By Patrick Christiano
"Piece of Meat" is the title of Sherie Rene Scott’s marvelously sung new cabaret show at 54 Below, where the Broadway star of "Aida" and "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels," philosophizes on achieving happiness. She draws on personal antidotes to weave a fun and upbeat ode to harnessing the cosmic energy of the universe to achieve understanding, while making points about life’s temptations, desires, and contradictions. However while she doesn’t come up with any concrete answer, the journey is nonetheless delightful.
What do I hang on to? What do I let go of? And when? These are the essential questions she explores sharing her fanciful fixations on vegetarianism, Paul and Linda McCartney, gay hustlers, the opposable thumbs and her similarities with the Dalai Lama right down to her Rolex watch. The theatrical evening feels like an extension of her brilliantly successful Broadway Show "Everyday Rapture," that took us on a tour of her life up to that point. Now looking for love, both physically and emotionally, her goal seems to elude her because she may be searching in all the wrong places.
Her long blond hair flowing freely Scott looks fantastic encased in tight leather pants topped by a short jacket over a sexy top, and her singing and story telling sparkle. She may be playing the sexy dumb blond, but her innate wisdom comes through with charming style as she pokes fun at life’s ironies in a dozen songs including Joni Mitchell’s "All I Want," Paul McCartney’s "Another Day," and Annie Lennox’s "Honestly".
Scott is simply sensational with emotionally solid moments that take your breath away. She waxes poetic on the holy triangle in "Oh Sean," a moving and poignant song by her musical director and arranger Todd Almond, who also plays piano and does some harmonizing. Scott is also backed by Alana Dawes on bass and Levy Lorenzo on percussion. The superbly conceived evening is attractively directed by Lear DeBessonet and choreographed by Michael Lynch.
Sherie Rene Scott continues at 54 Below Oct. 16-27 at 8:30 pm and Oct. 20, 26 & 27 at 11 pm. Tickets: (646) 476-355
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