54 Below Tickets

Interesting history on Rodgers & Hammerstein. Music was good. Actors were very good.

It sounded like an interesting concept: "a monster mash-up of two landmark musicals by Stephen Sondheim...performed by a wickedly talented cast that includes Joanna Gleason, Chip Zien and Sarah Rice." While not a huge fan of "Sweeney Todd," I love "Into the Woods," and was willing to give it a chance. After all, who wouldn't want to see Joanna Gleason and Chip Zien reprise their roles as The Baker and The Baker's Wife and possibly take on other roles without having to pay Broadway Theater prices?! The ad was correct in calling the cast "wickedly talented." The performers really got into the songs and enjoyed performing them. They sang many songs from each show and really did them justice. The musical director came on stage and spoke a little about each show and addressed the movie version of "Into the Woods." It was interesting to hear some of the tidbits and behind the scenes stories of each show. I sat there for nearly an hour and a half, expecting after each song or story for Chip or Joanna to get up and sing. (The director explained that Sarah had lost her voice and would not be joining us that evening.) Finally, the director got up one last time to thank everyone for coming and to invite us to come to Studio 54 each month to listen to more of Sondheim's music and see more talented performers. He then introduced his "special guest." Joanna Gleason came out and thanked us for coming, said that the cast was very talented, sand one song, and introduced Chip Zien. Chip Zien came out and sang a duet - with himself. Overall, while it was awesome to see Chip and Joanna in such a small, intimate setting, it would have been nice to hear them sing a few more songs. (Maybe a duet together?!)

So enjoyed the show! Loved the selection of songs and the cast was amazing!!!

The artists were spectacular and did not disappoint. We were extremely entertained and weren't ready to leave onece it was over. The downfall was in the way the venue set it up. Cabaret style is wonderful but when they cannot seat your party of four together it is a bit off putting. At least let people select a table ahead of time so they know they will be seated together. And sadly table service was horrible. But, again, the performance was outstanding!!!! Five starts for the performance with two stars for the way NJPAC ran the caberet.