Melba Moore isn’t one of those performers who tries to endear herself to an audience with false modesty. “Any award you could get for musical theater, I got,” she announced on opening night of “From Broadway, With Love,” a return engagement at the popular cabaret venue 54 Below. This was after Moore recalled how, when she appeared in the original cast of Purlie, a song was added expressly to accommodate her talent—though before she recounted becoming the first Black actress to play Fantine in Les Misérables.
Certainly, Moore has earned the right to toot her own horn. Over a career spanning nearly six decades, the singer and actress has segued from singing backup for A-list artists to playing leading roles on Broadway—she noted that her debut was as Diane Keaton’s replacement in Hair—to a successful recording career. And Moore, who turns 80 this year, accomplished all this at a time when Black women in show business (or any other, for that matter) faced no shortage of obstacles.
Moore’s accounts of her achievements were, moreover, rendered with self-effacing humor. She mused that it took her two years of solid effort to land a spot on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and that she had to pay a substantial sum for the honor. She also conceded that her program—which included tributes to friends, family and colleagues, and which Moore repeatedly described as a “celebration”—was very much a work in progress.
“We’re just putting this show together,” said Moore, who was resplendent in what looked like a pale pantsuit enveloped by a translucent, glittering robe, courtesy of celebrity designer David Josef. The title “From Broadway” is, in fact, something of a misnomer: While the set included tunes from the aforementioned stage musicals, including a Hair medley, there was equal emphasis on material introduced in films and from Moore’s own pop catalog.
At one point, Moore’s band—led by music director Darnell White, with bassist Jordyn Davis and drummer Gregory Bufford—sat back while Moore sang, karaoke-style, to pre-recorded tracks of her singles from the 1970s and ’80s, among them the sinuous R&B hit “Falling” and her cover of the Bee Gees’ thumping disco classic “You Stepped Into My Life.”
Moore’s renditions of these and other songs could be tainted by overzealousness. In lieu of the discretion often favored, wisely, by seasoned artists, there were sustained high notes that could sound a bit strained. The final number, “Stormy Weather,” was especially bombastic, with growls and bursts of melisma adding nothing to the standard’s natural pathos.
None of this seemed to matter to the crowd: Fans lavished Moore with shouts of encouragement and praise throughout the evening, and many rose to their feet when it was through, some holding up cameras so that the star could pose for them. She obliged these requests happily, of course.
“I think it’s a good story,” Moore posited, referring to her still-developing show, as if asking attendees for their approval. Without question, this veteran’s combination of self-possession and generosity, to say nothing of her age-defying energy, offered cause to look forward to its progress.
Melba Moore: From Broadway with Love opened July 9, 2025, at 54 Below and runs through July 10. Tickets and information: 54below.com
