Review: Annual 54 CELEBRATES HANUKKAH Concert Plays 54 Below

54 Celebrates Hanukkah: A Festival of Writers returned to Broadway's Living Room for two performances this last week, in an important night of celebrating new creation, artists of the industry who are Jewish, and Judaism. The program was produced by Jen Sandler and hosted by Ilana Levine and Michael Kushner (both at the 7 pm show, only Kushner at 9:30), with Ben Caplan acting as Musical Director, and the evening had everything to offer, by way of the celebratory nature of the show planned, even if all did not go off exactly as one might have wished.

54 Celebrates Hanukkah is a production that should be presented every year - it is full of goodwill and pride, positive energy, and creativity. This year the performance offered nine new songs for Hanukkah, written by a coterie of Jewish songwriters that were working, either solo or in twos. That's the kind of thing that the Jewish people of the world need more of - new songs for Hanukkah is great, and some of these songs are ripe for the picking. Some, as one might expect, didn't fare as well as others, but that's going to happen in any creative situation.

To present these nine songs, twelve artists took hold of microphones and did their best to showcase the new creations in their best light (two of the twelve were also songwriters), with the backing of a spectacular band of musicians made up of Max Caine on guitar, Lloyd Kikoler on bass, and Josh Roberts on drums; Mr. Caplan was behind the piano for some numbers, while composers took the keys from time to time. The standout numbers of the evening were Danny Feldman's incredible "To Share With," magnificently performed by Sam Primack, Larry Saperstein & Adam Dorfman's fun "(Go On) Have Your Holiday," nicely sung by Shira Zionce, a stunning "We Are Candles" written by Bela Konstacja (music) and Janey Miles Feingold (lyrics) that was gorgeously performed by Alex Becker, Melissa Rose Hirsch, with Konstacja joining in, and the showstopping "Explain Hanukkah" that was performed within an inch of its life by powerhouse musical theater artist Michael Kushner. These four numbers, alone, made the evening worth being produced and worth being seen, and one hopes they will become songs sung many times and by many people.

As for the 7 pm performance itself, this writer is sad to say that there was an element of the unprepared about it, and not just because two of the performers were substitutes for previously-announced actors who called in sick. Ms. Levine and Mr. Kushner, both charming people (and it shows), did not actually seem to have a handle on their hosting duties, frequently asking repetitive questions of the guests, and, sometimes, leaving the interview portions of the program abruptly interrupted like a non-sequitur. There were (sometimes long and rambling) videos from songwriters who could not attend, one that included a somewhat embarrassing account of how two songwriters disagreed on what song they would write, up until they had to write something, anything, to meet the deadline, only to write the song upon which they disagreed, which savors strongly of a lack of commitment to the assignment, which is unbecoming. The evening ended with a woefully haphazard curtain call that had, clearly, not been rehearsed, leaving some actors struggling to make it to the stage, while others were already walking off, having finished their business for the evening. And one of the songwriters (filling in for an ailing actor) had to read the lyrics to her own song, which might have been ok, had she not neglected to check that she actually had all the pages with her. All of this was a sad shame on a show that should have been the most important one of these peoples' year.

A Festival Of Writers is an important show. 54 Celebrates Hanukkah is an important show. For eleven months out of the year there is no easy opportunity for Jewish artists to put on a show, unless it is simply a show about Judaism and Jewish artists, like the ones Noah Marlowe and Ari Axelrod put on. Each December, there is this clear opportunity to put on a Jewish concert, to celebrate Hanukkah, Judaism, and Jewish creatives, and this is a recurring show at 54 Below, so the people working on it know that it's coming - and they have eleven months to prepare. There should be no aspect of the unprepared. This show should be rehearsed to the nth degree, and presented as though it were being seen at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, or Radio City. The ultimate goal for this show should be for the audience to be made up of people who aren't, in any way, affiliated with the people in the play, maybe even people who aren't Jewish, who paid to see the show because it looked good. People who fall into those categories that attended the 7 pm show on Monday night would be unlikely to return in 2023 to see the show again. And that's sad. It is sad because this is an important show.

What people should have left the theater thinking of was how good it felt to be in the room, listening to every time that an artist or artists spoke with pride about being Jewish, which happened a lot. What people should have left the theater thinking of was how beautiful it was to hear the Hanukkah prayer sung by everyone in the room, on the stage, off the stage, in the audience, as the candles on the menorah were lit, which was amazing. What people should have left the theater thinking of was how uplifting it was to be surrounded by so many beautiful people making up a vivacious, exciting, loving, and gentle community, which was uplifting. There was so much good in this evening, and so much potential, too, but it was marred by a seeming lack of commitment to preparation and a lack of understanding that this isn't just a lark of a production to be thrown together every December. 54 Celebrates Hanukkah is an important show, maybe one of the most important shows of every year. Hopefully, when it is produced in 2023, the people participating will treat it so.

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

Photos by Stephen Mosher; Visit the Stephen Mosher website HERE.

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