|
|
 |
| |
A ‘virtual’ Sinatra performs the classics |
Ol' Blue Eyes is back
SINATRA
Palladium
CLICK
HERE TO BOOK THEATRE TICKETS
IF this show were on TV, it would broadcast on an independent
channel at 6.30pm on a Saturday night.
It is supremely light entertainment.
It plays as a bio-pic of the singer’s life. The star of
the show narrates through the clever use of video computer technology:
the producers have searched out newsreel footage of Frank Sinatra
and spliced it together so the audience feel as if they are
watching him on stage.
The story starts on December 12, 1915, a wintry day in New York,
with the singer’s voice telling us about the day he was
born. It then skips through the decades to a swing beat and
ends at Frank’s aging comeback performances of My Way.
The computer gimmick is backed up by dancers who, at times,
smack of 1970s cheesy Top of the Pops troupe Pam’s People
or, at times, the shmaltz mime sessions that made up that despicable
kiddies favourite Mini-Pops.
But, despite these gripes, it works. Sinatra’s song book
is fabulous, and when the smiling faces and the costume changes
become a little too much, you can be whisked away by a 30-piece
swing band who speed their way through such classics as Come
Fly With Me, Pennies from Heaven and All Of Me. Then there is
the technology that brings Sinatra alive: he appears 20 feet
high, telling you his life story, breaking into song, flirting
with the girls on stage.
Another saving grace is that this show could be seen to have
little to do with the singer at all: it is more a tribute to
the 20th century, through the newsreel-style footage which runs
from New York prohibition era through World War II, on to the
1950s – complete with the story of how Frank romanced Ava
Gardner but was ultimately left broken hearted by the screen
siren, on to the 1960s, Kennedy and the space race.
This is all shown through the costume changes of the energetic
dancers, who appear in twin sets followed by polka dot, waist-pinched
dresses and then onto 1960s’ mini-skirts. It is a whistle-stop
tour of the fashions of the previous century set to some of
the best-arranged big band music written. This makes Sinatra
at the Palladium an enjoyable evening of sing-a-long.
Until October 7
020 7494 5020
CLICK
HERE TO BOOK THEATRE TICKETS |
|
|
|
