Before I heard Santino Fontana sing a note, I was struck by his witty, charismatic and moving performances in a pair of straight plays: an off-Broadway production of Stephen Karam’s Sons of the Prophet and a very short-lived Broadway revival of Brighton Beach Memoirs. Acting chops do not necessarily translate to a strong cabaret presence, of course, and so having missed Fontana’s soldout stint at 54 Below last fall, I was delighted to discover, in catching his return engagement this week, how winningly he has evolved in the latter arena.
The qualities that make Fontana appealing in this capacity are similar to those that have established him as a favorite leading man in musical comedy, in shows from Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella to Tootsie, which earned him a Tony Award for the dual role of struggling actor Michael Dorsey and his female alter ego, Dorothy Michaels. His is the relaxed, accessible charm of the guy next door who happens to be smart, handsome and talented but, while confident of these assets, hasn’t let them make him cocky.
Arriving on stage in a basic black shirt, blazer and pants, Fontana breezily led his sole accompanist, Cody Owen Stine—nimble throughout on piano—through Charles Strouse and Lee Adams’s “Stick Around,” then announced he was going to engage the audience in a game: Rather than offer a fully arranged set, he would have members choose the bulk of the material by drawing from pieces of paper signed with various song titles. “This way,” he quipped, “if you don’t like the show, it’s your fault.”
The premise offered a canny showcase for Fontana’s gently dry sense of humor. After reading a title, he would wait a beat, then intone, sotto voce, “Good choice.” It became a running joke that the random selection process produced too many ballads—but oh, what ballads: Sondheim’s “Anyone Can Whistle,” Lerner and Loewe’s “How to Handle a Woman,” Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “If I Loved You.” (Fontana introduced the last as a great song from a “problematic” show, presumably a reference to post-#MeToo discomfort with the troubled anti-hero of Carousel—as great a musical as has ever been written, I’d argue, and progressive in its time. But that’s a debate for another article.)
Fontana’s singing was most impressive on tunes that showed off the bright, slightly brassy top of his baritenor, among them Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley’s “Who Can I Turn To?” and Cy Coleman and Dorothy Fields”s “Too Many Tomorrows,” from Sweet Charity. There was also a swinging, joyful take on “Lucky to Be Me,” from On the Town, which Fontana noted had been inspired by Tony Bennett and Bill Evans’s classic reading of the Bernstein/Comden/Green gem.
Other more upbeat numbers brought Fontana’s comic sensibility to the fore. “Love is An Open Door,” which he famously sang with Kristen Bell in the blockbuster animated film Frozen, became a duet with the fictional Dorothy Michaels, who sprung from the actor’s throat sounding as breathless and feisty as ever. The lesser-known and naughtier “Making Love Alone” was delivered with an extended apology to the parents of minors (my daughter among them) in the crowd. “The lawsuits can go to 54 Below,” Fontana deadpanned.
For his encore, Fontana turned earnest, singing Harvey Schmidt and Tom Jones’s “They Were You”—a lifelong favorite for both himself and his wife, the singer and actress Jessica Hershberg—without amplification, a nod to the late, great Barbara Cook, who would end her sets in the same fashion. He made it clear that this song from The Fantasticks, so full of wonder and gratitude, now resonates for him as a husband, a father and a showman, appreciative of the loving support he has received in all those roles. Where the showmanship is concerned, certainly, that appreciation was mutual.
Santino Fontana opened September 10, 2023 at Feinstein’s/54 Below and runs through September 14. Tickets and information: 54below.com
