Sinatra The Musical – Birmingham Rep

Ana Villafañe and Matt Doyle in Sinatra The Musical at Birmingham Rep. Picture: Manuel Harlan

Sinatra The Musical continues at Birmingham Rep until 28 October 2023.

Star rating: three stars ★ ★ ★ ✩ ✩

Tony Award winner Joe DiPietro’s world premiere, and tribute to Ol’ Blue Eyes himself, played to a rhapsodic crowd last night at The Rep in Birmingham, where it has been developed. Despite the hype, it’s a vastly frustrating show which delivers far less than the sum of many exceptional parts.

There’s no lack of talent onstage – Matt Doyle pulls off a competent and glossy-voiced turn as Sinatra – a thoughtfully honed performance which pays homage to the idiosyncrasies of a legend without running itself into caricature.

Standout, too, are the female leads. Phoebe Panaretos delivers a powerhouse performance as Nancy Sinatra, joined by a blazing Ana Villafañe as Ava Gardner. It’s a huge shame though, that there is so little for them to build their characters around beyond their connection to the man himself. Strong will and independence can’t be a replacement for complexity of character.

Bechdel tests aside, this lack of depth isn’t simply a problem for the female characters. Considering we’re talking about a man who wrestled with fame throughout some of the most turbulent global political, social and artistic moments in history, juggling enormous political personal and artistic networks with allegedly the highest level of charisma Hollywood has ever seen – the book does him little justice.

Despite demonstrating absolutely no accountability for his personal flaws, we’re supposed to root for a character who, unchangingly, treats women with an abusive level of selfishness, his professional contacts unapologetically harmfully, himself with destructive immaturity, and his career and vocation with barely any discipline.

Without Sinatra’s name attached, this is the story of an irredeemable man who lucks into getting everything he wants, with no evidence to suggest he deserves it. But he’s the hero of course – he’s got the golden voice, and look how tormented he is after all! Context is key, but it’s still 2023, and the nuance just isn’t there.

Script woes aside, this is still a very engaging show, in huge part down to its stunning ensemble. Together, these performers manage the show with divine precision, but are also magnificent in their own right.

Greg Bernstein captures Gene Kelly’s ease and light-foot finesse with absolute mastery, while Ryesha Higgs throws down a stunning moment of melancholic magic embodying Billie Holiday.

It’s also a beautiful spectacle. With over 200 costumes lovingly and perfectly pitched by Jon Morrell’s team, and Peter McKintosh’s set that feels both rich, whimsical and uncluttered, the show has every support it could need.

The show no doubt meets the criteria to be a great success, testified no more than at the pre-encore standing ovation. Theatre, of course, is joyfully subjective – and comments of adoration fill the room as the band plays us to the exits.

For others, however, the story delivers only the bare minimum required for the form to hold and is then carried far beyond its capacity by great performances, a vigorous creative team, and all the head-starts that come with Sinatra’s already stratospheric body of work. A heartfelt tribute, but lacking substance.

Aura Simon