Press
RPIB WORCESTER TELEGRAM & GAZETTE
Rat Pack channels memories of the great ones
By Peter Landsdowne, Worcester Telegram & Gazette
March 28, 2009
Imagine what would happen if God sent singers Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., Dean Martin, and comedian Joey Bishop back to Earth for one last gig as The Rat Pack, the close circle of friends in the entertainment business that Sinatra cultivated in the early 1960s.
That's the premise of The Rat Pack Is Back!, the touring version of the Las Vegas-based show of the same name that pulled into the Hanover Theatre for the Performing Arts on Southbridge Street Thursday night for a two-night stay in the city.
The show stars Frank Sinatra (Brian Duprey), Sammy Davis Jr. (Kenny Jones), Dean Martin (Drew Anthony), and Joey Bishop (Mickey Joseph).
Trumpeter Lon Bronson, a Keene, N.H., native who has been a longtime mainstay on the Las Vegas music scene and has served as music director of the Vegas Rat Pack show, was also on board to front a 12-piece big band made up of some of the best musicians in Massachusetts, Connecticut and New Hampshire. Sharp-eyed patrons in a crowd of close to a thousand Rat Pack fans spotted Fitchburg's Rick Stepton, an alumnus of Buddy Rich's big band, in the trombone section.
The band played a medley of "All the Way," "It Was A Very Good Year," "Hey There," "That's Amore," "Fly Me to the Moon" and a few other hits recorded by Sinatra, Davis, and Martin as a black and white film montage of the real Rat Packers in Las Vegas played on the Hanover's large screen. The three principal singers then joined forces for a romp on "Where or When" before yielding the stage to Mickey Joseph, who did a stand-up comedy stint as Joey Bishop. Joseph was hilarious; but his bawdy jokes, which had the audience in stitches, can't be repeated in this family newspaper.
With a drink in one hand and a cigarette in the other hand, Drew Anthony seemed to be channeling Dean Martin's stage persona as a boozy crooner as he sang "When You're Smilin'" (or "When You're Drinkin'" as Martin used to interpret it), "That's Amore" and "You're Nobody ‘Til Somebody Loves You."
Kenny Jones leaped onstage in full Sammy Davis Jr. mode for a swinging version of "That Old Black Magic" and a beautifully rendered version of "What Kind of Fool Am I?" before teaming up with Edwards' Dean Martin for a nice and easy take on "Sam's Song" that "Yoshi Bishop" (a kimono-clad Hackett) interrupted for some more comedy schtick. Jones thern donned a derby and doffed his suit jacket for a heartfelt version of "Mr. Bojangles" the way that Sammy used to do it.
As Frank Sinatra, Brian Duprey dominated the second half of the show with some Chairman of the Board-influenced vocalizing on "I've Got the World on A String," "The Best Is Yet to Come," "I Get A Kick Out of You" and several other Sinatra classics, even as the other Rat Packers tried to crack him up. Dressed in a chef's outfit, Hackett's Joey Bishop tried selling food to audience members while Sammy and Dean materialized onstage as the Lone Ranger and Tonto.
Things turned serious for Duprey's definitive version of Sinatra's "My Way" before all four cast members teamed up for "New York, New York" and a rousing version of "Birth of the Blues" that drew two standing ovations from an appreciative crowd. If Massachusetts ever does get a casino, let's hope that The Rat Pack Is Back! is the first show to hit the boards.
