A FAMILY AFFAIR AT 54 BELOW

Linda Eder shines, with a promising assist from
Jake Wildhorn; like mother like son — both likeable

Casual and confident, a smiling Linda Eder strode onto the stage on February 9 at the venue where she’s a regular—54 Below—welcomed extra warmly by her fervent fans. The publicity for this particular program (which will be repeated at this midtown spot on March 5) included an intriguing announcement: her special guest would be her adult son, Jake Wildhorn, who is a singer-songwriter-guitarist. She opened the set with the standard “The Best Is Yet to Come”; it was a solo, which also indicated the news that “the guest is yet to come.” He didn’t appear until much later in the program, jokingly announcing, “This is my show now,” and impressing with a solid, caring rendition of “Lean on Me” and his originals—“Heaven Can Wait,” “Surrender,” and “Trouble on My Mind”—all of which are on the bearded balladeer’s own album, The Last Coyote. Maybe the confidence is inherited. The talent, too. Of course, he has a musical advantage with DNA also from his father, musical theatre composer Frank Wildhorn (the man his mother had been married to and whose shows she’s starred in, such as Jekyll & Hyde, which would be well-represented in the evening’s set list).

Linda Eder

Those Jekyll & Hyde songs by the elder Wildhorn and Leslie Bricusse continue to be favorites of followers of the night’s female force of nature and devotees of the musical itself (avid return audience members known back in the 1990s as “Jekkies”). So they’ve often been musts on Eder evenings. And they still sound sublimely rich and radiant in the voice of this reliable performer who, on Instagram, blithely embraced her milestone 65th birthday, which was celebrated the week before her night at 54 Below. There were three cheered choices from the aforementioned dynamic score: the romantic ballad “Someone Like You”; the rowdy romp “Bring on the Men”; and “In His Eyes,” a duet requiring a female singing partner to be done in context. And one young woman was ready, willing, and able to join the star for this one number. She was Gianna Grosso—one of Linda Eder’s voice students—who, like her mentor, is quite the exciting powerhouse, fully up to the task of handling the ladies’ big emotional duet. Other duets du jour found pianist Keith Cotton joining the chanteuse effectively for the peppy Irving Berlin standard “Steppin’ Out with My Baby,” and mother and son paired for two lively picks from the Beatles’ era: “Help!” and “Can’t Buy Me Love.”

Gianna Grosso and Linda Eder

The solo Eder repertoire also included the wonderfully zippy “Mad Hatter” number from the Frank Wildhorn/Jack Murphy score for the musical Wonderland. A shoutout was given to Jason Howland, the musical director/arranger of that short-lived 2011 Broadway run (currently represented on the Great White Way with his own music for The Great Gatsby), who was in the house. Another Wildhorn/Murphy collaboration—a far more serious-minded one—“If I Should Lose My Way” was particularly poignant, with involved phrasing by the singer, who can be more of a “presentational” entertainer, delivering the money notes and good vibes more than weeping and wailing dramatics.

Zach Sicherman, Michael O’Brien, and Jake Wildhorn

The vibrant musical accompaniment, in addition to the pianist, was expertly supplied by guitarist Zach Sicherman, bassist Michael O’Brien, and percussionist Eric Halvorson. Along with a reprise of this show, Ms. Eder will be back at 54 Below for a night with Billy Stritch as musical director on March 25.

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photos by Melissa Griegel Photography / Theater Pizazz

Linda Eder (with Jake Wildhorn)
Playing It Forward
54 Below
reviewed on February 9, 2026
program reprises on March 5, 2026
for tickets, visit 54 Below
follow Linda Eder on her site and Instagram
follow Jake Wildhorn on Instagram

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