Although fans of Broadway’s favorite musical princesses can’t attend their annual concert at Feinstein’s/54 Below in person this year, everyone around the world can watch them in the 2020 virtual installment of 54 Below Premieres: Broadway Princess Holiday Party, streaming on Saturday, December 12, and available on demand through Saturday, December 26. Filmed live on stage at Feinstein’s/54 Below on November 22, the special holiday treat – and one of the venue’s most popular shows – launches the nightclub’s new online series of curated concerts, created in cinematic four-camera HD shoots to bring the quality of the performance and the intimacy of the cabaret directly to viewers’ home screens. And it succeeds!
Starring Broadway luminaries Susan Egan (Belle in Beauty and the Beast), Laura Osnes (Cinderella in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella), and Courtney Reed (Princess Jasmine in Disney’s Aladdin), the warm and cozy concert offers a set list of 21 songs and medleys, including numbers from the women’s eponymous roles, from other shows in which they’ve appeared, and from the familiar canon of holiday standards. Along with the central trio, the show features appearances by special guests Aisha Jackson (Anna in Disney’s Frozen) and returning “prince” Adam J. Levy (Waitress), an audience favorite from past Princess Parties.
Music director and original programming producer at Feinstein’s/54 Below Benjamin Rauhala (Fiddler on the Roof Broadway revival) kicks off the concert with a glowing introduction and provides piano accompaniment for the vocalists and congenial repartee (and a recurrent “Poof!”) throughout the 75-minute show. He solicits each of them to share family memories of the holidays and inspires the women to change into festive sweaters like his to celebrate the season. They do, and they also exchange playful banter on the princess theme, reminisce about the shows and their fairytale characters, and offer words of encouragement to help viewers get through this difficult year. It’s a show that’s simultaneously well-rehearsed and personal; not only will you (and your whole family) enjoy the mellifluous performances, you’ll also feel like you’ve gotten to know the performers.
From the uplifting medley of “We Need A Little Christmas”/”The Chipmunk Song”/”The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year” (Laura/Courtney/Susan/Ben) and the girl-group-style moves and harmonies of “All I Want for Christmas Is You” (with Courtney on lead and back-up vocals by Susan and Laura) to Aisha’s joyous rendition of “O Holy Night” (while wearing a Disney Princess shirt), Susan offering a “different perspective” in her “At Christmas” solo, Adam’s expressive “Lost in the Woods” from Frozen 2 (with Laura/Courtney/Susan on back-up), and his romantic duet with Laura on “I See the Light” (from Tangled), each and every note is sweet and rich, and shines a light on the Broadway-caliber talent of the entire masterful cast.
The concert concludes with the hopeful message in the full group’s performance of “Someday/God Help the Outcasts” (from The Hunchback of Notre Dame), which they dedicate to the viewers; all four women’s elevating delivery of “Let It Go” (from Frozen), accompanied by a surprise announcement on the casting of future installments of the show; and the heartwarming finale of “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas,” sung by the three original princesses (Laura/Courtney/Susan). It all makes for a great party and a beautiful kick-off to the holidays and the 54 Below Premieres series.
54 Below Premieres: Broadway Princess Holiday Party streams at 8 pm, on Saturday, December 12, and will be available on demand December 13–26. For tickets, priced at $25, go online.
