Review: MAURICIO MARTINEZ is a Mexican Marvel at Feinstein's/54 Below

During the second number of this show last night, I scribbled a word on a piece of paper: Streisand. I did this because the thrills being provided during the concert were the kind only achieved when someone truly special is performing - the kind of thrills you get at a Barbra Streisand concert. Not ninety seconds later, Mauricio Martinez confessed to the audience that his all-time favorite entertainer is Barbra Streisand.

Well then... Barbra Streisand must have rubbed off on Mauricio Martinez.

There is no telling how Mauricio Martinez manages to achieve what he does when he is on the stage. Was he born with this voice? Is it his training? Does he have natural flair that comes out on the stage, or is it a technique he has perfected through practice? Who knows? And who really cares? All that matters is that Mauricio Martinez does what he does, that he doesn't change a thing with what he is doing, and that he keeps doing it for as long as he can. While performing his eponymous show last night in Broadway's Living Room, Mr. Martinez provided one jaw-dropping, eye-popping thrill after another with what is, unquestionably, one of the most beautiful boy voices in the business today (or, frankly, yesterday or tomorrow). Speaking personally, this writer tends toward the girl voices, with a particular fondness for the women who make you swoon. Deborah Cox. Celine Dion. Whitney Houston. Yes, Barbra Streisand, too. These power ballad singers are the artists programmed into my phone and playlists, just like many other lovers of fine music. And, just like those many others, I should be programming Mauricio Martinez into those playlists because he is the male vocalist that, best, captures the thrill of our singing divas - and anyone needing substantion needs to seek out his next live performance, sit back, and ride the excitement wave that is not to be believed.

Mr. Martinez did a show last night that is, essentially, the same show he did in July of 2021, BACK ON 54TH STREET. This reporter caught that show, seven months ago, and can unequivocally state that the show is better - and it was pretty awesome then. In his seventy-five minute set, Martinez performed the power ballads, the disco dancing club hits and the show tunes. He sang in English, he sang in Spanish. He sang alone, he sang with Marina Pires. He chatted with the audience, he talked to the live stream cameras, and he may have even flirted a little - it can be hard to tell if a life-threateningly handsome man whose eyes always sparkle and whose smile always gleams is flirting, or just standing, blinking, and breathing. Whatever the case may be, there wasn't a single moment of Mauricio's show that wasn't absolutely fulfilling, and it isn't just about the otherworldly singing - a big part of it is simply how straightforwardly likable the man is. Martinez and director Robbie Rozelle have scripted a concert with purpose and probity that encourages Mauricio to discuss professional moments like the value in a male-to-male informed Rodgers & Hammerstein performance, universal experiences like the survival of the pandemic AND the lockdown, and personal moments like the reclamation of a wedding song after the marriage ends. The twosome cleverly bookend the show musically, and they chart out the progression of the storytelling through both the script and the music. The partners in crime (with, no doubt, a great deal of input from Musical Director Brian Nash) work electrifying dance music from Tina Turner, Dua Lipa, Whitney Houston and The Pointer Sisters into the lushly ballad-heavy show in ways that balance out the ballads that are the mainstay of Martinez's musical aesthetic. They have, in short, created a cabaret concert that is both perfect for Mauricio Martinez, and perfect for the audience, using each ensuing number (like ALW's "Til I Hear You Sing" and the classic "The Impossible Dream") to raise the storytelling stakes, until, finally, the people in the seats feel like they have just climbed a musical Everest. It is concert creation that is untouchable, that is beyond reproach.

In an evening in which Mauricio Martinez tops himself, number after number, there was particular reward in the welcoming to the proceedings of songwriter Jaime Lozano (whose presence in any show is a plus) and last-minute Eden Espinosa replacement Marina Pires. Lozano (who Martinez describes as a spiritual brother) accompanied Pires and Martinez on two of his own compositions from the musicals CHILDREN OF SALT and JOY, in a celebration of Latin composers, of Latin performers, and of Familia. The three artists raised the program to outstanding new heights with their performances of the two songs, but also with their genuine connection to one another. There are times when cabaret and concert performers invite a guest artist to appear in their show, but it's not an artist with whom they have any real relationship... and it shows, every time. Here were three people with pre-existing relationships based on friendship, love, mutual respect, but here were three people with a cultural connection, three Latin artists making Latin art that elevates their culture and their community into the light. That is some heady stuff, right there, and it rolled right off of the stage and into the audience in the best way possible. It was elevating and illuminating.

During his show, Mauricio Martinez mentioned (slightly in passing but not entirely) two shows upon which he and his hermano Jaime are working, and it was a relief to know that there is more Martinez on its way because, whether on the nightclub stage, the NYMF stage, the Broadway stage, or any screen anyone would care to nominate, the world needs more Mauricio Martinez. It needs it now. And if anyone knows it, it is the audience from last night's show who are (one suspects) still reveling (like this writer) in the wonder, the morning after.

The Amazing Mauricio Martinez band are Musical Director Brian Nash on piano, Jerome Jennings on drums, Craig Mangano on guitar, Michael Blanco on bass, and Eleanor Norton on cello.

Find great shows to see at the 54 Below website HERE.

Find Mauricio Martinez on Twitter HERE and Instagram HERE.

Mauricio Martinez gets a five out of five microphones rating for performing his entire show without the use of a lyric sheet, tablet, or music stand.

Photos by Stephen Mosher

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