4 STARS. Ol’ Blue Eyes lives on in an intimate cabaret setting for the Guildford Festival Fringe, says Andrew Morris
I bet you thought Frank Sinatra was long gone, didn't you?
Well, think again.
Because he was alive, well and in very good voice at last night's An Evening with Sinatra, one of more than 150 events at this year's brilliant Guildford Fringe Festival.
Frank Cognoscenti took a night off from his own theatre show That’s Life – The Frank Sinatra Story to deliver a special cabaret performance for the Guildford Fringe, in the venerable surroundings of The Guildhall.
With an appreciative audience in this intimate, historic, wood-panelled venue, Frank and his outstanding pianist brought us a medley of unforgettable songs from Ol' Blue Eyes’ 70-year career. Starting off with lesser known songs in the first half, and building to a climax of more popular and universally acclaimed ones in the second, all were delivered with a seemingly effortless facsimile of the great man's voice and persona.
I particularly loved the sad, slower ballads Send in the Clowns, about a couple's painful break-up, and One For My Baby, a mournful drunk asking barman Joe to set 'em up at a quarter to three in the morning. With nowhere to hide from the small audience, and just a piano accompanying him, Frank delivered every word with clarity, nuance and poignancy. Add in a brilliant imitation of Sinatra's renowned wit, mannerisms and impromptu banter with the audience, and you're transported back to the Royal Albert Hall, or to a residency in 60s Vegas.
The evening ends with a rousing sing-along to classics like My Way, New York New York and That's Life, and we wandered out into the Guildford dusk believing that Ol' Blue Eyes really does live on.
Frank Sinatra and The Guildhall are not obvious bedfellows, but then neither are Alan Bennett and the Clandon Wood Natural Burial Reserve. And that is just part of the artistic genius and originality of the Guildford Fringe Festival. You have until July 29 to enjoy more brilliant events – poetry, burlesque, comedy, opera, art, theatre, dance, music, kids’ events, workshops, talks and performances – in 14 interesting venues in and around Guildford.
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