Our theatre critic Terry Wills has seen a tribute to the legendary Rat Pack, and was impressed.
September 26th.Ethel Merman opens the Rat Pack Vegas Spectacular Show with her brassy version of There’s No Business Like Show Business.
The orchestra strikes up. Four skimpily-clad glamorous show girls make their entrance and the stage is set for two hours of entertainment that transports musical lovers of a certain age back to the days when music was so very
different from an era dominated by boy bands, rappers, and individuals who despite lacking genuine talent, find themselves battling for recognition on reality TV programmes. I say ‘back to the days’ because despite appearances, this isn’t the Sands Hotel, Las Vegas circa 1965, but the New Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham, 2013.
But whatever the location, all the ingredients were set for two hours climaxed by an ecstatic standing audience joining ‘Frank Sinatra’ ‘Dean Martin’ and ‘Sammy Davis’ to show their appreciation.
All their worldwide hits were there: Come Fly With Me, Mack the Knife, Chicago, My Way, plus many others, while Volare and That’s Amore saw the audience waving arms and joining in the lyrics.
Inevitably, as with many nationwide touring productions , the producers cleverly incorporate references to the place they’re playing at the time and as it’s Brum what better way than changing the lyrics of Chicago to “What kind of town BirmingHAM is” while simultaneously displaying the crests of Aston Villa and Birmingham City as a backdrop.
The Guvnor , Frank Sinatra, is portrayed by Roman Marek. Dean Martin is Wayne Kennedy while Ashley Campbell takes the role of Sammy Davis, the later in addition to his powerful singing voice also displaying exciting
tap-dancing skills. It was certainly a great night out.
The BBC once summed up this show “in one word – MAGNIFICENT!” I totally agree; some of the greatest music of the twentieth century had made a welcome return to Birmingham and had left an ecstatic audience roaring for more as the Kings of Swing left the stage after persuading them to join in with a rousing finale of New York New York. Not that the enthralled audience needed any persuasion!
