Review: SINATRA THE MUSICAL, Aldwych Theatre
Photo credit: Brinkhoff-Moegenburg
Frank Sinatra is undoubtedly one of the greatest voices the world has ever known, so when it was initially announced that Sinatra: The Musical would perform at Birmingham Rep in 2023, we were incredibly excited to see the man, the myth, the legend and his endless repertoire of music enter the musical theatre universe.
We saw that show in 2023 and it was, quite frankly, full of problems, and was clearly in need of a few workshops to get the story and dynamics right. As lifelong fans of Ol' Blue Eyes, when the West End transfer was announced, we were keen to come back and see if the show had learned its lessons from Birmingham and found the potential that is undeniably there in a Frank Sinatra musical.
The story follows a young Sinatra as he rises to fame, supported by his strong, selfless wife Nancy and his adorable, doting daughter, Little Nancy. Unfortunately, within the first few minutes, we realised certain flaws in the story from Birmingham had remained in the book. For us, within minutes, Frank is hit with the dilemma of trying not to sleep with starlets while he is away from his family. Boo hoo. What our protagonist then goes on to do for the rest of Act One is cheat on his wife repeatedly and slowly descend into alcoholism.
Whilst we completely understand that it is important to show the light and shade of a character, it's also important to establish the humanity and likeable, relatable traits in a character so that we, as the audience, empathise with him and get on board from the get-go. Once you have us on board, THEN, and only then, can you show the character's mental and moral decline. The problem with Sinatra is that we don't see our protagonist fight to resist his carnal urges even once. Ten minutes into the show, there is a rendition of ‘Fly Me to the Moon’, one of Sinatra's greatest hits, and it's essentially him sleeping with multiple movie stars, cheating on his wife with a big smile on his face. The tone it sets is not a good one, and hey, even if this was true and Sinatra did sleep with people non-stop, then don't focus on that at the beginning. Focus on his drive and ambition. Focus on his love for music, his inspirations. Make us see a man with a dream. Let us live in that for a little while before allowing the temptations of stardom to lure him into debauchery. Because they don't do this, whatever else happens afterwards, nothing feels earned, because we don't empathise with our protagonist. So when he's at the end of his tether in Act One and sings one of Sinatra's best songs, ‘That's Life’, it doesn't feel earned.
The songs in the piece, the biggest allure of the show, also don't feel particularly well placed or integrated into the story. ‘My Way’, which is the perfect 11 o'clock number, gets half a song at the beginning of Act Two. We don't know if this is a rights issue, but that was a massive missed opportunity. Another one of Sinatra's songs, ‘One for My Baby’, which is perfect for a musical because of its storytelling, is instead sung mostly by Billie Holiday, which - for us - made no sense. The story is quite literally about Sinatra's battles with love and alcoholism, so why wouldn't he be singing this song?
We understand that writer Joe DiPietro is only telling a certain period of Frank's life in this show, but it is also a great shame that we don't get any sort of cameo from Dean Martin or Sammy Davis Jr. That would have brought the house down.
For all its many faults, there are some saving graces in the show. The whole band are outstanding, Jon Morrell's costumes are suave, colourful and sophisticated, and it is refreshing to experience such great sound design from Jonathan Deans. The levels were perfect.
What's more, though the cast were battling against a lopsided script, they have all been cast fantastically well by David Grindrod Casting. Joel Harper-Jackson showcases why he is not just one of the best singers in the West End, but also one of its best storytellers. He gives us a wonderfully complex and troubled Sinatra. Huge props must go to his work on Sinatra's vocal tone. Sinatra had such a unique sound, and it can absolutely be forgiven that, from time to time, Harper-Jackson sounded more like Jamie Cullum than Sinatra. His work on the role is evident throughout, and the future is limitless for his career.
Ana Villafañe is utterly enchanting as Ava Gardner and whilst it's hard to relate to the character, she shines as the inimitable starlet. A final nod must be given to Jenna Russell, who is a steel-hearted goliath as Dolly Sinatra, Frank's mother.
We know we've gone in rather hard on this review Besties, and it doesn't come from a bitter or bad place. We love Sinatra and his music, and truly believe this show could have a future. But there are clearly people at the heart of the creative team who are not allowing the piece to evolve. We understand you want to show the world the real Frank, but this is a musical. This is storytelling. You also need to show us the side of Frank that made the world fall in love with him again and again. Bring in some dramaturgs, go back to the drawing board, and do justice to one of the greatest entertainers of all time.
A swing and a miss for us, Besties.
** Two stars
Reviewed by: James Edge
