Review: Well-Strung Make the Holidays Brighter with A WELL-STRUNG CHRISTMAS

Well-Strung, the celebrated boy band string quartet, are gleefully following in the footsteps of their predecessors. With A Well-Strung Christmas, the charming foursome gives plenty of reasons for us all to put aside our copies of New Kids on the Block's Merry, Merry Christmas and 'N SYNC's Home For Christmas. They also leave us asking Santa to turn this show into an album in time for Christmas 2016 too.

At Feinstein's/54 Below, the show - skillfully directed by Richard Jay-Alexander - opens in a quasi antiphonal way, as each member of the quartet begins plucking their part of "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy" (Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky) from behind the audience and works their way to the stage playing the familiar tune. Once gathered on the stage, the group seamlessly transitions into "Last Christmas" (George Michael; arranged by Chris Marchant), showcasing their sterling ability to mix classical with pop. Each member of Well-Strung sings and plays with effervescing warmth, making the holidays that much brighter.

"We're hoping to make our Christmas show an annual thing, just like this," Daniel Shevlin teases before the group launches into the Shevlin arranged "Charlie Brown Medley" ("Linus and Lucy" and "Christmas Time Is Here" by Vince Guaraldi). Next up is a charismatic rendition of "Santa Baby" (Joan Javits, Philip Springer, Tony Springer; arranged by Edmund Bagnell). Being flirty and fun with the original lyrics, the band relates that the gifts the lyrics discuss just don't have the same zing in 2015 as they did in 1953. This leads them to update the song with gifts like Myoplex, plastic surgery, designer clothes, and the opportunity to sing at the Grammys.

Despite playing a holiday show, the guys performed some fan favorites and a new song too. They get the audience dancing with their rendition of "Bills, Bills, Bills" (Kevin Briggs, Kandi Burruss, Beyoncé Knowles, LeToya Luckett, LaTavia Roberson, Kelly Rowland; arranged by Marchant). This is followed by a gorgeous and stirring mash-up of "Ave Maria" (Johann Sebastian Bach/Charles Gounod) and "Creep" (Radiohead, Albert Hammond, Mike Hazlewood), which is expertly arranged by Trevor Wadleigh and features Marchant on a haunting added echo during the chorus. With a ton of energy, the quartet performs their sparkling mash-up of "Blank Space" (Taylor Swift, Max Martin Shellback) and "Violin Partita No.3" (Johann Sebastian Bach) arranged by Marchant and Wadleigh.

Somewhat bringing us back into the holidays, the guys perform a lovely mash-up of "Humming Chorus" (Giacomo Puccini) and "Hard Candy Christmas" (Carol Hall) perfectly arranged by Shevlin, cementing the wish that this set list was an album that could be enjoyed over and over again. Next up is a re-worked version of "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" (Charlie Daniels, Tom Crain, "Taz" DiGregorio, Fred Edwards, Charles Hayward, James W. Marshall) mashed-up with "Concerto For 2 Violins in D Minor BMV 1043, 1st Movement" (Bach), which was arranged by Bruce Carter. Together, Well-Strung changed the lyrics and tell us about a time that Santa went to Target and wagered all the toys at the North Pole with the spritely Johnny in hopes of winning the last toy in the store from him.

Naturally, the holidays don't end with Santa's delivery of gifts. So, the guys sang a delightful version of "What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?" (Frank Loesser), which interpolates "Jingle Bells" (James Lord Pierpont) and is arranged by Bagnell. Moreover, helping New Yorkers deal with this unseasonably warm winter, the guys sing their ebullient and fun "Frozen Medley," which features "Do You Want to Build a Snowman" and "Let It Go" (Robert Lopez, Kristen Anderson-Lopez) and is arranged by Mary Mitchell Campbell, Marchant, and Bagnell. Next is their evocative and beautiful rendition of "Hallelujah" (Leonard Cohen), skillfully arranged by Bagnell.

Brining the show to a close, the guys coach the audience to clap when the time is right and to jingle their keys to make their version of "Sleigh Ride" (Leroy Anderson; traditional arrangement) both merry and bright. They remind us of holidays gone by, performing a cheerful sing-a-long version of "Do-Re-Mi" (Oscar Hammerstein II, Richard Rodgers; arranged by Campbell). For the finale, Well-Strung performs a lush arrangement of "Silent Night" (Franz Xaver Gruber, Joseph Mohr; arranged by Bagnell), which features soft, almost angelic vocal harmonies.

Well-Strung will reprise A Well-Strung Christmas at Feinstein's/54 Below on Monday, December 14, 2015 at 9:30 PM. For more information and other upcoming tour dates, please visit http://well-strung.com

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