When Broadway actor (Baby, Miss Saigon) and cabaret vet Liz Callaway was putting together her set list for Screen Gems—her new silver-screen-centered concert at 54 Below—she turned to social media. “On Facebook alone, I got over 500 song suggestions,” she told the crowd. “And I’d like to sing them for you.”
Of course, she didn’t. But in nearly 90 minutes, she does manage to fit in more than two dozen numbers, including classics (Breakfast at Tiffany’s “Moon River”), tearjerkers (“The Way We Were” from The Way We Were), Burt Bacharach gems (Casino Royale’s “The Look of Love”), and, naturally, the movie songs that she made famous: Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty’s “Once Upon a December” and “Journey to the Past,” from the 1997 animated hit Anastasia, which she sings as beautifully as ever. (Flaherty, who was in attendance on opening night, must have been pleased.) And yes, the Oscar nomination for “Journey to the Past” was exciting, Callaway said, but not as exciting as eventual gold-medal winner Tara Lipinski skating to the tune at the 1998 Nagano Olympics.
If you’re a Callaway fan, you might have heard her do many of these songs before. But I’m not sure I’ll ever tire of her take on Godspell’s “Beautiful City”—she performs the darker, rewritten ballad, not the upbeat, skipping-through-the-streets version from the 1973 movie—or Cabaret’s “Maybe This Time.” Vocally, she’s in stellar shape. Even when she’s belting to the rafters, every key change is effortless, none of the big notes are forced. You won’t find any unnecessary American Idol–style riffs or trills here (thank goodness!). And Callaway could teach a class in phrasing.
Perhaps her best numbers are—you might not have predicted this—from 1980s movies: the passionate and poetic Carly Simon–penned “Let the River Run” from Working Girl (paired with, oddly, Pinocchio’s “When You Wish Upon a Star” in the opening medley); “Arthur’s Theme (Best That You Can Do),” on which pianist–music director Alex Rybeck, bassist Ritt Henn, and drummer Ron Tierno supply super-smooth backing vocals (she also invites the audience to sing along to this one, and you’ll definitely want to); and Tootsie’s “It Might Be You,” which Callaway’s Baby costar Todd Graff sang at her wedding during her first dance with new husband Dan. “That was 37 years ago. I was 12,” she deadpanned.
One thing I’ll never get used to at 54 Below: all the people taking photos and making recordings. (The venue does prohibit flash photography.) I know I sound like a crank, but hear me out: Everyone’s there to hear, see, and experience Callaway—not have their view blocked by their neighbor’s giant smartphone. Enjoy the moment! Snap a curtain-call photo if you want a memento. I’ll step off my soapbox now.
Screen Gems: Liz Callaway Sings the Movies opened July 6 at 54 Below and runs July 7, July 8 (which also will be livestreamed), and July 11. Tickets and information: 54below.org
