My Way A Tribute to Frank Sinatra
My Way A Tribute to Frank Sinatra
Created by David Grapes & Todd Olson Book by Todd Olson.
By David Grapes and Todd Olson
Directed and choreography by Roy Alan
Musical Direction by Chris Leavy
Winter Park Playhouse, Winter Park FL</strong>
Pump enough steroids into Michael Andrews, and you might end up with this high power tag-team cabaret based on the hits of Frank Sinatra. Sinatra reportedly recorded 1300 songs, sang 100 of them a day, swam 100 laps a day to practice breath control, and ate 6 times a day to keep his energy. Throw in 4 marriages and well known liaisons with every Hollywood sex symbol from Joan Crawford to Marylyn Monroe, and you have one busy man. One shudders to think what an affair with Joan Crawford might be like, but as Sinatra said “I’ve seen it all.” I’m sure he did.
Sinatra was reportedly “the only man who could wear a tux like John Wayne wore chaps”, and the role of tonight’s sythe-Sinatra falls to Kevin Kelly. He gets most of the really good Act Two numbers, including the alcoholic “One For My Baby”. His side kick is the wavy haired Christian Alan Norton; together they form a mini-rat pack and flirt with Laura Hodos and Melissa Minyard. Songs are grouped by theme for the most part, there s a City Medley, A young Love Medley, a Considering Divorce Medley, and of course a Hung Over And Don’t Remember The Detail Medley. All the songs are great, even the obscure “Dindi,” but besides Kelly, I love Mellissa’s “Your Cheating Yourself” and Laura’s “The Best Is Yet to Come.” In a theater filled with classy people, I felt under dressed in my modest sport coat, but that didn’t bother the audience: they packed the seats and over loaded the bar. Not a bad way to spend the night.
For more information on Winter Park Playhouse, please visit http://www.winterparkplayhouse.org
