Frank Sinatra is back on stage in the West End with a big band energy that brings his iconic hits to life, but the bio-musical Sinatra: The Musical fails to delve beneath the surface of the legendary entertainer. First staged in Birmingham three years ago and extensively workshopped, the production has now landed at the Aldwych Theatre, focusing on Sinatra's career nadir in the late 1940s and early 1950s, when his extraordinary talent seemed at risk of a wasteful, tragic end.
Premise and Performance
The musical opens at the Paramount theatre, where Sinatra is at the height of his fame, adored by screaming fans, supported by his spaghetti-cooking wife Nancy, and starring in a film about sailors with Gene Kelly that helps deflect accusations of draft-dodging. Joel Harper-Jackson leads the cast, marrying smooth vocal power to Sinatra's signature swagger—the head wobble, the corner-of-the-mouth smirk. His weakness for women is portrayed as a comically charming quirk, highlighted in a bed-hopping rendition of Come Fly With Me involving Lana Turner, Judy Garland, and Marlene Dietrich.
The Ava Gardner Affair
When Sinatra meets Ava Gardner in Palm Springs, he soon has her under his skin, marking the beginning of the end for his marriage to Nancy, played by Phoebe Panaretos. Ana Villafañe captures Gardner's bombshell power, and the musical numbers are passionate, but Joe DiPietro's book never conjures the true tumult of this legendary affair. The couple's first date allegedly ended in drunken gunplay, yet the febrile nature of their relationship is limited to a ceremonious smashing of whisky glasses in a grate.
Narrative and Character Depth
Sinatra's producer daughter Tina, who helped shape the story, wanted her father to be better understood. However, a reluctance to embrace too much darkness lends a sense that things just happen to our hero, at odds with the comeback narrative and the stubbornness he supposedly inherited from his Italian mother. Jenna Russell, as Dolly Sinatra, can steal a scene with just a single line delivered on a telephone. The script does offer some colour on Sinatra's progressive values and the anti-immigrant discrimination that drove him, but it often feels less three-dimensional than the video-assisted set design.
Production and Audience Reception
Kathleen Marshall's production, complete with a fine ensemble and joyful choreography, doesn't stint on the big hits. On opening night, the audience could literally be heard swooning during the musical numbers. The show runs at the Aldwych Theatre, London, until 10 April.
