The new musical about Frank Sinatra, currently playing at the Aldwych Theatre, has been met with critical disappointment. Despite its lavish production values, the show is undermined by a weak script and superficial characterisation, leaving many to question its purpose and target audience.
A Misconceived Triumph-Over-Adversity Narrative
The musical covers nine years of Sinatra's life, from his 'swoonatra' era with Benny Goodman's band in 1945 to his Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1953 for 'From Here to Eternity'. Along the way, it touches on his neglect of his family, his numerous affairs, and his career slump. However, the narrative fails to generate sympathy for a man portrayed as selfish, temperamental, violent, and compulsively unfaithful.
Attempts to highlight Sinatra's opposition to segregation and his experiences of anti-Italian racism feel like special pleading, while clumsy exposition attempts to sanitise his personality. For instance, his press agent blurts out, 'I've seen you pay hospital bills for total strangers!', and Sinatra himself explains his lack of war service with a 'damn perforated eardrum'.
Who Is the Audience?
A major issue is the show's unclear target audience. Sinatra died 28 years ago, and many of his original fans are elderly. While younger generations may be rediscovering his music, it's questionable whether they would pay West End prices for what amounts to an imperfect karaoke version, albeit with a big band and impressive sets.
Joel Harper-Jackson delivers a creditable performance, capturing Sinatra's vocal cadences and accent, but he lacks emotional depth as a singer. A duet with Billie Holliday on 'One For My Baby' fails to demonstrate the expressive bending of notes that Holliday claims makes them both unique. Harper-Jackson also bears little resemblance to the young Sinatra, and his boxy suits seem to wear him rather than the other way around.
Supporting Cast and Direction
Ana Villafañe's Ava Gardner is a cartoonish portrayal of liberated sensuality, while other characters, such as Phoebe Panteros as wife Nancy, Jenna Russell as mother Dolly, and Lee Zarrett as press agent George, are given similarly one-dimensional roles. Writer Joe DiPietro's script is full of clichés, and Kathleen Marshall's direction is pedestrian, though her choreography shows some flair. Despite the pair's five Tony Awards between them, the show originated in Birmingham in 2023.
The musical does feature some effective big routines, with colourful costumes and evocative sets by Peter McKintosh that sketch the skylines of Manhattan and Houston, as well as famous hangouts like Ciro's and the Brown Derby. A large, brassy orchestra accompanies the ensemble.
The Songs and Their Repurposing
While Sinatra's hits are duly trotted out, they are often jarringly reframed for two mismatched voices. 'Come Fly With Me' becomes a Hollywood shagathon, 'My Way' is used to plumb Sinatra's lowest ebb, and the mawkish deployment of 'Nancy With the Laughing Face' (about his daughter) is particularly off-putting. 'New York, New York' accompanies the curtain call.
Ultimately, the show offers a rickety, partial, and hagiographic portrayal of a complicated and unpleasant individual. As one critic notes, 'Frankly Unpleasant' would be a more honest title for a Sinatra musical worth seeing.
