Review of Jackie Evancho’s “Debut” Show, Feinstein’s/54 Below, New York City, April 23, 2019

Wow, what a night! We were treated to:

9 out of the 10 Broadway songs from Jackie’s new CD (“The Debut”) - all except “Whispering”;

4 old fan favorites – “Pure Imagination,” “The Music of the Night,” “Some Enchanted Evening,” and “The Impossible Dream”; (note the Broadway connections)

A quick “nod” to “O Mio Babbino Caro” and “Nessun Dorma” (featuring the high notes, of course); and

2 new covers:

“Past the Point of No Return” followed by the Phantom’s partial reprise of “All I Ask of You,” from “The Phantom of the Opera”; and

To cap off the evening’s performance, a killer cover of Queen’s “Somebody to Love.”

Quick note about the venue: “Feinstein’s/54 Below,” a New York City cabaret and restaurant, is so-called, because it is located in the basement of the Studio 54 theater on West 54th Street, and has a creative alliance with Broadway superstar Michael Feinstein. Mr. Feinstein, a singer and pianist, described as a “music revivalist,” is an interpreter of, and an anthropologist and archivist for, the repertoire known as “The Great American Songbook.”

The club is small and quite beautiful. Although it’s only about 7 years old, it has that very elegant “we’ve been around forever” look and feel. Service was fast and unpretentious – very friendly – and the food, reasonably priced for NYC, was excellent. My dinner, with a drink, dessert and coffee, and including the tip, was about $60. There is a $25 food and drink minimum.

Our table for four was described as a “ringside” seat. Quite the understatement. We were practically onstage. The table was pushed right up against the small stage, and because it was the same height as the stage, I could lean my elbow on the stage while eating dinner. Great seats – not more than about 3 or 4 feet from Jackie.

When we entered the club, the first thing we noticed were the instruments on the stage – drum kit, three guitars, and a very nice Steinway baby grand piano. And when the musicians took the stage, the first thing we noticed was how young they were – twenty-somethings, maybe early 30’s. It was quite clear that the days of the child prodigy backed up by a symphony orchestra of older musicians were long gone. We knew we were going to be treated to a fresh, new, exciting performance by some very talented young jazz/pop/broadway musicians, backing up the now 19-year old Jackie Evancho – way too grown up to be called a “prodigy,” but rest assured, still one of the finest vocalists on the planet.

As the house lights dimmed, the pianist began the very soft “tinkly” introduction to… what was that song? And then from offstage somewhere, came “That Voice”: “Come with me, and we’ll be, in a world of pure imagination…” It was a great way to start the show – a dramatic throwback to earlier concerts, but quite in keeping with the Broadway theme. Jackie sang several lines off stage, and it was impossible to tell exactly where she was, or how she would enter the now darkened room.

After the first few lines of “Pure Imagination,” a bright white spotlight was aimed through the darkness toward the entrance to the club, behind the sold-out audience, and like magic, Jackie appeared. The spotlight effect was enhanced because Jackie was dressed all in white (more about her outfit below). As she continued to sing, she worked her way slowly through the audience, weaving in and out of the tightly packed tables, toward the stage.

And then, there she was – on stage – rockin’ a very chic, very sophisticated, bright-white tightly-tailored tuxedo pantsuit, with a low-cut, single-button, pinched-waist flared-skirt jacket, and tight capri-style pants. The “look” was nicely finished off with 4” stiletto heels. Non-flash photography was allowed, so I’m certain there will be some great pictures of the outfit on Facebook/Instagram/YouTube.

Jackie wrapped up “Pure Imagination,” and then proceeded to deliver up a bravura performance of all of the songs on her new CD “The Debut,” except, I believe, “Whisperings,” with a few older songs and some new covers mixed in. More on some of the individual songs below.

As we have come to expect, Jackie performed each song with the requisite type and level of emotion, as and when called for by the music and the lyrics -  At times she was angry and/or powerful (as in ”Burn,” or “She Used to be Mine”), at other times exquisitely gentle or wistful (as in “Once Upon a December,”); sometimes joyful (as in “Pure Imagination”); sometimes a bit sad (as in “Falling Slowly”). Her ability to tell a story through her performances has not diminished in the slightest over the years. It seems strange using that phrase “over the years” when referring to the career of a someone who just turned 19, but of course, Jackie has been performing for at least 12 years.

My personal favorites from the new CD were “She Used to Be Mine,” “Once Upon a December,” and “Another Day/No Day But Today.”

Oh yes, I almost forgot – after what we thought might be the last song of the night, Jackie left the stage in a flash, and ran full speed out of the room - through the audience, weaving in and out of the tables, in the dark, in 4” stiletto heels - quite a “feat” - pardon the pun. We were relieved when the band continued to play, signaling that Jackie would be back. She returned moments later to the stage wearing a very sparkly, very short, uh, dress? jacket? Well, whatever it was, it was quite spectacular. This was Jackie making a statement – as if to say, “Just in case you haven’t already noticed that I’m not 9 years old any more – check this out…”

At this point, she sang the beginning of “O Mio Babbino Caro,” and the dramatic ending of “Nessun Dorma,” briefly reminding us where she came from, and then launched into a high-energy, hard-rocking cover of “Somebody to Love” by Queen and Freddie Mercury, leaving no doubt who’s the boss - leaving no doubt that this is Jackie’s world, and we just live in it.