A ‘virtual’ Sinatra performs the classics

Ol' Blue Eyes is back

SINATRA
Palladium

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
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