Mention Frank Sinatra and you immediately think of Christmas and the Rat Pack, a black bow time and white tuxedo, Now, you can join the audience as the curtain rises for Sinatra The Musical at London’s Aldwych Theatre performing Frank Sinatra’s life story through stage and song for a night of glamour, energy and sentimentality.
It starts with New Year’s Eve of 1942, when a rather skinny 27-year-old Italian American singer is about to step onto the stage of New York’s Paramount Theatre to give a performance that will change music history. As Frank Sinatra’s career suddenly skyrockets, he struggles with balancing the love of his wife, Nancy, against the demands and temptations of being the most popular singer in America. But when he begins a torrid affair with movie goddess Ava Gardner, his records stop selling and the press turn against him, sending his career into a tailspin. Driven by his devotion to his family, Sinatra employs his artistry and determination to stage the greatest comeback in showbiz history. Many of us know Sinatra as the polished legend in the spotlight but this production covers a very specific and little-known decade in his life. Joel Harper-Jackson is not an obvious Sinatra lookalike, but his vocals are closely aligned with the original.
With a starlit backdrop and the lights of Paramount Theatre, the music acts as the heartbeat of the evening. Over 20 timeless hits are woven through the story. It’s not a string of his greatest hits but an emotional commentary on the moments that shaped the man. That’s Life, One for My Baby, The Best Is Yet to Come and Come Fly with Me, each song earns its place. The orchestra of seventeen musicians, supervised by Gareth Valentine, fills the auditorium with the warmth and nostalgia of the big band era. You could just close your eyes and imagine just being there, back in the day.
The intimate Aldwych Theatre proves the perfect setting. It’s not an arena show but a human one, and one in which you are drawn into. Peter McKintosh’s set design is beautifully evocative conjuring the smoky glamour of mid-century America creating a cinematic rather than theatrical focus.
Sinatra The Musical is written by the two-time Tony Award-winning writer Joe DiPietro ,whose credits include Memphis the Musical and What’s New Pussycat?, and directed and choreographed by the three-time Tony Award-winning Kathleen Marshall, who brought us Top Hat and Anything Goes. The set is designed by Olivier Award-winner Peter McKintosh, Notably, the show has been developed with the involvement of Tina Sinatra, Frank’s own daughter, in partnership with Frank Sinatra Enterprises and Universal Music Group. This personal connection gives it a particular authenticity
It’s well worth booking. A night out that combines musical joy with a story genuinely worth telling. Sinatra’s I’ve Got You Under My Skin certainly described how it gripped me.
Sinatra The Musical is on at London’s Aldwych Theatre. Bookings are open until April 2027.
Tickets are on sale from www.sinatramusical.com
Photography:B irgit and Ralf Brinkhoff.
