This faithful recreation of one of the Rat Pack’s glitzy Las Vegas club nights in the late 50’s / early 60’s features the musical and comedic talents of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr, and fits perfectly into the intimate surroundings of Eastbourne’s Devonshire Park Theatre.
Director Mitch Sebastian and musical supervisor Matthew Freeman have worked some theatrical magic staging the show, which is so much more than simply a collection of songs or a tribute act. This is a full scale production, with a 12-piece live swing band (under the direction of Dominic Barlow) and backing vocals supplied by The Burelli Sisters (Laura Darton, Amelia Adams- Pearce and Joanna Walters), which go together to add an air of authenticity to the proceedings.
The actors and musicians are supremely talented and the singing and playing cannot be faulted. Garrett Phillips, Nigel Casey and David Hayes, as the all-singing, all-dancing trio, give supremely accurate performances, from their soulful crooning to their well timed bantering. All three have a wonderful sense of comic timing and convincingly impersonate their respective characters. Nigel Casey is very entertaining as boozy Dean Martin and really nails his versions of That’s Amore and Volare, with David Hayes, as Sammy Davis Jr., providing one of the highlights of the evening with a spine-tingling rendition of Mr Bojangles.
Nicola Emmanuelle as Ella Fitzgerald adds an extra treat to this updated show. Her appearance dilutes the male-dominated show and gives the second half of the performance a palpable sense of excitement. Having a female leading the vocals alongside the Rat Pack also leads to a number of superb duet opportunities including Night and Day, The Lady is a Tramp and S’Wonderful. Emmanuelle has a very impressive range and brings an air of elegance and sophistication to the overall performance.
This show has always been centred around Frank Sinatra and, with the supremely talented Garrett Philips at the helm, the production is in very safe and confident hands. He dominates the stage and delivers all of Sinatra’s greatest hits, including tremendous versions of New York, New York, My Kinda Town and My Way, with ease.
Ever since it first appeared on stage back at the turn of the century, this is a production that has been carried by the huge array of million selling hits that are included, but it is also carried, proudly, on the shoulders of four tremendously talented performers.
**** Four Stars