theatre

Rat Pack, York Theatre Royal

Review: Rat Pack

The show began with a rather deflated “big band” sound when a bolder approach could have captured the audience’s attention. The curtain lifted to find “Ol’ Blue Eyes” centre stage backed by three glamorous dancers and a seven piece band located on an excellent set.

The first couple of numbers were not good, with Sinatra’s (AKA Richard Blair) voice too staccato and over exaggerated body movement providing an almost caricature of the “Chairman of the Board”. Adding to the shaky start was the poor performance of the dancers, who seemed to be struggling for rhythm and synchronicity, which did not improve throughout the evening.

Rat Pack, York Theatre Royal

Sammy Davis Jr. was introduced (Uche Eke) and although there was very little resemblance other than height to the original, his strong soulful voice echoed around the theatre to the tune of “Candyman”. Eke got better and better as the night evolved.

The best performance of the night must go to Thomas O’Brien playing Dean Martin. Not only did he resemble Martin with his look and mannerisms, his deep, nasal, almost hung over voice complimented the head wobbling and his relaxed style to the point where I was taken back to the TV Christmas shows of the early 70’s.

At the interval, the cast and the impressive band had not quite managed to recreate the camaraderie of the Rat Pack. The second half was much better and Blair relaxed into his role giving a good rendition of a Nelson Riddle medley, in particular Witchcraft.

The flyer promised a ‘sensational’ show. With more rehearsal time from the dancers, a bigger sound and an earlier effort from the cast to capture the audience, they could have turned a good night into a spectacular one.

Highlights of the night: “Mr Bojangles”, “Volare”, “Birth of the Blues” and ”That’s Amore”.

Kevin Heath