Come Fly Away

Twyla Tharps Come Fly Away brings Frank Sinatra tunes to existence. A Nederlander Presentations and W.A.T. presentation, by special arrangement using the Frank Sinatra family and Frank Sinatra Businesses, of the musical in a single act with concept and book by Twyla Tharp and vocals by Frank Sinatra. Created, choreographed and directed by Tharp.With: Matthew Stockwell Dibble, Ashley Blair Fitzgerald, Cody Eco-friendly, Martin Harvey, Laurie Kanyok, Ramona Kelley, Marielys Molina, John Selya, Ron Todorowski, Christopher Vo, Anthony Burrell, Mallauri Esquibel, Marina Lazzaretto, Meredith Miles, Marceea Moreno, Chocolate Olsen, Julius Anthony Rubio, Amy Ruggiero, Justin Urso, Tanairi Sade Vazquez, Chehon Wespi-Tschopp, Michael Williams.Twyla Tharp's dance extravaganza set towards the Sinatra songbook, "Come Fly Away," does not bring us lightly through the hands, but wrenches us into a skill Deco ballroom as though through the Chairman from the Board's fiat to "Siddown and revel in yourself!" Which we all do, through 25 of his very finest standards and also the choreographed birth and development of several romances throughout one gin-drenched evening. Trimmed by greater than a 30 minutes from Broadway and minus its intermission, the show is really a lively wallow in gorgeous music and equally gorgeous bods. The narrative is substantially less elaborate than that for Tharp's Billy Joel tribute "Movin' Out," and possibly for your reason, much more compelling. Four couples whom we are able to readily chart - some sexy, some funny, all different levels of awesome - meet around the party area to flirt, quarrel, separate and reunite towards the music from the prominent romantic troubadour in our century. Additionally they progressively doff increasingly more of the clothes, unusual behavior in a nitery but a familiar response whenever that troubadour is around the phonograph. How they put on their hats is greatly consistent with the classic ring-a-ding-ding style. Dashing Cody Eco-friendly (on opening evening there's cast mix-n-matching at different perfs) and brooding Martin Harvey would be the most apparent stand-inches for Old Blue Eyes, with particular partners Meredith Miles and Marceea Moreno exuding the type of smolder you figure Angie Dickinson should have captivated when hanging using the Rat Pack. Oddly enough, probably the most stage some time and final bow are allocated towards the least Sinatra-esque pair: comical bartenders Ron Todorowski and impatient-for-commitment Mallauri Esquibel, audience faves in each and every leap and pratfall. (Though on second thought, they possess an aura of Nathan and Miss Adelaide in "Men and Dolls," and Todorowski will get some "Come Blow Your Horn" the help of the dapper Eco-friendly. So perhaps there's more Sinatra there than you would think.) Tharp's gift for fusing social dance and classical ballet tropes is within full flower here, paralleled with a neat fusion of original vocals - mostly in the mid-to-late career, strong and husky - with Take advantage of Cookman's live (with a few electronic augmentation), 14-strong large band. Not every the dance configurations appear apropos. Jesse Holder's lighting and also the lyrics for "One For My Baby" suggest late-nite weary reverie at odds using its pas p deux's gymnastics, like figure skaters whose dazzling moves don't whatsoever reflect their musical accompaniment. That number wiped out included in Tharp's previous, briefer "Nine Sinatra Tunes" dance suite, but here it smacks of overkill at any given time whenever we and also the couples can use a breather. However when style and number connect, that is more often than not - as with the sizzlingly sexy "That's Existence" and "Witchcraft," or even the males cutting loose to create a whole bachelor party to exuberant existence in "I am Gonna Live 'Til I Die" - "Come Fly Away" sweeps you away inside a veritable orgy of nostalgia and romance. That's existence - or it oughta be.Sets, James Youmans costumes, Katherine Roth lighting, Jesse Holder seem, Peter McBoyle original music administrators, Mike Lutfiyya music coordinator Talitha Fehr music supervisor, additional plans and orchestrations, Dork Pierce music director, Take advantage of Cookman production stage manager, Tom Bartlett. Opened up, examined March. 25, 2011. Runs through November. 6. Running time: one hour, 10 MIN. Contact the range newsroom at news@variety.com