The Long Island Advance
Baby, it’s cold but smokin’ at Gateway’s “The Rat Pack is Back”
When Chris Jason as Sinatra steps out on the Gateway stage singing “Luck Be a Lady,” snapping fingers, thrusting out the song like a happy gambler on a roll, you know you’re in for a good time.
Jason as Sinatra was one of three men expressing the brio, confidence, humor and talent of the original iconic performers in the 1960’s Friday night in The Rat Pack is Back along with Johnny Edwards as Dean Martin and Kyle Diamond as Sammy Davis Jr. Their performances brought back the vibrant, fun Las Vegas shows they were known for. With an awesome seven-piece band on stage paying homage to many Nelson Riddle and Don Costa-arranged songs, they charmed and energized an almost full-house attendance on a frigid night, a real tribute to The Gateway and the show.
Projections of Vegas hotels, show girls, blackjack tables and notables of the era like Judy Garland, Judy Garland and Marilyn Monroe at the onset gave the show a glam feel. After his opening song, Jason continued with “Fly Me to the Moon.” Jason, who has studied Sinatra’s music for over 20 years, gets his meticulous phrasing and passionate delivery. Sinatra was also known to praise his musicians; Jason did that too.
Then Johnny Edwards as Dino comes out. The charm of this production besides the singing, dancing and music is the bantering; Edwards gets Martin’s relaxed, rakish humor, holding a fake drink (Martin’s implied drinking was a schtick) wielding the microphone as a blessing at times. “Hey let’s go back and get a pizza,” he throws out as a lead in, then gets the audience to sing “That’s Amore.” (As in “When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie…”)
Edwards lets it rip with one of my favorite songs, “Ain’t That a Kick in the Head,” a swing number arrangement with a crescendo Big Band sound about a guy who’s happy he’s getting married. (Imagine that!)
Diamond as Sammy Davis, Jr. enters the trio in a gorgeous electric blue jacket. Davis was a sharp dresser, and Diamond’s costumes are WowWee. But his energy and phrasing personifies Davis’s. Also his flexible, limber footwork. “Mr. Bojangles,” about a traveling homeless man who relates the story in jail about a sad episode, then lightens the mood with a tap dance, is beautiful and poignant. “The Candy Man,” Davis’s massive 1972 No. 1 hit song is joyous and Diamond got the audience to clap along. He popped into the aisles and shook some hands. The band really smoked with Diamond’s “I’ve Got a Lot of Living to Do.”
Long married couples were celebrated, dialogue with front row seat patrons went back and forth, a playful passing out of The Rat Pack is Back t-shirts and caps, this was no boring night.
These three stars have impressive backgrounds. Among other appearances, Jason’s includes singing with acclaimed conductor Boris Brott and the National Academy Orchestra of Canada. Diamond comes from a musical family and co-founded a Cleveland area band, The Pacesetters as a teen, and has been a Rat Pack principal star for over 20 years. Edwards has portrayed Elvis, Roy Orbison and Sir Elton John in Vegas for years and played Dean Martin in The Gateway’s The Rat Pack is Back in 2012.
Calli Jack as Barbie, is a beautiful New York City-based dancer, included in this version. She’s performed in Atlantic City’s Borgata Hotel & Casino in Motown Forever and Vegas shows.
There are over 20 wonderful songs here, including Sinatra’s “My Way,” which Jason sings reflectively and emotionally, the fabulous “Come Fly With Me,” and “You Make Me Feel So Young.” The trio ended with “Bellport is My Kind of Town,” a takeoff of “Chicago” (My Kind of Town). The original act emerged in the 1960’s when Sinatra, Martin and Davis Jr., were filming Ocean’s Eleven and decided to moonlight in a nightclub act at the famous Sands Hotel. Dick Feeney started this production in Vegas in 1999; it's still going strong.
Now for holy mackerel, the sit-up-and-take-notice band. Gateway executive artistic director Paul Allan said the seven musicians, led by conductor, composer, pianist and musical director Brian Sweeney are “all Long Island musicians, the best of the best. Lon Bronson, their musical director came out and stayed with the show the first week. He really turned these guys into an amazing band.” Mitch Kamen plays woodwinds, Ron Fox and Steve Henry each play trumpet, Elias Assimakopoulos plays trombone, Frank Hansen is on bass and Ellis Holmes plays drums.
Good music spans generations. The audience was a mix of ages; young and mature crowded around the stars after in the lobby for selfies. And everyone got a warm, “thank you for coming,” for the ride home.
Dan's Papers
'The Rat Pack Is Back' Sizzles at The Gateway
The Gateway Playhouse heats up this frigid winter with the sizzling The Rat Pack Is Back. You are suddenly immersed in the early ’60s when Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr were the toast of Las Vegas packing the Sands Hotel Copa Room with adoring fans. Now you can relive that ring-a-ding-era right in Bellport until February 15.
This tribute show written and produced by Dick Feeney puts the threesome front and center. It was the time called “The Summit at the Sands” when Sinatra, Martin, Davis Jr., Joey Bishop and Peter Lawford were filming the original Ocean’s 11 and holding court with the kind of cool not seen since. This show is set on the night they are celebrating the birthday of the Chairman of the Board, Frank Sinatra.
The original Rat Pack dates back to the ’50s with such luminaries as Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn, but by the early ’60s the Rat Pack was presided over by Frank Sinatra. The members of Sinatra’s pack were Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Joey Bishop and Peter Lawford who brought about the connection to the Kennedy family, having married Patricia Kennedy, sister to President John F. Kennedy. The Rat Pack fascinated fans with their carousing and so-cool demeanor. They were known for showing up at each other’s shows and performing together onstage, in films and had legendary ties to Las Vegas where they frequented casinos along the strip while performing there.
This is a Vegas-based show with national touring companies and an award from the “Congress of the United States.” It is now in its 23rd smash year with over 8,000 performances in over 40 states and four foreign countries.
Direct from Las Vegas are a trio of seasoned impersonators featuring Chris Jason as Frank Sinatra, Johnny Edwards as Dean Martin, Kyle Diamond as Sammy Davis Jr. and in the role of Playboy Bunny Barbie is Calli Jack. These entertainers impress with familiar vocal intonations and phrasing as they bring to life these legendary stars. They seem to have studied these legends completely to recreate every nuance that we might expect to see in the real stars. Jason has all the swagger of Sinatra with stunning timbre to match. His resonant voice is impressive throughout but becomes a tour de force in his rendition of “My Way.” Edwards adds so much fun as Martin, rocks glass in hand spurting shtick like, “I’m meeting two buddies at the bar, Mr. Jack Daniels and Johnny Walker.” Through Edwards we recall Martin’s slurring verbal style with his quips, and vocally with songs like “Everybody Loves Somebody Sometime.” Diamond has the rhythm and poise of Davis Jr. His interpretation replete with poses while in silhouette singing the signature song “Mr. Bojangles” sends chills. Each actor appears so comfortable in their role that the unscripted audience participation segments seem natural and add to the fun.
This was the time when Hugh Hefner created Playboy magazine and extended the brand into the Playboy Clubs with those iconic Playboy Bunnies who were seductive in their strapless satin corsets, bunny ears, collars, cuffs and fluffy tails. Calli Jack takes the stage as scintillating Playboy Bunny Barbie for a funny bit.
The ’60s was the time of the Big Band sound so the band under the musical direction of Lon Bronson is central to this show acting almost like another character. In fact, the band is the set. The show begins with a projection of old Las Vegas and flashes of stars from that era like Marilyn Monroe, Jack Benny and Danny Thomas, then curtain up on the band upstage creating the entire set with a scalloped curtain behind them. This band with a strong brass section is full, rich and adds so much energy throughout. Ron Fox plays trumpet one, Steve Henry is on trumpet two, Elias Assimakopoulos plays trombone, Mitch Kamen plays woodwinds, Frank Hansen is on bass, Ellis Holmes on drums and the pianist is Brian Sweeney.
Lighting design by Kim Hanson adds vibrance to each of the songs with an ever-changing kaleidoscope of colors reflected on the scalloped curtains while scenic design by Dennis Berfield gives style and class.
This show is brimming with memorable songs of Sinatra, Martin and Davis Jr. including “Where or When,” “That’s Amore,” “That Old Black Magic,” “Something’s Gotta Give,” “What Kind of Fool Am I,” “Fly Me to the Moon,” “Luck Be a Lady,” and more delectable treats. Between each song is lively banter that reminds us of the comradery of this trio. The show builds to a spirited finale featuring a few bars each of the popular tunes “You’re Nobody ‘til Somebody Loves You,” “New York, New York,” “Lady Is a Tramp,” and capping the evening off with “My Kind of Town.”
This Rat Pack tribute show is nonstop entertainment and flies by so quickly that at the end you can’t believe it’s over already. So, grab a glass, make a toast and catch The Rat Pack Is Back!
