Jamie DeRoy has been producing and hosting her shows, “Jamie DeRoy & Friends” for many years. However, this is the first time that she brought her multi award winning variety show to the sumptuous Broadway nightclub, 54 Below, the hottest new spot in town!
The show was pure entertainment from beginning to end. Jamie opened singing the Steve Allen tune “Start of Something Big” with new parody lyrics by her director Barry Kleinbort which talks about the travails of finding a relationship. Ron Abel served as musical director with Tom Hubbard on bass.
Her first guest was the fabulous Christina Bianco who starred in Forbidden Broadway and is now in Newsical. Christina sang Andrew Lippa’s “Life of the Party” and then wowed the audience performing the song from Sunset Boulevard “As If We Never Said Goodbye” with spot-on imitations of many great female performers including Barbra Streisand, Celine Dion, Judy Garland, Judy Garland, Bernadette Peters and even Brittany Spears.
Daniel Reichard (from the original cast of “Jersey Boys”) opened with a lively “Zing Went The Strings of My Heart” and then showed his beautiful voice in a medley of “With You” (Stephen Schwartz) and “Tonight” from West Side Story.
David Pomeranz, the multi-platinum award wining recording artist and songwriter, first sang “Reach”
accompanying himself on guitar explaining that he wrote the song because his mom always encouraged him to go for his dream. The Barry Manilow hit, “Trying to Get The Feeling Again” was next and David accompanied himself on piano and shared that he kept rewriting the verse and realized that the second one that he wrote for Barry’s recording was the best. David Pomeranz is an original and he accompanied himself on “I Can See Clearly Now” by drumming on the piano that was remarkably effective.
Another showstopper was the well-known comedian Kevin Meany who joked about having to tell his wife that he was gay and proceeded to sing “I Am What I Am” with a surprisingly good voice. Then he lip-synced to “We Are The World” playing the parts of the singers on the famous recording and it a laugh riot.
Jamie closed with another parody by Barry Kleinbort of a song from Sound of Music, “Sixty Going on Seventy” about the difficulties of love in the “golden years.” A good time was had by all!
Visit: www.54Below.com to see when Jamie DeRoy will be having another show and to see the fantastic line-up of performers scheduled at this top-notch Nightclub: 54 Below at 254 West 54th Street or phone: 212 764-7900 for Reservations.
By Linda Amiel Burns
Performance Photography: Stephen Sorokoff
Photography: Barry Gordin
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