Tony winner Matt Doyle to star as Sinatra in new musical

Exclusive: Tony Award winner Matt Doyle (Company, Little Shop of Horrors) will be heading to Birmingham this autumn in the world premiere of Sinatra the Musical. 

Doyle will take on the title role in the show, which opens on 23 September at the Birmingham Rep. He said today: “I have no doubt my Italian grandmothers would be profoundly overjoyed. This one is for Geraldine Padula and Nicoletta Macchia who raised my family and me on Frank’s music. I cannot begin to express what an honour it is to take on The Chairman of the Board’s incredible legacy.”

The show will feature 20 actors and 17 musicians performing over 25 of Sinatra’s famed songs. It is to be directed by Kathleen Marshall, who helped the award-winning revival of Anything Goes at the Barbican in 2021. She added: “I am so excited to work with Matt Doyle again! Matt is an incredible actor and singer, and he has all the charm, charisma, sensitivity and depth to bring the story of Frank Sinatra’s life and artistry to Birmingham Rep.”

Penned by Joe DiPietro (Memphis, What’s New Pussycat?), the piece follows Sinatra’s rise to fame and his sudden fall into ignonimy. His daughter Tina explained: “Sinatra is the first book musical to take an honest look at my father’s life, so the question people kept asking — who could possibly play him?

“From the moment Matt Doyle swaggered into the audition room, he owned the role. Not only did he naturally possess Frank’s warmth and charm, Matt understood my father’s complexities. And once he began to sing, we knew we had found our Frank! In addition to his extraordinary talent, Matt also possesses an intuitive sensitivity about life that will help reveal the man behind the legend. I can’t wait to see him in the role at Birmingham Rep in the fall! I know Dad will be proud of him.”

Joining Marshall will be Gareth Valentine (music supervisor), Peter McKintosh (set designer), Jon Morrell (costume designer), Tim Mitchell (lighting designer), Paul Groothuis (sound designer), Akhila Krishnan (video designer), Campbell Young (wigs, hair and make-up designer), Larry Blank and John Clayton (orchestrators), Ian Eisendrath (arranger), David Chase (dance arrangements), David Grindrod and Will Burton (UK casting directors), Jim Carnahan (US casting director), Jason Thinger (US casting (Carnahan)), Stevan Mijailovic (associate director), and Carol Lee Meadows (associate choreographer). Further creatives and casting will be revealed in due course.

Sinatra runs until 28 October.

Sign up for our newsletters for more