Have you ever been to a show that made you smile and cry, that filled you with emotion and pride and made you feel privileged to have seen it and be able to say, “Yes, when Ben Vereen played New York’s The Cutting Room, I was there?”
That’s how I felt when Vereen performed his one-man show “Steppin’ Out With Ben Vereen.” The show, originally slated to occur the Friday after Thanksgiving, had to be canceled because the veteran performer was not feeling well. Within the opening moments of his performance, he apologized to the audience for the canceled show, and it was wonderful to look around the room and see that the people who had come the Friday before and filled this capacity room, had come back again Saturday to see this performer that they all respected and loved. Vereen definitely had the audience in the palm of his hand, and it was a wonderful place to be.
Vereen is a theater icon who, despite having serious accidents in 1992—a car crash, a stroke and getting hit by a truck—has managed to have an indelible spirit and painfully struggled and worked toward getting his physical self together. At one point, told he would not be able to walk and dance as he had done for years, he went to rehabilitation. The fruits of that hard work were in full effect as he danced—sometimes jazzy, sometime Fosse moves—on the intimate stage of The Cutting Room, on East 32nd Street, accompanied by a live band. Vereen told me in an interview before the show that his philosophy about life is “Life Is Good,” and that is a belief about life that he helps people to believe through his courageous and moving story. Life was definitely good for everyone who was privileged enough to be in the audience for his performance.
Vereen has a natural stage presence that lights up the night, not to mention the sparkle in his eyes when he performs. He has a passion for his craft and a love of his art that comes across in spades. He opened the show with “This Joint Is Jumping” and believe me it did, and continued to do so throughout the rest of the two-hour show. At age 72, Vereen has an energy and a heart for his craft that shows his performances come from the core of his being. He pushes the envelope and performs with unbridled energy and charisma, which his smooth-as-silk dance moves only add to.
Vereen talks about his professional journey in the arts, where he got started, and the musicals he’s been in, including “Pippin,” from which he sang “Join Us.” In “Join Us,” there is a line about “hearts to warm,” and Vereen does just that, as he also uplifts the spirit. The audience joined in on songs such as “The Age of Aquarius.” He gave such a tender delivery of “I Don’t Know How to Love Him” and a dramatic rendering of “Jesus Christ Superstar” from the musical of the same name.
Vereen seemed almost vulnerable as he opened himself up to the audience, so caringly singing “I Did Not See Time Go By.” Vereen connects with the audience like only Vereen can. He stands on the stage and makes everyone in the room feel special. He looks directly into people’s eyes and, even if you are not sitting close, you feel that he is speaking directly to you. That is something that only great performers can achieve, and he does it effortlessly. Vereen was also in “Les Miserables,” and he borrows the song that Fantine sings, “I Dreamed a Dream,” which had me in tears, not only because of his singing, but also because of the scenario that he set up before performing it, of being one of two old men on a bench regretting things that had happened in their lives. How moving. It was beautiful! Vereen, from his time in “Wicked,” sang “Defying Gravity,” and he sang it superbly. It was a testament to the strength of the human spirit.
Vereen introduced a singer named Jessie, who has worked with him in his cabaret shows, and Jessie sang a song he wrote for Vereen entitled “Undeniable,” which clearly moved the legendary star.
Vereen did a tribute to Sammy Davis Jr., who he considered a mentor, with “Candyman”—on which the audience joined in—and then gave a touching rendering of “What Kind of Fool Am I.” He sang “Mr. Bojangles” but inserted Davis’ name in different parts of the song.
Vereen connected his tribute to Sammy Davis Jr. with a message to young people to remind them that there are people whose backs they are standing on as he stood on the back of Sammy Davis Jr. In a stunning tribute to the audience, he sang “This Is My Song,” and he did it in such a touching way, he demonstrated the words “how wonderful life is, cause you’re in my world.”
Vereen next turned his attention to everyone acknowledging and supporting the arts, declaring, “The arts are the source of our life. We’re got to tell the people in Washington to leave the arts along. If children have the arts in their lives, then they’ll look at [life] from a creative aspect.”
Vereen started to sing “Stand By Me,” and audience members stood up, singing with him and joining hands. He then encouraged everyone to chant “Stand for the Arts,” and the room filled up with passionate energy.
Vereen sang “What’s Going On” from Marvin Gaye and performed some delicate steps. He then encouraged everyone and filled the room with explosively positive vibes as he sang “Love Train,” and the audience stood up and joined in. As the room filled with everyone’s voices and everyone being of like mind—love for Vereen, love for the arts—the veteran performer said, “You make my day!”
As Vereen said goodnight to the standing ovation of the crowd and shouts of “We love you Ben,” he looked truly happy.