Date Reviewed: 25th November, 2008
Venue: Opera House

Here is a show to get you into the festive mood, even in November! Combining the hits — both seasonal and non — from the catalogues of Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jnr. and Dean Martin, this is pure solid gold entertainment from start to finish.

Chris Mann as Frank Sinatra opens the show. With his crooning voice and smooth style he is the epitome of what made Sinatra great.  His voice might lack some of the depth of tone of the original, but he more than makes up for it in his delivery.

Giles Terera follows him as Sammy Davis Jnr. Showing off both his dancing and singing skills, Terera gives an excellent performance.

Finally we get Mark Adams as Dean Martin. Entering the stage in Martin’s own inimitable style with drink in hand, he is the closest physically to his alter ego.  His voice, while lovely to listen to, just lacks a little of the whisky roughness of the man himself.

Robyn Currell, Lizzie Hills and Lisa Donmall as the Burelli Sisters provide the female songstresses, backing singers and dancers; changing from evening dresses to dancing girls and back again throughout the show. They are also three stunningly good singers and dancers, providing fifties and sixties Hollywood glamour.

What really makes the show so much fun, though, is the interaction between the characters outside of the songs. The three men joke and ad-lib their way through the links with a natural chemistry between them reminiscent of the men they are honouring.

Musical Director and piano player Matthew Freeman does an excellent job with the music, ably helped by the fourteen strong big band.  While Freeman is part of the interaction with the performers, the band are towards the back in an excellent big band style setting. But they are vital to the show as it simply wouldn’t work without live music and the classic spotlighting of the soloists.

Overall the show is a wonderful evening’s entertainment. Whether the Christmas show or simply the Rat Pack out on tour, this will take you to Las Vegas and leave you there wanting more. The show is coming back to Manchester on the 5th December at the Palace. Book your seats now and return to the era of glitz and glamour, for a thoroughly entertaining two hours of utter escapism.

-Helen Jones

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 25th, 2008 at 6:44 pm and is filed under Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.