My Way, A Musical Tribute To Frank Sinatra
"Theatre by the Sea's first show of their 76th
season is "My Way" which is a musical tribute to Frank Sinatra, a two hour
musical journey. Four performers belt out the tunes that made Sinatra, Ol'
Blue Eyes, a musical icon and "Chairman of the Board." It
celebrates his mystique and the music he made famous as though four
elegant party-goers out on the town decide to sing their favorite songs in
a gorgeous nightclub setting. Sinatra fans will find such classics as
"High Hopes," "I've Got the World on a String," "The Lady Is a Tramp," and
"That's Life," interspersed with interesting facts about the singer and
his world. Sinatra's liking for women and alcohol, and his legendary
talent, recording nearly 1,400 songs in a career that spanned generations
are remembered fondly. The songs are assembled into ten medleys which
contain 57 songs including "Fly Me to the Moon" and "New York,
New York". My Way is a warm, affectionate and tuneful tribute to a
reminder of those brilliant melodies that remain Sinatra's greatest
legacy. David Grapes not only directs this
show expertly but is the co-creator of it too with Todd
Olsen with topnotch musical direction by John C. Brown. The four
performers are John Fredo, who also choreographed this show and appeared
in the original production, Casey Erin Clark, Karen Jeffreys and
Jason Watson. The revue has a book by Todd Olsen and is made up of a
series of medleys interspersed with exposition of Sinatra, his life
and loves with music constantly playing throughout the show. The
opening night crowd leapt to its feet to reward the four performers and
three onstage jazz musicians for their hard work.
Owner and head producer Bill Hanney and
fellow producers Amiee Turner and Joel Kipper spare no expense to
create high standards for their opening show of the season. (Joel also
designed the lights for the show which set the mood for the crowd
including red spots during "My Funny Valentine" by Casey and blue ones for
"Where or When" by Karen and the cast joining in later.) The musical
director/pianist, John is onstage playing a baby grand piano donated by
the show sponsor Luca Music with bass player, Sean Farias and
percussionist, Mike Sartini. Not only is the music fabulous, he
taught the singers the many intricate harmonies for their group numbers
which bring thunderous applause from the crowd. The beautiful,
costumes are by Lou Bird (who was one of Joel's professor's in St. Louis)
They are sophisticated elegant cocktail evening wear
which includes white tux jackets for the men in Act 1 with 3
piece black ones in Act 2 while the women wear shorter dresses,
purple and light blue in Act 1 and longer black gowns with a
hint of purple and blue in them in Act 2."My Way" premiered in June,
2000 and has been packing them in everywhere ever since. It's the hottest
musical revue since "Forever Plaid". The gorgeous set is a
sophisticated nightclub designed beautifully by Mark Halpin. There is
a bar and stools on stage right with a table, a chair and booth on stage
left while the musicians are on a marble looking platform with three long
stairs so the performers can sing from a standing big band style
microphone. The most poignant moment is at the end of the show after they
do a rousing chorus of "New York, New York" and a surprise encore of
:I'll Be Seeing You" which brings tears to the audience's eyes, Jason
places one hat over the microphone in tribute to Sinatra who wished
everyone lives to be a 100 years old and may the last voice they hear be
his singing voice with a lone white spot shining on it as the audience leaves the theatre.
They all have terrific voices and never try to imitate Sinatra
but give the show a finished glossy feel to it. Since there are almost 60
songs in the show I will mention a few of them.Most of the well
known songs are the ones that celebrate cities, "I Love Paris"
delivered in a jazzy rendition by Karen, "Chicago" by Jason and the
famous "New York, New York" with John leading it off on it then becoming a
fabulous four part harmony complete with felt hats. Each of the
performers is different, John is debonair as the older Sinatra with
his powerful baritone voice and shows off his fantastic tap dancing
skills in "I've Got the World on a String" and "Tender Trap". He also
choreographs many different dances during the show which the cast
performs wonderfully. Jason who has a fantastic tenor voice
which soars off the charts, is comical as the younger version in
"Makin Whoopee" and "Witchcraft" and poignant in "Drinkin' Again". Jason
and Karen have a duet on "Love and Marriage" which is hilarious and left
the audience in stitches. The two women in the show represent the
women in Sinatra's life. Casey, a pretty red head is sultry like Ava
Gardner, when she sings"The Way You Look Tonight", "I've Got You
Under My Skin" and "I'll Guess I'll Hang My Tears Out to
Dry" as well as "I Only Have Eyes for You" and the
powerful "I'm Gonna Live till I Die". Karen, a gorgeous
blonde, and a soprano, is a softer more feminine type like Mia Farrow
or Juliet Prowse and sings The Best Is Yet to Come" does the samba
and tango with John and Jason in "Let's Face the Music and Dance" and
sings the sexy "That Old Black Magic". John's closing solo is his
best "That's Life backed up with harmonies by the other three performers
while they dance as his backup singers. I Get a Kick Out of You is done
sexily by Casey who is flirting with John trying to make him jealous as
well as "Something Stupid". "Strangers in the Night", one of his most
popular numbers, opens the show, introducing the cast to the audience. All
of this is interspersed with a bit of patter about Sinatra including the
14 women he either married or carried on with.(John Brown has a funny
moment when he yells out Marilyn Monroe as one of the women Sinatra
dated. The first act ends with songs about falling in love with "I've
Got You Under My Skin" and "All the Way" closing the first act on a high
note. David weaves moments of humor throughout the songs,
keeping thing upbeat where they should be and emotional when it is called
for. The second act builds to the last grouping, Songs for Survivors. As
the ensemble toasts Sinatra with champagne, both "My Way" and "I'll Be
Seeing You" appropriately end the show on a sentimental note with splendid
harmonies. So for an excellent evening of melodies that will be with you
for long after you leave the theatre, be sure to catch "My Way" to start
the summer season off on a high note! Hurry before time runs out. Tell
them Tony sent you.(Press night is not complete without the sumptuous
buffet prepared by Duane Crowe and his lovely wife, Karleen at
the Bistro by Sea, the restaurant adjoining the theatre with their
son, Adam waiting tables and bartending, too.The delectable food included
such items as turkey, home made bread,shrimp and
brownies.)
MY WAY, A MUSICAL TRIBUTE TO FRANK SINATRA ( 27 May to 14
June, 2009)
THEATRE BY THE SEA, 364 Card's Pond Road, Matunuck,
RI
1(401)782-TKTS or www.theatrebythesea.com