Video Portrait: Michael Feinstein and 54 Below, A Perfect Blendship

The term "The White Album" had a different meaning for 1986 twentysomethings who were obsessed with Broadway musicals. It had nothing to do with The Beatles, those guys who did a pretty good their cover of Meredith Willson's "Til There Was You." No, the only white album that mattered was the one with the Hirschfeld drawing; "Michael Feinstein, Live at The Algonquin."

It started with that Ray Jessel song that hits you right in the heart, "I Wanna Hear a Showtune."

You can keep those rock songs,

I don't need those shlock songs.

Only summer stock songs

Set me tappin' my toe.

During the mid-1980s the Broadway musical was seriously floundering. Sure, there was the occasional LA CAGE AUX FOLLES or SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE, but the biggest hits were now West End rock-based shows and more and more jukebox musicals were filling stages with songs never meant to be sung in a theatre context. Before the days when a young musical theatre geek could log onto a chat board and find hundreds of fellow obsessives, "Michael Feinstein, Live at The Algonquin" assured us that no one is alone.

As reported yesterday on BroadwayWorld, Michael Feinstein is now partnered with the Theatre District's loveliest and busiest supper club, 54 Below, soon to be rechristened as Feinstein's/54 Below. In the words of Cole Porter, this looks like a perfect blendship; combining a venue known for recognizing Broadway's exciting present with an artist known for honoring its glorious past.

Since opening in 2012, 54 Below has always had a different tone from that of New York's traditional supper clubs; more informal and contemporary. Known as Broadway's Living Room, featured acts are frequently younger Broadway musical theatre stars not known primarily for cabaret, along with special events like reunion concerts of musicals from not too long ago and Director of Programming Jennifer Ashley Tepper's signature series, IF IT ONLY EVEN RUNS A MINUTE, celebrating songs from shows with short Broadway runs.

Michael Feinstein, while certainly never behind the times, has always had a firm hold on what came before us. Soft-spoken, impeccably dressed and passionately-voiced, his performances have always recalled a time when a night on the town meant wearing your best, seeing the latest Broadway hit and finishing the evening with a late supper and an intimate performance at an elegant venue. In the 80s that might have meant seeing Mel Torme at Michael's Pub or Bobby Short at the Café Carlyle. Many cabaret greats have never set foot on a Broadway stage, but their personal performances of American Songbook classics brought new textures to songs we know from stage and movie musicals.

At the age of twenty he began working with Ira Gershwin, archiving his extensive music collection. Here he talks of meeting the elderly lyricist and surprising him with his knowledge of a long-ago era.

As an anthropologist and archivist, Feinstein has made a career preserving America's musical heritage with organizations like the National Recording Preservation Board and the Great American Songbook Foundation. Here he talks of the accidental discovery of a wealth of historic scores and sheet music that was almost destroyed.

But even without his educational work, Michael Feinstein is a world-class entertainer who gets to the heart of every song he performs. Jerry Herman's "I Won't Send Roses" has become a favorite among his fans.

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