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RPIB ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT GAZETTE
THEATER REVIEW: Rat Pack spirit enlivens evening
By Jack Hill, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
March 4, 2009
LITTLE ROCK — The Rat Pack came back, all right, at least in spirit and in sound. A tribute to four guys - Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr. and Joey Bishop - hit the stage Tuesday night at Robinson Center Music Hall in The Rat Pack Is Back!
And a crowd turned out in numbers large enough to make one forget it was an extremely cold night in bleak economic times. These "rats" were backed by a 12-piece orchestra that was onstage with the four featured performers, and the musicians provided fine accompaniment on classic songs that were probably favorites of everyone in the house.
The men cast as Frank, Dean, Sammy and Joey did fine in their roles, with Drew Anthony as Dean Martin leading this pack, as far as looks. Brian Duprey might not be mistaken for Sinatra if seen on a subway, but vocally, he was a crackerjack chairman of the board. Kenny Jones as Sammy Davis Jr. handled his singing and some decent smooth steps, but didn't deliver any of the tap-dancing moves Davis was known for.
Mickey Joseph sounded more like Bishop than he looked, but his jokes were just cheesy enough to provide the appropriate counterpoint to the music. There was cutting up from the other two, but Sinatra played it straight, not even appearing until the second act after the show started with all four coming out, singing and swaying to "Where or When" in clouds of cigarette smoke. Joseph warmed things up with the humor before letting Sammy and Dino play off each other. There were even current topical jokes about Indian casinos and bankers, the latter of which really had the crowd roaring.
Dino cut loose on "That's Amore," and Sammy almost brought down the house with "What Kind of Fool Am I?" and "Mr. Bojangles."
In the second act things got more serious as Sinatra delivered the goods, especially on "Fly Me to the Moon" and "My Way," and he's convincing enough that any fan of Ol' Blue Eyes is going to go away feeling as though he's gotten as close as possible to the Sinatra magic.
Performances continue at 7:30 p.m. today and Thursday. More information is available at (501) 244-8800.
