Review: DEREK KLENA Returns For A Week At 54 Below

Entering the dining room at 54 Below on January 7th and seeing the at-capacity crowd, there to see Derek Klena, was a little bit of Broadway joy in the basement, because all of our Broadway stars should have a big fan base.  All of the artists that bring their gifts to the theaters, the clubs, and the recording studios should have full houses of fans that cheer simply because they’ve walked in the room.  It’s a beautiful thing to see, and a sight often to be observed in The Basement on 54th Street.  Huzzah for Derek Klena for not only being the purveyor of five Broadway credits but for garnering so much love and support from the public.  For the duration of his hour-long show, it was clear to see why the club was so full of that public: Derek Klena would appear to have everything.  He has those five Broadway shows (and some noteworthy Off-Broadway, too), he has a beautiful (and well-trained) singing voice that can handle pop music pyrotechnics and musical theater majesty (both styles on display), he has movie star good looks (at times this writer thought he was looking at Christopher Reeve), and he has charm for days (a wink and a dimple go hand in hand with quips and quirk).  Yes, it looks like Derek Klena has everything… except an act.

Many nightclub performers go onto the stage without building an act, and that’s fine.  It’s called a set.  And those singers get up on the stage with a group of songs they like to sing, songs they are known for, and songs they want to try out, and the crowds love them, and that’s marvelous.  Except that Derek Klena started his eponymous show like it was an act.  The charming, disarming Tony Award nominee made the bold choice to start the evening with a ballad, Ben Rector’s “Love Like This,” a song about parenthood, and then began a chat with the audience about the birth of his son Dax, and how it has changed him.  And while this was happening, this writer thought, “Oh, hooRAY!  This is a fatherhood show!  I love fatherhood shows!”   Fatherhood shows, motherhood shows, parenthood shows - they happen, and when they happen, they are wonderful.  They are wonderful because they, more than a set, allow the audience to get to know their headliner.  These shows and other personal, intimate shows, open the lines of communication between a performer and their admirers, and that’s a special thing.  These acts are the types of shows that move sets to the next level, and it was this kind of act that was set up by Derek Klena, especially when his second number was a bit about the series of songs that had lulled baby boy Dax to sleep for the first couple of years of his life.  For this bit, Klena and Musical Director extraordinaire, Benjamin Rauhala, fashioned several of those songs into “Dax’s Faves Medley” which was fun, enjoyable, and a little bit enlightening.   But after the medley, Klena and Rauhala took a sharp turn, almost abrupt, into a new topic:  Derek Klena’s Broadway history.  The fatherhood theme was abandoned while Klena took the crowd through his resume: Wicked (“Dancing Through Life”), Magic Mike (the lamentable “Hey Little Buddy”), Anastasia (“My Petersburg”) and Jagged Little Pill (Perfect”).  These are all good songs (except for the dreadful composition from Magic Mike) and it is a treat to hear Mr. Klena sing them again, but he is too young for a career retrospective show.  That comes later.

After the four career numbers, there was a Dax drive-by, as Mr. Klena shared a story (complete with adorable photo) of his two-year-old enjoying some music on his way to school, and the mashup that accompanied the story was built out of radio hits like “Murder on the Dance Floor” but the moment was brief, as Klena returned to show business by welcoming his Moulin Rouge leading lady, Ashley Loren, to do the “Elephant Love Medley” (lots of fun, lots of laughs) and “As Long As You’re Mine” from Wicked (they sounded incredible on this one).  After Ms. Loren departed the stage, Klena took on the musical Dogfight, but singing “Before It’s Over,” a song originated Off-Broadway by Lindsay Mendez, and returned to Moulin Rouge with a Megamix that rather defies description (kudos to Klena for nailing the complicated medley).   And that was it.

Well… as it turns out, that wasn’t it.  There was one more number, one vastly important number, one dedicated to Derek’s wife, Elycia Screvin, seated at the back of the room.  And for this number, Mr. Klena returned to the subject of his family.  Detailing a tender and private moment just after the birth of Dax, Derek talked about the doctor and the nurses leaving the delivery room, and leaving mommy, daddy, and baby to have their first moments together as a family.  And then, looking over the heads of his audience at the love of his life, he praised his wife, sharing with the audience a touching moment of shared intimacy about the love and high esteem he holds for the mother of his children.  It was sincere, it was humanity, and it was priceless; it was also proper cabaret, and the following song, Ben Folds’ “ The Luckiest,” was the highlight of the evening.  And there were many praiseworthy parts of the Derek Klena show, that much is fair to say.  The Supermandsome Broadway lead is a good club entertainer and a great singer, ready to connect with the crowd, and open to being silly in the process.  One might offer that all that is needed here is a director to help him craft an act and guide it to the stage.  Because the act is there.  Every time Derek Klena talked about Dax and Elycia and the new baby, a boy born just a few months ago, there was a spark.  There was a light.  There was life.  And out of those three things and his skill as a performer, Derek Klena can build an act that will be a work of art.  And when that happens, this writer will be front and center, cheering loudly and supportively, because it promises to be fantastic.

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

Derek Klena has a website HERE.

Photos by Stephen Mosher

To post a comment, you must register and login.