Bringing Ol’ Blue Eyes back to life

May 2 2008 by Philip Key, Liverpool Daily Post

Sinatra show at the Liverpool Empire _320

Cameras also bring in the dancers to appear to be dancing with Sinatra, and at one stage the Empire audience will also appear on film with him.

“I knew it was going to be hard to create a show that had the emotional impact you expect in a live theatre event and to use technology to do that was the biggest challenge.

“In a phrase, we wanted to close the gap between Frank and his audience. The key thing about his performances, even in the big stadiums, was that he had the knack of making you feel he was just singing for you.

“I really wanted to convey that in going through all this fantastic footage.”

The Sinatra family – particularly daughters Nancy and Tina – gave their backing to the project and made available their entire archive. “One thing we got which they did not have in New York was his personal home movies. It’s Frank with his kids together shot on this flickering old film and it’s beautiful.”

While partly a biography, even an autobiography, there is no avoiding some of the darker moments in Sinatra’s life, even his involvement with Mafia figures like Sam Giancana who helped Sinatra to get John F Kennedy elected President. And there was the tempestuous marriage to Ava Gardner, whom Leveaux thinks was probably the love of his life.

His favourite section of the show has Sinatra singing In the Still of the Night during his Ava period. “The intensity of that performance, actually recorded at the Royal Festival Hall in 1962, was amazing and when he gets to the line ‘Do you love me’ it is like watching him detonate. It is difficult to resist.”

But this is a show that takes him through his entire career, from the black and white days to colour television. The dance routines match the period. “One notable thing is how women’s fashions and attitudes change as we go through the decades.”

Sinatra’s attitude, however, rarely changed, generally describing women as “dames” or “babes”.

“Well, he did have one brief post-feminist moment when he tried to change the lyrics of The Lady is a Tramp to The Lady is a Champ and it didn’t work. He remained the coolest man on the planet, really.”

Leveaux never saw Sinatra perform live, but after spending so many hours with film of Sinatra and editing it, he reckons he got pretty near. “I spent a lot of time with him close up.”

Audiences also feel they get close to the Sinatra magic in this show.

“It is not difficult to see him in many senses as a heroic character,” Leveaux says. “He did keep reinventing himself and coming back and that provides a big emotional impact.

“By the time in the show you get to New York, New York and My Way, you will think that guy is still standing at the saloon bar after seven decades and you are grateful to him.”

* SINATRA is at the Liverpool Empire, May 5-10.

philkey@dailypost.co.uk