THE STONEHAM SUN
THE RAT PACK TO SWING AGAIN
By Melissa Russell
The Stoneham Sun
If you're nostalgic for the good old days when a guy would take his doll out for a swinging night at the Copa, you're in luck, because there's a ring-a-ding-ding of a good time coming to town.
The Rat Pack, Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., Joey Bishop and Dean Martin come to the Stoneham Theatre in 'The Tribute to Frank, Sammy, Joey, and Dean," a recreation of the foursome's famous Las Vegas performances of the 1960s.
The show opens with the voice of the late Buddy Hackett as God, asking the team to return to the stage for one last performance. Hackett's real-life son, Sandy Hackett, portrays jokester Joey Bishop.
A 12-piece big band accompanies the cast as they capture the sounds and mood of Sinatra's Vegas. Gary Anthony sings Sinatra's most memorable hits, including "All of Me," "Fly Me to the Moon," and "Angel Eyes."
Douglas Starks appears as Sammy Davis, performing "What Kind of Fool am I," "That Old Black Magic," "Me and My Shadow," and "Mr. Bojangles." Crooning Dean Martin's hits is Andy DiMino, offering up "Ain't That a Kick in the Head," "That's Amore," and "Volare."
Even Marilyn Monroe gets in on the act, with Stacey Nicole singing Happy Birthday to an unsuspecting audience member.
Sandy Hackett, a stand-up comic and actor, traces the origination of the show to a phone call he received from family friend Joey Bishop. Bishop told Hackett he would be perfect to portray him in the upcoming HBO movie about the Rat Pack.
"Unfortunately somebody else got the role, but it set me thinking about a Rat Pack show," he says.
He wrote the show, and tried it out in Las Vegas, where it has been running for the past two and a half years.
Hackett says the show's success is due to the enduring appeal of the Rat Pack, which much to his initial surprise, transcends age groups, drawing a younger crowd as well as the audience who enjoyed them the first time around.
There is a younger crowd that likes this type of music, maybe because it's not like rap, and you can understand every word," he says.
The music may be the major draw, but Hackett and crew work hard to recreate the relationship the four men had with each other, he says. The show is true to the flavor of the 1960s, but has a modern tone, with the players joking about topical events.
There is a feeling that anything can happen on stage," he says. "It's scripted, but we react to what's happening and play with the crowd.
Some of the older material needed updating for a contemporary audience, Hackett says, particularly the racial humor directed at Davis. |
