The Rat Pack Is Back! – A Nostalgic, Boozy Take on a Starry Night in Vintage Vegas

The Rat Pack Is Back! – A Nostalgic, Boozy Take on a Starry Night in Vintage Vegas

By CB AdamsContributing Writer

The old Bell Systems advertising slogan about long distance service, “…It’s the Next Best Thing To Being There,” could certainly be recycled as the tag line for “The Rat Pack Is Back!” (exclamation point, theirs). Those of us old enough to remember the Bell slogan – including the show’s producer, Dick Feeney, and musical director, Lon Bronson – are old enough to harbor a bit of nostalgia for the classic, Kennedy-era Las Vegas of yore. (Camelot, anyone?)

“Rat Pack,” now on a national tour, reflects the still-glimmering reputation of the vintage 60s Vegas strip when Frank and Company held forth in boozy, raunchy style while belting out the Great American Songbook.

That’s Frank, as in Sinatra, played by Chris Jason, girded by Drew Anthony as Dean Martin and Kenny Jones as Sammy Davis, Jr., as well as Joelle Jenson as a “dumb blonde” Barbie the Bunny character. This show has been around since 1999 and has received continuous facelifts (script and otherwise) ever since. It has been at the Fox numerous times, including this past weekend.The comedic shtick between – and sometimes during – songs was a mash-up of Joey Bishop, Soupy Sales and Jackie Mason. Some of the jokes were oddly topical, such as one about Caitlyn Jenner. The homophobic joke (by today’s standards) was enthusiastically endorsed with hoots and applause after Jones encouraged the audience, “Hey, it’s 1960. Enjoy it while you can.” And they did.

“Rat Pack” is not a concert, but rather a “what if” tribute that
seeks to recreate a sense of those mythical nights at the Sands Hotel. An
earlier version of the show included an opening montage with vintage clips of
the real deals, a feature that was missing in this incarnation. That montage
could have better set the evening’s tone and provided an additional salute to
the fantasy of “being there” at the Sands.

The strength of this show is not that the actors really look like the performers they portray. Anthony as Dino and Jones as Sammy came closest (if you squint), while Jason looked more like Don Draper from “Mad Men” than Sinatra. Nor did it matter that their renditions of classics such as “New York, New York,” “Candy Man” and “That’s Amore” were pitch-perfect, dead-ringers for the originals.

Rather, “Rat Pack” is a testament to the enduring reputations of these performers as well as the strength of our shared American songbook. For many in attendance, the evening’s entertainment was a reminder of a time (hard-to-believe, almost 60 years ago) when Sinatra and his sidekicks, and perhaps much of the audience, were at the top of their respective games.

For those in the audience of more recent vintages, the performance was a primer on the personalities and music of the time. Other than the terrific original recordings readily available, “Rat Pack” may not be the “next best thing to being there,” but it may be helping keep the legacy of that era alive.

“The Rat Pack Is Back!” played at the Fox Theatre Feb. 22-24.

A Kinder, Gentler Scrooge in Nebraska Theatre Caravan’s Fox Show

A Kinder, Gentler Scrooge in Nebraska Theatre Caravan’s Fox Show

By CB Adams
Contributing Writer
We are living in the age of the Christmas-industrial complex. Never before have we had such a wealth of holiday entertainments, from dancing sugar plum fairies to prancing Grinches. The slate of stage, film, television, radio and music options means you can curate a Christmas season experience exactly to your liking.
One franchise rules them all, Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol,” and one character from that novella, Ebenezer Scrooge, stands scowling above the holiday fray, waiting, not for his close-up, but his redemption.
So imagine the challenge faced by Charles Jones, the founder and creator of the Nebraska Theatre Caravan, as he adapted Dickens’ tale for the stage more than 40 years ago. The field of Christmas Carol  interpretations was full even then, including several well-known films starring the likes of George C. Scott, Lionel Barrymore, Alastair Sim, Albert Finney and, ahem, even Jim Backus, to say nothing of later incarnations by Jim Carrey and Patrick Stewart. So there were plenty of ways to present “the wicked old screw.”

According to Jones’ own introduction, “I think of this adaptation and the production of “A Christmas Carol” as a masque. It is not a musical comedy.”
A masque, in case your theater history is a bit rusty, was a form of festive entertainment popular with the royals in 16th- and early 17th-century Europe. Masques were especially popular in Merry Old England, where they were considered among the highest art forms. The Puritans in the 1600s tried their Scroogely best to abolish masques, but they have persevered in one form or another to the present day.
This bit of history provides the key for Jones’ approach. It’s a bit like adapting the story of the Titanic – we all know the ship sinks in the end. The transformation of Scrooge from miser to magnanimous mensch has entered our cultural lexicon and shared imaginations.
There’s a reason this story has resonated from its publication in 1843 as well as a reason that Nebraska Theatre Caravan’s production of Jones’ adaptation has had a successful 40-year run. Although not a “musical comedy” by Jones’ definition, is certainly is music-filled and definitely played to lighter, comedic effect.
There’s nary a bleak Dickensian Victorian moment to be had during the play’s two acts. For instance, the Charity Men, who are usually presented as serious solicitors for charity, enter Scrooge’s place and request a donation with the buffoonery of Lauren and Hardy, though they are toned down in their appearance at the play’s conclusion.
One of the most successful aspects is the show’s pacing. As played by 23 actors in multiple roles, one scene moves swiftly into another – advantageous in our age of short attention spans. Andy Harvey as Scrooge carries the show with a solid supporting cast.
Special effects also move the story along and hold their own in comparison to those in the filmed adaptations, though the Ghost of Christmas Past’s spectral presence seemed, like Scrooge’s bed clothes, a bit frayed around the edges and in need of a refresh.
One of the highlights of this production is the seamless integration of traditional Christmas carols into the action. Especially noteworthy is “Dancing Day” and “Susanni” during the Fezziwig Warehouse scene, “The Holly and the Ivy” and “The Other Night” in the Cratchit home scene, and “The Polka” and “Greensleeves” during the festivities at Fred and Millie’s home.
If this production were a beer, it would be “Scrooge Lite.” Perhaps harkening to its heartland roots, it is a steak and potatoes adaptation – and a good value for the ticket price. This is not a bad thing for its intended, broad audience. It’s simple enough for children to follow along – and laugh along – and fulfilling enough for adults to enjoy the same things.
This production’s longevity is well-deserved and a popular choice – among so many – for some families who make it an annual event.
“A Christmas Carol” played at the Fox Theatre Dec. 6-9.