By Ron Fassler . . .

Anyone with an interest in hearing songs from a musical that for whatever reason were cut and never saw the light of day on stage, then what happened at 54 Below on May 8 was a gift from heaven. And if that musical is the delicious Some Like it Hot, with a bouncy and witty period score from Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, featuring pit musicians currently employed at the Shubert Theatre and sung by the show’s understudies and swings, then this was nirvana.

First off, the 54 Below stage was crammed with so many musicians that the area for the singers to work in was limited to one music stand. But who cares when FOURTEEN players were there to create a sound that blasted the joint apart from the very first notes. Some Like it Hot is set in 1933, which gives way to the big band sound that died out more than half a century ago. It was clear from the get-go that the entire sold-out crowd was delighted to be transported to a place like the old Copacabana nightclub for an evening of fun and revelry.

Hosted by lyricist Wittman and composer Shaiman (who played piano), as well as the musical’s orchestrating team, Bryan Carter and Charlie Rosen (sitting in with the band on drums and bass), stories were told to introduce each song, giving context (and even a touch of sorrow) when Class A material no longer fit a certain moment and had to be cut. The nine numbers presented were delivered with polish and flair and all contained music and lyrics of immensely high quality, especially when sung by a host of actors relishing their time in the spotlight. Joy prevailed!

Marc Shaiman

First up was Raena White, who is in the ensemble and is one of the understudies for NaTasha Yvette Williams, recently Tony nominated for her role as Sweet Sue. Dazzling with a rouser titled, “Feelin’ No Pain,” it may have seemed momentarily that starting on such a high left the show with nowhere to go, but that was a misnomer. Marc Shaiman took to the mic next to play Sweet Sue herself in a hilarious song titled “Sweet Sue’s School for Society Syncopaters,” lyrically challenging as anything Sondheim might have created. Worried he might not be able to get through it (“How do you guys do this eight times a week?”), he acquitted himself with a self-confidence that probably surprised him. Charles South, who covers the role of Osgood, did a charmer titled “The Lady Who Tickles My Fancy” with lyrics that made its author, Scott Wittman, shout out “This is when I discovered every word in finance is a double entendre!”

Casey Garvin, who plays one of the gangsters in the show, and swing Ian Campayo, sang a song that went out when it was decided the character of Spats, the show’s villain, shouldn’t sing. “The Opera Isn’t Over Till the Fat Lady Swings,” turned out to be really funny, and Garvin and Campayo nailed it. “If a Woman Wasn’t There (To Make it Right)” gave the trio of Raena White, Abby Matsusaka and Amber Owens a chance to shine in a salute to acts like the Boswell Sisters, with orchestrations that were to die for. Man, this band could really swing!

In a song that should have been in the show, “Haven’t We Met Before?,” sung to perfection by KJ Hippensteel and TyNia Brandon), was written as fix for the identity switching in the show that always felt like a problem to Shaiman and Wittman. As Shaiman put it, “We didn’t want it to feel like an episode of I Love Lucy, when Lucy would draw a beauty mark on her face and Ricky didn’t know it was her.” In Some Like it Hot, when Joe is romancing Sugar in disguise, this song hits the issue on its head and felt like a winner. Same to be said for a beautiful ballad that Shaiman sang called “Just Another Lonely Joe.” According to Shaiman, of all the songs that didn’t make it, this was the one that hurt the most to not find a proper spot in the show. Again, Shaiman apologized ahead of time for not being up to the level of the singers among the Some Like it Hot cast, saying that “even on the best of days, my voice can be described as a Jewish cry for help.”

Kayla Pecchioni

Kayla Pecchioni who, as a swing, covers the role of Sugar, committed magnificently to “Lost and Found,” a simply sensational ballad. Receiving one of the biggest ovations of the night, she is a talent to look out for, superb actress and singer rolled into one. But in truth, that’s the way it was with everyone who took to the stage. It was, to use that old cliché, an embarrassment of riches.

And when the orchestrators themselves, Bryan Carter and Charlie Rosen, abandoned their instruments and took to the mics, we were treated to an exceptional number called “The Uptown Yiddishe Blues,” that was once the song that introduced Joe and Jerry to explain their relationship. As it happened, I was seated next to J. Harrison Ghee, who is Tony nominated as Jerry/Daphne, and I asked during the applause, “Did you ever have to learn that?,” to which he replied, “Oh, we performed that one many times!” And in Carter and Rosen’s rendition, it was so special to see the cast members, seated in the audience, light up in astonishment at seeing their co-workers display a side of themselves that might have come as something of a shock.

But maybe not when you consider how much talent was on display in this wonderful evening which made me yearn for a CD of this cut material. And from the smiles on the faces of the crowd as we left 54 Below, I wasn’t alone.

Some Like it Cut at 54 Below, 254 West 54th Street between Eighth Avenue and Broadway (www.54below.org).

Photos: Ron Fassler

Featured Image: Abby Matsusaka, Raena White and Amber Owens