Aldwych Theatre, London
****
Written by Joe Di Pietro
Directed and choreographed by Kathleen Marshall
 |
| Joel Harper-Jackson |
The song, dance and music in Sinatra The Musical is world-class
entertainment. A ‘juke-box’ show that threads together most of Ol’ Blue Eyes’s
most recognisable numbers, for those who love Sinatra’s style, flair and voice,
the evening is one of sublime talent.
Joe DiPietro’s book charts Sinatra’s life from around the
1940s over a handful of decades, peppering the timeline with hit after hit,
each loosely woven into the narrative.
What makes this show soar however is not so much DiPietro’s
book, as the legacy of Sinatra’s work, breathed into life at the Aldwych by
Joel Harper-Jackson in the title role. Harper-Jackson is sensational in both
tone and presence, and if you’re lucky enough to catch a split-second glimpse
of his profile from the side, the resemblance to Sinatra is uncanny. The show’s
creatives have played a smart move (for the most part) in how the songs are
deployed through the evening. Opening with All Of Me (that proves to be a
mini-motif of the evening), a novel twist sees Come Fly With Me used as the musical backdrop to Sinatra bedding his way through Lana Turner (Becky Anderson), Judy
Garland (Jenna Innes) and Marlene Dietrich (Allana Taylor).
These women were of course bit-parts in Sinatra’s life, with the most influential females turning out to be his mother Dolly (Jenna Russell), first wife Nancy (Phoebe Panaretos) and his subsequent wife Ava Gardner (Ana Villafane). This talented trifecta are handed juicy solos across the show, with Villafane shining in Nice And Easy Does It, Panateros making heartbreaking work of In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning, while Russell along with Marty Aguire as her hubby Marty, sparkles in You Make Me Feel So Young. On the night of this review Sylvie Regan was Little Nancy, who sang with an enchantingly commanding presence.
If there is a criticism of the show it is Joe DiPietro’s wafer-thin
book, the years playing out with a bland predictability. Aside from Russell’s
fiercely matriarchal mamma, there is barely any humour at all, the mark of
the perfect juke-box musical being that it can carry one’s interest in between the
songs. There are moments during the dialogue when the evening drags. We already know that Sinatra was a serial womaniser with links to the
Mob – Di Pietro sheds little new light on the singer’s journey. And deciding
that Sinatra should sing The Way You Look Tonight to Little Nancy as she
prepares to accompany him to the Academy Awards is the absolute depth of sugary, cutesy, kitsch albeit beautifully sung.
Those looking for Sinatra's classics will not be disappointed. That's Life and My Way bookend the interval, while New York, New York is gifted to the audience as a singalong number during the finale.
Kathleen Marshall directs and choreographs with flair, while
Dave Rose’s 17-piece band are sensational (and don’t forget to stay for the
exit music when each band member riffs a stunning solo!)
Lavish production values and oh, those magical songs!
Booking unti 10th April 2027
Photo credit: Brinkhoff-Moegenberg
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