Review: SETH SIKES & NICOLAS KING Buddy Up in THE NEW BELTERS at 54 Below

In the golden age of theatre, producers would take their show out of town to work on it before a big New York opening. A circuit existed that allowed shows to do exactly this. If your show survived through Washington, Wilmington, Philadelphia, New Haven, and Boston, there was a good chance it would work on Broadway. Those days are long gone, of course. But Seth Sikes and Nicolas King have found the wisdom of the process. Their show, THE NEW BELTERS, which this evening played the first of two nights at 54 Below, has the feeling of one of those shows of yore that have had the kinks worked out of it by its out-of-town tryouts over the past six months.

What opened tonight was a high-energy, well-honed entertainment that had its audience buzzing with excitement and tapping its toes with joy. Sikes and King have both made a name for themselves as young, talented cabaret performers individually. King's upbeat jazz stylings and Sikes' exuberant musical comedy sensibility have won them devoted followings. A chance meeting on 9th Avenue a little over a year ago gave them the notion of teaming up. Together they are greater than the sum of their parts. Each makes the other a better performer. Sikes adds zip to King's smoothness, and King adds depth to Sikes' ebullient patter. The show they have created is suave, fraternal, and inclusive.

The proceedings were further enhanced by the inclusion of Billy Stritch and his trio, Steve Doyle and Daniel Glass. Stritch is arguably the best accompanist in the business and the two sidemen are consummate musicians. And Stritch has the added bonus of being a fine singer, as well as an unparalleled pianist. He was the perfect wry foil to Sikes' and King's rapid-fire showmanship.

The great thing about this duo evening was that it took nothing away from either man's style. Seth Sikes did what he does best, great torch songs like "He Touched Me" and re-tooled uptempo numbers from another age like "Waiting on the Robert E. Lee" which he hilariously renamed the "S.S. Patti LuPone." As for Nicolas King, he hit his comfort zone in jazz tunes with inventive scat sections, like Ella Fitzgerald's "You'll Have to Swing It, " and old school show stoppers like "Johnny One-Note."

But most of the evening was made up of duets that found the stylistic middle ground between these two friends. Some highlights include Johnny Mercer's "Two of a Kind," Sondheim's "Back in Business," "Come Back to Me," and really great medleys dedicated to Jule Styne, Anthony Newley, and to some of the most famous cities they've journeyed to. A special stand-out was a great fandango arrangement of "Showstopper/ There's Gotta Be Something Better Than This/ Something's Coming." They connected several of the songs with original lyrics to "Showstopper (a device lovingly lifted from Judy Garland's concerts.)

King outdid himself by singing Burton Lane and Alan Jay Lerner's "Too Late Now." It was tender, sensitive, and rueful. A great moment of theatre. Billy Stritch got a moment in the sun singing Dave Mann and Redd Evans's great tune, "No Moon at All." The last number of the night brought home the title of the evening. Sikes and King paid homage to Streisand and Garland in Get Happy/Happy Days are Here Again. These New Belters did, in fact, belt their faces off.

Seth Sikes and Nicolas King perform THE NEW BELTERS again on April 22 at 7 pm at 54 Below, including a live stream option. For tickets and information, go to 54below.com. For more about Nicolas King, visit nicolasking.com or follow him @itsnicolasking on Instagram. To learn more about Seth Sikes, check out his website, sethsikes.net or follow him @sethsikes on Instagram.