Review: SALLY WILFERT: HOW DID I END UP HERE? Thoroughly Delights at 54 Below

"I'm only going to sing songs that give my heart joy." With these words, Sally Wilfert set off on a celebratory 70-minute journey that did just that, brought joy to a great many hearts at 54 Below. Her show HOW DID I END UP HERE? presented a gallery of characters on the brink of a transformational decision.

Sally Wilfert (Assassins, 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer) is the kind of singer you just want to listen to all night. She has a crystalline tone that's clear as a bell. She's capable of belting without being in your face about it and being soft while still always being present. She's a great storyteller who takes on characters without losing her own unique personality. She is, in short, a cabaret singer's cabaret singer. She mixed up standards and show tunes with pop songs and easy listening. It's not every singer that could get away with using "You Light Up My Life" as an encore, but somehow it just seemed very right.

Of course, every cabaret artist is now using their experiences during the pandemic as fodder for their new shows. But Ms. Wilfert took a light approach to all the sturm and drang. She opened with Cole Porter's "I Happen to Like New York" as a tribute to the rebirth of our favorite city. She followed that with Bacharach and David's "Alfie." She got a lot of comedic mileage out of Susan Warner's "What Did you Do to Your Face?" a paean to all those who used the pandemic to be "surgically refreshed." She gave a beautifully wistful touch to Marc Blitzstein's "I Wish It So" and a powerful jolt to Jule Styne's "Some People."

She gave more than a thank you to her accompanist and long-time collaborator, Joseph Thalken. She premiered one of his songs. Written during the pandemic, "Carry On" is a beautiful tune about getting on with it, no matter what. She carried on the theme of going places quite literally with a medley of Nancy Griffiths and Tom Russell's "Outbound Plane" combined with "Leaving on a Jet Plane." She sang one of my very favorites, Michel Legrand's "On My Way to You."

But she saved the best for last. A very passionate rendition of Harold Arlen's "Right as the Rain" followed by Kander and Ebb's midlife crisis-in-song, "Colored Lights." She played the scene of a woman running from her past achingly well. And finally, she combined Joni Mitchell's "Both Sides Now" with James Taylor's "Secret o' Life" with its glorious last line "The Secret o' Life is enjoying the passage of time." I can't think of any more enjoyable way to pass some time than listening to such a lovely and skillful singer as Sally Wilfert.

To learn more about Sally Wilfert, visit her website sallywilfert.com. To check out Joseph Thalken, go to josephthalken.com. To find more wonderful acts at 54 Below, visit 54below.com.

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