Dean Martin was there, and so was Sammy Davis, Jr. But who was the third person supposedly on stage at the Fox Theatre last night for “Christmas With the Rat Pack?” Perry Como? Bobby Darin? Bing Crosby? It sure as heck wasn’t Frank Sinatra, nor even a good imitation.
Mark Adams gave an outstanding performance as Martin, and Giles Terera was a first-rate Davis. But Alex Banks, listed in the program as an alternate to Stephen Triffitt, was out of place in every facet of his performance, from a bad-looking hairpiece to a voice that was as close to Mike Shannon’s as to Sinatra’s. A Fox staffer reported that Banks had done the role on Tuesday, but there was no indication of whether he was in the slot for a couple of days, or for the entire run, which lasts until Dec. 18.
The show itself is satisfactory entertainment, with a lot of good and familiar songs, backed up by a band of 16 musicians, by my count, led by Matthew Freeman from the piano. They were terrific, and a most welcome sound to someone who was around for many of the Big Band years. The drummer worked with Davis as a duet on a splendid medley of Christmas songs, and they were charming together.
Adams had the Martin moves, the delivery, the entire attitude. For example, after telling a pretty awful joke, and receiving an appropriate — minimal — amount of applause, he looked up at the audience and said, “Look, I didn’t invite you here. You came of your own free will.”
He did nicely on trademarks like “Volare,” and “Mambo Italiano,” and was startlingly effective on “King of the Road.”
Terera and the drummer covered nearly a dozen carols in delightful style, and he also was especially strong on “Mr. Bojangles.” He and Adams teamed very nicely on “Sam’s Song,” and the three performers scored on the Frank Loesser classic, “Standing on the Corner (Watching All the Girls Go By).”
They had some help in harmony, dance, costumes and comeliness from the Burelli Sisters, patterned after the Boswell sisters all the way to having the same first names, Connee (Grace Holdstock), Martha (Frankie Jenna) and Helvetia, or Vet (Soophia Foroughi).
Christmas With the Rat Pack opened Tuesday (Dec. 6) at the Fox Theatre and will run through Dec. 18.
— Joe
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We went on the night of the 10th. Franks’s impersonator that evening was Stephen Triffitt who was excellent!