THE HANGOVER REPORT – At 54 Below, Tony-nominee TOM PECINKA basks in the classic rock songbook and “Stereophonic”

Tom Pecinka performs at 54 Below (photo by Adrian Dimanlig).

Earlier this week on the heels of the blizzard that practically shut down New York City, actor Tom Pecinka made his solo debut in a one-night-only appearance at 54 Below. Tony-nominated for his turn as the emotionally abusive front man of a band in Stereophonic, Pecinka shed the toxic masculinity that permeated his performance as Peter to reveal an easygoing guy with a longtime passion for the classic rock canon (given this obsession, it’s no wonder that he was cast in David Adjmi’s award-winning play, which features magnificent standalone worthy songs by Arcade Fire’s Will Butler).

In possession of distinctively soulful and emotive tenor, Pecinka unsurprisingly spent a majority of the evening basking in the American classic rock songbook. With minimal banter, he and his terrific band nonchalantly launched into such songs — some deeper cuts than others — as Bob Seger’s “We’ve Got Tonight”, Bob Dylan’s “You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere”, Bruce Springsteen’s “I’m On Fire”, Neil Young’s “Unknown Legend”, and Joni Mitchell’s “Come in from the Cold”. Thankfully, fans of Stereophonic weren’t left in the dust. From the Tony-nominated score — which Butler clearly patterned after the song stylings of Fleetwood Mac — he crooned out “Bright”, “Seven Roads”, and of course “Masquerade”.

The evening’s special guest was the talented young star Casey Likes, who can currently be seen bringing down the house nightly a few blocks over in Heathers: The Musical at New World Stages (he’s also headlined the screen-to-stage versions of Back to the Future and Almost Famous). Together, they jammed to a loose and playful rendition of John Mellencamp’s “Hurts So Good”. Throughout the evening, it was abundantly clear just how much these songs have meant to and have shaped Pecinka as an artist and human being. It was a treat to witness this affinity in such close quarters.

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TOM PECINKA
Cabaret
54 Below
1 hour, 15 minutes
Closed

Categories: Cabaret, Music, Other Music

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