ISAAC SUTTON AND GUEST STARS DYNAMIC IN ENTERTAINING AND CLEVER 'BROADWAY ISRAEL' SHOW


Charismatic Isaac Sutton, who grew up in Israel and combines that background with Broadway show biz, returned to Feinstein’s/54 Below supper club last night (September 29, 2018). He is a charming performer with an excellent bass-baritone voice, and he likes to spice some of his songs by singing portions in Hebrew. He also is a savvy showman who enjoys inviting women guest stars to join him in amusing and exhilarating duets as well a giving them a chance to solo.

Women in the audience especially adore Sutton and he gets them to sing along in some numbers and charms them when he roams the room and sings directly to a few especially enthusiastic followers. He is generous in lauding his musicians by pronouncing their names loudly and clearly in introducing them more than once.

Sutton, looking sharp in his white jacket and black shirt, showed his vocal chops soloing in such disparate numbers as the pop “Come Fly With Me;” “Sway’ (in both Hebrew and English); a medley of “Fiddler on the Roof” classics “Sunrise, Sunset,” “If I Were a Rich Man” and “To Life,” and also the demanding “Man of La Mancha.”

The program gained added power when Sutton interacted with superb singer-actresses DeLaney Westfall and Rachel Gold. With Westfall he teamed in “Let Me Be Your Star” from NBC’s “Smash.” They had fun with an arrangement of the title song from “Hello, Dolly!” and, in another duet, “The Rain In Spain” from “My Fair Lady,” but gave it a special twist in Hebrew. Westfall (“Sweeny Todd,” “Kinky Boots,” “Beautiful”) oozed Broadway show biz know-how and sex appeal as she and Sutton had a ball with the competitive “Anything You Can Do” from “Annie Get Your Gun.” Westfall can sure hit her high notes.

Rachel Gold, a superb soprano, brought her own quality to the show as she sang “All I Ask of You” from “The Phantom of the Opera,” in which she has appeared, and also the title song from that long-running musical. Sutton demonstrated how well he can handle voice-challenging demands in teaming with Gold on both those selections. They also ignited sparks with “Climb Every Mountain” from “The Sound of Music” and “Somewhere” from “Westside Story.”

Sutton showed his Israeli affinity via various comments, and also musically when, in addition to his previous Hebrew translations, he sang the Hebrew “Le’Chayey Ha’Am Haze” from the Israeli show “I Like Mike.” In all, the program was an uplifting excursion into the art of cabaret and provided a fun-filled evening of entertainment expertise.

The excellent musicians were Dan Pardo, pianist and musical director, Greg Orlando on double bass, and Brandon McClaskey on drums. At Feinstein’s/54 Below, 254 West 54th Street. Phone: 646-476-3551. Reviewed September 30, 2018.




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