“Joaquina Kalukango” at 54 Below (Photo: Tina Turnbow)

Nothing could be more of a testament to Joaquina Kalukango’s talent than her scorching (pun intended) “Let it Burn” at the end of the short-lived musical Paradise Square in 2022. It won her a Tony a few months later and her televised performance further proved this wasn’t a flash in the pan, it was history in the making. So it’s no surprise that when she tears into her signature song at the end of a new cabaret show at 54 Below, the audience catches her fire.

Her song selections are eclectic, showing off her sumptuous lower register, full belt, and powerful soprano. The tunes veer from Broadway to Motown to Nashville displaying comfort in every genre. Her conversation with the audience is simple and casual, sometimes not identifying why she’s singing a particular song other than that she wanted to. I felt a little hesitation in her performance at the beginning, but as the evening progressed, she seemed to relax into the music.

Some highlights were Harold Arlen’s “Get Happy” welcoming us into the space and a sensitive rendition of The Beatles’ “Blackbird” right after, letting us hear the richness of her voice even at its most simple. Kalukango recounts a production of Purlie she auditioned for in school, certain she would play Lutiebell, but actually getting cast in a smaller role the libretto describes as “not Lutiebell.” She claims the part for herself with a spectacular version of the title song.

Earlier this year, Kalukango appeared as Gloria Gaynor in a biopic on Lifetime, so of course she had to bring us the iconic “I Will Survive”, turning the basement of Studio 54 back into a disco for a few minutes. A fantastic “I Feel Pretty” from West Side Story and a medley of Shaina Twain songs were delightful surprises along the way, too. 

But there were a couple of missteps that hampered my enjoyment of the evening. Coming down from the high of “I Will Survive”, Kalukango says that she wanted to sing something from Into the Woods, having played the Witch in the closing cast of the latest Broadway revival. Her prior run at 54 Below in February included the Witch’s eleven o’clock number “Last Midnight”, a tour-de-force for any singing actress. But Kalukango announces that this time she’s not going to sing “Last Midnight” because her musical director, Michael Orland, complained that it’s too hard to play. Sure, Sondheim is notoriously difficult, but this is not a plastic cup piano bar or sightreading at an audition. There’s plenty of time to rehearse, especially if you’ve already played it. It may have been better to have kept that information about Orland to herself, because the loss of “Last Midnight” made what replaced it (a tepid mash up of “No One is Alone” and “Children Will Listen”) land with a thud.

Kalukango also encourages the audience to sing along right at the top and at several points following, which would have been totally fine if everyone had done it together as a group. Unfortunately, I was seated, in 54 Below’s tight quarters, next to an older man who had had quite a bit to drink and decided that his nasal, tone deaf singing was more important for me to hear than Kalukango’s glorious voice. Combining the worst parts of “strong and wrong” with “loud and proud,” bless this gentleman for having the time of his life, but my ears needed a break. 

There is a very sweet moment in the last third of the show, though, when Kalukango welcomes a newcomer to the stage. It’s her nine-year-old son, Pharoah, and they sing a heart-melting duet of the Jackson Five’s “I’ll Be There.” What a joy it is to see these two share the stage together, Pharoah glued to his microphone, his mother gently trying to get him to loosen up and enjoy the moment. Eventually he did, shooting her a sideways glance and breaking into a huge smile. It made the whole show worth it.