Tonight was my first night out at the theatre in London. My friend Geoff and I went to see "The Rat Pack: Live from Las Vegas," which is a tribute show to Frank, Dean and Sammy playing at the Strand. The first question was deciding what to wear. I decided to go all out, because if you can't dress up to go to the theatre in LONDON, where can you? So the LBD (little black dress) came out of the closet along with my most fabulous suede jacket, courtesy of my personal stylist, Auntie Bev. I tucked my leopard gloves (courtesy same Auntie Bev) into my purse and away I went. And I looked fabulous if I do say so myself. And I do. Did I mention I looked fabulous?
It was also fabulous that I had tucked my umbrella into my purse as My First Night at the Theatre also turned into The First Night It Rained Really Really Hard. I stood shivering at the bus stop for 15 minutes going to the theatre and coming home, thanking the fashion gods that my purse was big enough to carry my umbrella.
But now, onto the show. Our seats were fabulous, because we picked them up at a discount ticket booth right before the show. We were sitting maybe 8 rows back from the stage, and we could see everything, including the ornate gold leaf decor of the old theatre. The conceit of the performance was that this was one of the informal shows the Rat Pack put on at the Sands Hotel in Las Vegas while they were filming the original Ocean's 11. There was a great live big band and the curtain opened to reveal Frank, in the spotlight, singing "The Lady is a Tramp." From the first note, I was hooked. Chris Mann, who played Sinatra, was note-perfect. If you closed your eyes, it was really Frank. He looked enough like Frank to make it really convincing and he had all of the mannerisms and stage presence of Sinatra. Geoff and I both agreed we could have watched him alone all night, and I nearly laughed out loud, I was so happy, when he launched into "I've Got You Under My Skin." David Hayes played Sammy Davis Jr., and from the program notes it was evident that this guy has made a career out of being Sammy. He was certainly a fantastic performer, but I haven't seen or heard enough of the REAL Sammy to tell you whether this guy was an accurate portrayal. Michael Neilson played a very very drunk Dean Martin. I was actually offended at how drunk he played him (I have a soft spot for Dino), until I read in the program that Dino really played the drunk in his live performances. Then I just felt misinformed. Neilson did a great job at "Volare," and "Ain't That A Kick in the Head." The onstage banter between the three felt like it was completely ad-libbed, which made the whole re-creation a little eerie, because it was so accurate. They really captured the Rat Pack camraderie that you see in movies like Ocean's 11, and the jokes (and the cocktails) flew fast and furious. The trio were joined by the obligatory dancing girls, but we noticed that by the end of the night, "the Berelli sisters" had lost sister #3. She never re-appeared, even for the curtain call. A Rat Pack mystery. Sinatra brought the house down in the encore with "My Way" and I even got a little weepy.
So, my first night at the theatre exceeded all my expectations. Geoff and I both felt that we were participating in something very English when we bought our little cups of ice cream that were sold at intermission, and gawped at the opulence of the theatre. The Strand, which is next to the Waldorf Hotel, was build in 1905 and has a gorgeous Louis XIV-style interior. When we walked in, I felt like I was stepping back in time, except for when the security guard frisked us and rifled through my purse. You just can't escape the war on terrorism, I guess...ain't THAT a kick in the head?
It was also fabulous that I had tucked my umbrella into my purse as My First Night at the Theatre also turned into The First Night It Rained Really Really Hard. I stood shivering at the bus stop for 15 minutes going to the theatre and coming home, thanking the fashion gods that my purse was big enough to carry my umbrella.
But now, onto the show. Our seats were fabulous, because we picked them up at a discount ticket booth right before the show. We were sitting maybe 8 rows back from the stage, and we could see everything, including the ornate gold leaf decor of the old theatre. The conceit of the performance was that this was one of the informal shows the Rat Pack put on at the Sands Hotel in Las Vegas while they were filming the original Ocean's 11. There was a great live big band and the curtain opened to reveal Frank, in the spotlight, singing "The Lady is a Tramp." From the first note, I was hooked. Chris Mann, who played Sinatra, was note-perfect. If you closed your eyes, it was really Frank. He looked enough like Frank to make it really convincing and he had all of the mannerisms and stage presence of Sinatra. Geoff and I both agreed we could have watched him alone all night, and I nearly laughed out loud, I was so happy, when he launched into "I've Got You Under My Skin." David Hayes played Sammy Davis Jr., and from the program notes it was evident that this guy has made a career out of being Sammy. He was certainly a fantastic performer, but I haven't seen or heard enough of the REAL Sammy to tell you whether this guy was an accurate portrayal. Michael Neilson played a very very drunk Dean Martin. I was actually offended at how drunk he played him (I have a soft spot for Dino), until I read in the program that Dino really played the drunk in his live performances. Then I just felt misinformed. Neilson did a great job at "Volare," and "Ain't That A Kick in the Head." The onstage banter between the three felt like it was completely ad-libbed, which made the whole re-creation a little eerie, because it was so accurate. They really captured the Rat Pack camraderie that you see in movies like Ocean's 11, and the jokes (and the cocktails) flew fast and furious. The trio were joined by the obligatory dancing girls, but we noticed that by the end of the night, "the Berelli sisters" had lost sister #3. She never re-appeared, even for the curtain call. A Rat Pack mystery. Sinatra brought the house down in the encore with "My Way" and I even got a little weepy.
So, my first night at the theatre exceeded all my expectations. Geoff and I both felt that we were participating in something very English when we bought our little cups of ice cream that were sold at intermission, and gawped at the opulence of the theatre. The Strand, which is next to the Waldorf Hotel, was build in 1905 and has a gorgeous Louis XIV-style interior. When we walked in, I felt like I was stepping back in time, except for when the security guard frisked us and rifled through my purse. You just can't escape the war on terrorism, I guess...ain't THAT a kick in the head?