-stage came from Rauhala, either recalling the eight Britney concerts he attended or how he had to choose just one of her songs instead of a medley of her eight singles for his 8th grade talent show. At the time, he went with "Don't Let Me Be the Last to Know" (Shania Twain/Robert John "Mutt" Lange/Keith Scott). For this evening, however, he let Kirsten Scott (BIG FISH) do the singing, and it was a country-fried stunner (sorry, Gaga, but it seems like Britney was the original Joanne).

To that point, while respected as a pillar of pop culture, Spears isn't always taken as seriously as her contemporaries as a singer or songwriter, and Rauhala didn't ignore that. Explaining his rationale behind the show, he said, "I think people forget she's an artist who resonated [in our culture] for the past 18 years."

Consider us reminded. Now gimme more.

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