It is astonishing that it has taken theatre so long to get around to a musical about Frank Sinatra. The seemingly endless desire for jukebox shows has continued in juggernaut fashion for the past couple of decades but, until now, Old Blue Eyes has been conspicuous by his absence. The wait at last is over and now, 28 years after the death of Francis Albert Sinatra, the legend lives again in the West End.
I have seen more jukebox musicals than I care to remember; more recent big-budget examples include the woeful MJ The Musical, which managed to gloss over almost all of the more awkward facts about Michael Jackson’s life. You see, therein lies the dilemma: devoted fans of whichever star is being celebrated want the greatest hits served up without complications, whereas theatre watchers – and critics – as a whole would like some grit in the dramatic mix.
Tina – The Tina Turner Musical ran for more than seven years at this same theatre, the Aldwych, although I found that surprisingly lacking in bite. (Turner, still alive when her musical opened, was too directly involved in its genesis, meaning much scrutiny was not an option.) How, therefore, were they going to treat Frank?
Pretty robustly, is the answer – pleasing and also slightly surprising, given that “Frank Sinatra Enterprises” and his daughter Tina are two of the producers. His womanising, adultery and all-round hot-headedness are central tenets of the narrative, as Joe DiPietro’s script tracks him from the heights of early fame to the “has-been boyfriend of Ava Gardner”, before finishing with one of the great comebacks in showbiz history – Sinatra winning the Best Supporting Actor Oscar in 1954 for From Here to Eternity.
Sinatra’s wife Nancy (Phoebe Panaretos) is understanding and pragmatic – but no pushover (Photo: Photographer: Brinkhoff-Moegenburg)DiPietro’s succession of shortish scenes means that the digging never goes quite as far as some would wish, particularly concerning Sinatra’s links to the Mafia and his vocal anti-segregation stance in an era when black artists faced hostile conditions in America. Joel Harper-Jackson tackles the mountainous challenge of portraying one of the most famous singers in history with aplomb and tunefulness, if not with earth-shattering charisma.
What is most notable is the trio of super-strong women that circle Sinatra in director/choreographer Kathleen Marshall’s production. His wife Nancy (Phoebe Panaretos) is understanding and pragmatic when Frank heads to Hollywood to make his first film, putting condoms in his luggage. Yet she is no pushover: flings she will tolerate, humiliation she will not and when sultry Ava Gardner (Ana Villafañe) sashays into the frame, Nancy’s determination grows.
As for Gardner, she’s gorgeous and she knows it, presenting Frank with a set of take-it-or-leave-it rules and displaying remarkable clear-headedness when assessing her place in the film world. Musical theatre stalwart Jenna Russell has a blast as Frank’s straight-talking Italian mamma Dolly, an earthy “vaffanculo” never far from her lips.
And what about those world-beating songs? They’re shared out a little among the characters, but Frank naturally gets the major helping, ending the first half in the personal and professional doldrums with a rousing rendition of “That’s Life”.
If there’s one thing we know about him, though, it was that he did it his way and the production ends with a belting ensemble rendition of “New York, New York” – the town where this show is surely headed.
‘Sinatra the Musical’ is at the Aldwych Theatre, London. Booking to 10 April (sinatramusical.com)
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