Review: Tom Kitt Shines During REFLECTIONS: A SOLO CONCERT at 54 Below

There once was a time when a band played out around New York City, a band called (simply enough) The Tom Kitt Band. The group had some success but, ultimately, the band's frontman and namesake ended up working as a prominent figure in Broadway Theater, creating music for others to sing and play. But the truth is that The Tom Kitt Band is still alive and well and making great music... it's just a one-man band now, and that one-man band played a sold-out solo show at 54 Below on Sunday night.

For his show REFLECTIONS, A SOLO CONCERT Tom Kitt gave a real gift to his audience: the gift of himself. It would be so easy to just listen to the songs he has written (and worked on in other capacities) by playing a cast album from one of his Broadway shows. But then a person would miss the opportunity to hear him discuss, frankly and charmingly, the history of the compositions, the thought process that went into their creation, and the depth of feeling that he, himself, experienced while working on them. There is also the not-insignificant matter of looking at his dreamy male model face and listening to a voice that could, easily, have carried him in a completely different direction in life, that of a recording artist. Simply seated at the piano for seventy minutes, Mr. Kitt presented a comfortable, cozy demeanor, chatting up the crowd and then playing the songs from shows like Next To Normal and If/Then, as well as some other projects, some television shows, and his album Reflect, and what seems to be the most salient part of his personality is a devotion to the people in his life. The music he plays is wonderful - melodic and interesting, emotional and intellectual, with lyrics that really grab the heart (especially on the number "Reflect" - a highlight for this writer) but it is in the telling of Kitt's personal stories that gold is to be found. With an odd combination of pride and shyness, Mr. Kitt shares stories about his children and the complete and utter adoration he has for them; he almost blushes when mentioning that the song "Road To You" (used on the TV show Dawson's Creek) was written for wife, Rita Pietropinto, and his chest sort of puffs up when he mentions the possibility that there might be some cast members from some of his shows in the 54 Below audience. Of course, they were and, of course, they cheered out to him when he alluded to them. The whole thing was like being at a John Denver concert, such was the exchange of love and affection between the audience and the near-EGOT winner (Kitt is one award away, and everyone knows it's just a matter of time). It makes one truly happy that the composers, the songwriters, the lyricists get to be stars in their own right.

So often in life the writers of the songs we sing are relegated to names in parentheses in the songlist on the albums, and sometimes that is just the way the creative wants it. But, then, there are times when a songwriter has a strong, vibrant personality and a beautiful singing voice, and they get to be in the spotlight, too, and the fans of the compositions get to know the creators as people, as entertainers - a boon, to say the least. And thank goodness for Feinstein's for being there to provide artists like Tom Kitt, Joe Iconis, and Jason Robert Brown with a stage from which to share their stories. In fact, Misters Brown and Iconis can be found, regularly, on the stage at 54 Below: it might behoove Mr. Kitt and the F54B folks to open a dialogue about the potential of seeing him up on the stage with more regularity.

Particular highlights during the REFLECTIONS concert included the aforementioned "Fly Away" and "Road To You," as well as a spectacular song from Superhero titled "My Dad The Superhero" (to which everyone should be able to relate) and a song from the upcoming musical Almost Famous titled "Lost in New York City" that has been so immaculately crafted that, while Kitt was engaged in the act of singing the number, this New Yorker could actually hear the sounds of the city inside of the composition. It was a wonderful promise of what the Broadway-bound project will have to offer - something exciting to which we can look forward.

Tom Kitt may be a much-awarded composing artist but Tom Kitt is also a troubadour, and whether he is playing out with a group of people assembled as The Tom Kitt Band or as himself, just plain Tom Kitt, devoted husband, father, and son, audiences can count on a deeply satisfying night of heartwarming and humorous storytelling. That doesn't come from the resume, it doesn't come from the laurels, it doesn't come from the awards: it comes right from Tom Kitt's heart ... and if you look at his eyes while he is talking to you, you can see that heart, overflowing with life, and with love - for his people and for his art.

Find great shows like REFLECTIONS at the 54 Below website HERE.

Tom Kitt can be found on Instagram HERE.

Photos by Stephen Mosher

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