As if the West End weren’t starry enough there’s a current crop of shows starring dead performers. Or rather representations of them. At The Garrick Theatre there’s the surprisingly engaging LET IT BE in which a Beatles tribute band of look-a-likes perform the hits in chronological order juxtaposed with projected images and news bulletins from the time.At the Charing Cross Theatre DUSTY promises holograms of Dusty Springfield. The critics haven’t been allowed in yet but it sounds fascinating. And at the Palladium there’s SINATRA.
I’ve seen a couple of tatty and cynical shows at the Palladium recently, most notably the ghastly RIVER DANCE with its garish cheap looking projections and recorded music and dance steps. I went to this latest production with a heavy heart. And then it started.
I’ll confess I’m a sucker for a big orchestra playing classic songs and the curtain goes up on twenty musicians performing an exhilarating overture of tunes made famous by Frank Sinatra. It’s a glorious sound and I relaxed back into my seat with a big smile on my face.
Projections, yes, more projections, are usually a cheap looking substitute for a proper set. Not on this occasion. The superb whirl of beautiful graphics and wonderful photographs of Sinatra throughout his life, playing across a series of constantly shifting gauzes and screens in time to the music, were stunning.
In case you’re a recent arrival from another planet, the actor and recording star Frank Sinatra was one of the most successful entertainers of the mid twentieth century whose bad boy looks and reputation combined with a velvety, expressive voice to make him one of the most beloved and revered entertainers on earth.
After the utterly beguiling rich, gorgeous orchestrations and the big band have seduced you they break into the classic Fly Me to the Moon and ten beautiful dancers descend the steps dressed as vintage air stewardess’ quickly followed by ten handsome men as pilots. A big dollop of 1950’s cheesy show biz glamour. Their beautifully costumed energetic routines mesh perfectly with the constantly changing scenery.
Of course at the centre of this there should be a singer. Instead we have a series of restored clips of classic Sinatra performances in which recordings of the man himself play with the addition of live musical accompaniment. It takes a little while to get used to this and at first it feels as if there’s a hollowness at the centre of the show but once you’re acclimatised it’s great to feel so up close and personal with some of the most iconic renditions of the greatest songs ever written.
If, like me, you love to hear numbers like One More for the Road, Funny Valentine, I’ve got you under my Skin and New York New York, superbly realised then this is the show for you.
I can’t see how anyone of any age wouldn’t enjoy this but it’s going to be of particular appeal for those who lived through the same period as Frank so give the seniors in your life a massive treat and take them to the Palladium tonight.
What a glorious thing this production is. It's taken me a few years to get round to see it, I always seemed to be busy each time it relaunched but I'm so pleased I caught this cast change in the show's especially created space just behind Kings Cross.