Review: Elizabeth Stanley Owns NEW YORK POPS UNDERGROUND Benefit at 54 Below

The understudies and standbys of Broadway have been in the news quite a lot, this last year (plus), as actors waiting in the wings stepped in at the last minute to cover the performers more regularly scheduled to be in the spotlight. Julie Benko, who is well on her way to being the most famous understudy on Broadway since the days of Carol Haney and Shirley MacLaine, recently dubbed the FUNNY GIRL understudies "Wonderstudies" and that is an appropriate way of looking at these actors who step into the light at the last minute.

Elizabeth Stanley was certainly a Wonder at 54 Below on Monday night.

There was a private event at Broadway's Living Room this week titled THE NEW YORK POPS UNDERGROUND CABARET. The evening was a benefit for PopsEd, an organization helmed by New York Pops that provides music education, arts access, and performance opportunities for New Yorkers of all ages and backgrounds, and included a sumptuous dinner prepared by the 54 Below chefs, a performance by the PopsEd Alumni Ensemble, and an intimate hour-long (plus) club act from Ms. Stanley. The Grammy Award recipient was not, though, the announced headliner for the program - she was a replacement for originally announced fellow Broadway alum Betsy Wolfe, who had to withdraw from the proceedings for unforeseen circumstances. Mere days before the gala benefit, news teams and ticket holders were informed of the cast change, but on the day of the presentation there was no evidence that the performance had been thrown together at the last minute. What Elizabeth Stanley presented to the beneficiaries of PopsEd on Monday night was a club act so slick, so professional, and so perfect that it's difficult not to wish that the evening might be packaged for a run of shows in the basement supper club.

For seventy minutes the Tony Award nominated star of Jagged Little Pill entertained the special 54 Below audience with everything from Rodgers & Hammerstein to Billy Joel, with healthy doses of Jason Robert Brown and Stephen Sondheim thrown in for good measure... really good measure. The experience of seeing Elizabeth Stanley acting a character in a play is a good one, but the opportunity to see the singing actress live, like this, is one that must be grabbed, any time it comes up. The entire room at 54 Below appeared to be holding their breath during her performance of "Almost Real' from The Bridges of Madison County, and that is a feat, to be sure. Even after setting the scene in detail for audience members who didn't see the musical, even after explaining the reason for her Italian accent, this particular number from Mr. Brown's score is the most involved, the most invested, the most complex and aloof in that play - some people may not always be apt to follow its (out of context) operatic quality, but if a listener can commit to the drama, to the theatricality, to the emotion, it can be a vastly valuable exploration in musical storytelling. No person on Monday night escaped Elizabeth Stanley's grasp - all were captivated, quiet, and contented to stay inside of every moment of the exquisite performance. Absolute silence in a restaurant: that's power.

Aside from her powerful storytelling, Elizabeth Stanley is a funny lady. Although many of her musical selections leaned into the serious ("There Won't Be Trumpets"), the slow ("She's Got a Way About Her") or the sad ("She Used to Be Mine"), her conversation with the crowd was mostly informed by levity, as she discussed the lessons she is learning as a new Mother, as she shared her rehearsal technique for a Sondheim tribute appearance (a lawn mower was involved), and as she regaled with the news of her infant daughter's first acting gig. The lady and star is a natural at club entertaining, and she kept her audience (happily) in the palm of her hand with her relatable rhetoric and mind-blowing vocals. A country-infused number from Floyd Collins had patrons swaying and sighing, and her solos from Jagged Little Pill turned the basement into a rock concert venue. Whether working with an inventively arranged "Oh What a Beautiful Morning" or a straightforward "Stars & The Moon" there was no vibe, no sound, no vocal feat that one could not depend on, in her hands, making every musical choice a memorable one, although this Sondheim-phile was particularly pleased to see and hear new nuances in her "Miller's Son" and to have a chance to see the tender, Motherhood-informed "Anyone Can Whistle" with which she closed her show, one of the loveliest last-minute club acts anyone could hope to catch - the evening was one happy and satsifying surprise after another. Were there a chance that a person in the audience had not, previously, been acquainted with Ms. Stanley's work, there was also a chance (a strong one) that they went home a fan.

If this is the kind of quality Entertainment One can expect from a replacement, then everyone should adopt the word "Wonderstudy" immediately.

And this writer is hoping 54 Below might invite Elizabeth Stanley back for a run of shows, like, yesterday because this was real thing, from tip to tail: quality cabaret at its very best.

Learn more about PopsEd HERE and visit the New York Pops homepage HERE.

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

New York Pops Underground was hosted by The New York Pops Music Director and Conductor Steven Reineke.

The Event Chairs were Andrea and David Reiser.

Broadway World's Genevieve Rafter Keddy offers a photo essay of this evening HERE.

The New York Pops Underground band was Rob Jost, Justin Goldner, Jared Schonig, and Musical Director Andrew Resnick.

Upcoming concerts in The New York Pops' 2022-23 Carnegie Hall season include: The Music of Star Wars on October 21, 2022; Broadway Blockbusters on November 18, 2022 with guest artists Nikki Renée Daniels, Jordan Donica, Matt Doyle, and Melissa Errico, and Judith Clurman's Essential Voices USA; Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree on December 16, 2022 with Ingrid Michaelson and Judith Clurman's Essential Voices USA; Winter Song: A Holiday Extravaganza with Ingrid Michaelson on December 17, 2022; One Night Only: An Evening with Heather Headley on February 10, 2023; and The Marvelous Marilyn Maye, celebrating the cabaret legend's birthday on March 24, 2023.

Photos by Stephen Mosher

Visit the Stephen Mosher website HERE.

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