Embracing the room with love, Broadway legend Donna McKechnie in her show “Same Place, Another Time” at 54 Below regaled us with stories and songs of a life well lived, in the theater and in New York from the 1970's until now. Her adoring audience, which included more Broadway legends (Tommy Tune and composers John Kander and Stephen Flaherty), couldn’t get enough of her.

Ms. McKechnie, who is in her 70’s, is in great voice, possessing a clarion belt and a beautifully expressive mix; her diction is impeccable. After opening with a disco version of Rodger and Hart’s “Where or When”, Ms. McKechnie took us back in time to the days of the infamous Studio 54 and her Tony Award-winning role as Cassie in A Chorus Line. Her recollections of that era were delicious! She then gave us two snapshots of New York via Sondheim. In “Uptown, Downtown” (which was cut from Follies), Ms. McKechnie, with sass and precise gestures, brought Hyphenated Harriet and her identity crisis to vivid life. Painting a gritty picture of New York juxtaposed with a woman in love in “What More Do I Need?" (from Saturday Night), Ms. Mckechnie’s demeanor softened as she revealed that love can change one’s point of view about anything. Describing herself as a hopeless romantic and prone to living in a fantasy world, Ms. McKechnie spoke candidly but always with bright splashes of humor about seeing a psychiatrist, her struggles with balancing love and work and the importance of loving one’s self. She deftly wove these themes into a fun “I Never Know When To Say When” (from Goldilocks) with pianist extraordinaire Steve Marzullo taking on the character of the psychiatrist and then carrying us into a hard driving, victorious “You’re Moving Out Today” written by Carole Bayer Sager, Bette Midler and Bruce Roberts.

Highlights of this well-structured evening included “At the Ballet” from A Chorus Line, with Ms. McKechnie sharing how the song was based on her childhood, although other characters sang it in the show. The audience held their breath as she sang:

"Maggie, do you wanna dance?"
And I'd say, "Daddy, I would love to..."
Everything was beautiful at the ballet,
Raise your arms and someone's always there.
Yes, everything was beautiful at the ballet,
At the ballet.

She followed this with a thrilling anecdote of meeting and dancing with Fred Astaire coupled with the delightful song “Astaire”. Moving forward decades, Ms. McKechnie also gave us a gripping portrait of Claire Zachanassian, the main character in the recently closed Broadway musical The Visit; she was Chita Rivera’s standby. Both Kander and Ebb songs “I Walk Away” and “Love and Love Alone” (featuring a haunting pas de deux with lovely Emily Mechler) were sung with deep personal connection.

With her heart wide open and eyes shining, Ms. McKechnie gathered the audience in her arms as she ended the evening with Jim Croce’s “Time in a Bottle”. Ms. McKechnie’s talent, vivacious spirit and zest for life make her a Broadway treasure!