Review: Jeanna de Waal Delivers an Evolving Performance in 'SONGS I LOVE TO SING' at 54 Below

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Delectable de Waal is a cabaret artist worth getting to know.

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Jeanna de Waal returned to 54 Below with a new cabaret show last night, a show with a straight forward title that says it all: SONGS I LOVE TO SING. Now, Jeanna de Waal may love singing these songs, but her audience just plain loves her, so the truth is, she could do whatever the heck she wants in her club act - and one suspects that she, sometimes (or always) does. De Waal is a world class singer with a wide range of capabilities… last night she sang some (naturally) Diana The Musical, but she also sang some soul (“On Broadway”), and some rhythm and blues (“Saving All My Love For You”), and some pop (“Manchild”), and some standards (“Misty”) and there was even a soprano lover’s dream come true: a Julie Andrews mashup. Jeanna de Waal can sing any style, she can sing in rangey octaves, she can belt, and she can trill, and she can even rock and roll. So when it comes time to create a new club act, the sky’s the limit for Divine de Waal, and her audience is the happy beneficiary of her talent and training… and her unpredictable personality.

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One of the great things about Jeanna de Waal (there is a list) is that she keeps coming back to the clubs. The gifted star of Diana The Musical does not suffer from a lack of roles. Since the demise of Diana, de Waal has played Reno Sweeney, Mrs. Lovett, Mary Poppins, and Myrtle Wilson, and always on impressive stages. Clearly, the life of a working actress is working for her. But when she is not playing book roles in narrative stories, Jeanna has returned to 54 Below with new acts, she has played Red Eye NY in a sister act with her chum Maria Bilbao, and she has even played The Pines out on Fire Island. This is obviously an art form that resonates with de Waal. It is clear she likes the intimacy of the venues because she makes sure to continually connect with her audience, throughout the performance (sidebar: not every cabaret performer actually does this). She starts the show from the house (elegantly, singing Jonathan Reid Gealt’s “Quiet” which is, in and of itself, a bold artistic choice for a cabaret show), strolling the room so she can look into the eyes of the patrons, and, after her final bow, after the house lights are up, she walks through the venue, introducing herself and shaking hands with audience members. She conducts her monologues from the stage as though they are conversations with the crowd, and funny ones, too, in which she asks “Where are my $18 seaters? Where are my Premium ticket buyers?” making fun of the people, and making fun of herself. For the entirety of her program, de Waal does what my erudite friend calls “taking the piss out of herself.” Without self-consciousness or coyness, Jeanna tells the most embarrassing stories about her life (the removal of a tumor from a VERY personal anatomy location makes for great comedy), she shares stories about her family (telling a joke of which her mother, deeply, disapproves), and she has a sense of humor that can fool and confuse you, as you try to figure out if she’s being serious or, even, what she means, all the while making you laugh and shake your head in your wonderment. In short: Jeanna de Waal wants to do cabaret for the casual. She wants to do cabaret her way. She wants to sing her face off while making you wonder how that kind of singing is even possible, she wants to make you laugh with inappropriate and/or delf-depracating humor, she wants to go off on unscripted tangents that put you in the picture, and she wants you to go home feeling like you know her. Well, my dears: mission most definitely accomplished.

For her seventy-minute musical cabaret last night, de Waal’s collection of songs she likes to sing didn’t just feature compsotions from the show that put her on the map (3 of them), or from musicals in which she has played (Gatsby and Poppins), or songs just right for a diva(o) (like Whitney Houston or George Benson). Jeanna brought stuff from home. This is where things get really personal. Jeanna de Waal has been working on her piano-playing skills, and she admits they aren’t great; she admits she struggles with them, and she admits she has a kind of stage fright about playing the piano in front of people. So she makes herself do it every time she has the chance, and when better is there an opportunity to practice your craft than with a loving audience of DiFANas who will support you, and cheer for you, and not judge you when you make mistakes? And make mistakes, she did. Jeanna plunked out on the keys some “Misty,” while singing a really interesting and original vocal arrangement of the classic, and each time the piano got the better of her, she kept at it until she got it. Once, twice, three times she had to stop and go back, and once, twice, three times the audience cheered and applauded and encouraged her on, and when she got there, the appreciative support was something akin to a parent at a recital. It was wonderfully life-affirming and uplifting and human, the kind of thing that thrives in an intimate cabaret space. This writer and cabaret aficionado was NOT disappointed - contrary-wise, this guy was very happy.

Part two of the Jeanna de Waal personal time was the presentation of (including much exposition regarding) de Waal’s own piece about the legendary Marlene Dietrich. Jeanna has been working on an elaborate work of art centered around the iconic actress, and she presented two songs that boast Jeanna de Waal writing credits for both words and music. To assist in the presentation of the songs “Alone in Paris” and “Loser,” Jeanna enlisted good friends Marie Bilbao and Tess Marshall, and, together, the three vocalizing actors presented material that seems quite promising. Both cuts savor of intricacies in the lyrics and melodies, dressing up the women’s considerable singing skills in luscious harmonies and bold performance opportunities. It was exciting to see the three in action with this new material, and this sneak peek into de Waal’s passion project should be considered a promise of good things to come.

Speaking of good things, in a surprise move, Jeanna, in preparation for “Pretty Pretty Girl” from Diana, called out to the audience for volunteers to sing the Camilla and Charles tracks in the number, and two young women sitting ringside (one must assume they are DiFANas) jumped up onto the stage to play a bit with Jeanna, who provided scripts that they barely needed, before stepping aside to watch, gleefully, as they brought the house down. It is safe to say that Sami DeVries and Annalise Biesterfeld did not expect to get any closer to their idol than the first row, but that’s the beauty of cabaret - the unexpected and the magical. Jeanna de Waal is in this to take people on a ride and make them feel - and although her exceptional Musical Director, Charlie Savage, works wonderfully well with her, one can’t help but wonder what Jeanna and Charlie would sound like with maybe three more musicians. Jeanna de Waal has a voice and a personality that deserve a fuller sound. She also deserves a more appealing lighting design than one favoring every pink gel discarded after the last production of Gypsy closed on Broadway. Gone were all the lush colors that render the 54 Below stage into a living peacock feather, and in their place was just unimaginative, dead, dull amber light. One hopes that, by the time Jeanna returns to 54 Below for her Christmas version of SONGS I LOVE TO SING, this matter will be revisited. Does de Waal have a director working with her? None is credited for the current production, and the addition of one might help protect her from little things like this because Jeanna de Waal deserves the very best. She deserves to play cabaret in any room she wants, in any city she wants, with as big a following as she wants, for as long as she wants. She is an artist to watch and an entertainer to enjoy - belting vocals, boisterous humor, connected authenticity, and all.

Jeanna de Waal returns to 54 Below December 29 and 30 with SONGS I LOVE TO SING - BUT MAKE IT FESTIVE. Tickets can be accessed HERE.

THIS is the home page for 54 Below.

Jeanna de Waal is on Instagram HERE.

Photos by Stephen Mosher

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_Originally reported by [BroadwayWorld](https://www.broadwayworld.com/cabaret/article/Review-Jeanna-de-Waal-Lets-Her-Audience-In-With-SONGS-I-LOVE-TO-SING-at-54-Below-20261001)._