Last night, a special reading presentation of Sinatra The Musical dazzled the audience at the historic Apollo Theatre. Following a world premiere production in the U.K., this was the first presentation of Sinatra in the United States. The invitation-only audience included theater stars, Broadway executives and creative people, and music industry heavyweights. Sinatra The Musical is being developed for Broadway.
Tina Sinatra, daughter of Frank Sinatra, shared, “Broadway is where I believe we should be, and that’s what we’re working toward. It feels right to me, to do this. He is generational, and always said he was an heirloom a family would pass on. Something about him is perpetual.”
With a book by two-time Tony Award winner Joe DiPietro, and direction and choreography by Olivier Award and three-time Tony Award winner Kathleen Marshall, this special event, which was presented with a full orchestra, included Tony Award winner Matt Doyle as ‘Frank Sinatra’, Ana Villafañe as ‘Ava Gardner’, Phoebe Panaretos as ‘Nancy Sinatra’, Caroline Duffy Concannon as ‘Little Nancy’, Toni Di Buono as ‘Dolly Sinatra’, Mark Lotito as ‘Marty Sinatra’, and Brad Oscar as ‘George Evans’. The ensemble will include David Abeles, Clyde Alves, Amber Ardolino, E. Clayton Cornelious, Stephen DeRosa, Donna English, Matthew Griffin, Nathan Lucrezio, Katerina McCrimmon, Morgan McGhee, Angel Reda, and Maya Lynn Sistruck.
In Sinatra The Musical, it is New Year’s Eve, 1942, and a skinny 27-year-old Italian American singer is about to step onto the stage of New York’s Paramount Theatre and give a performance that will change music history. As Frank Sinatra’s career suddenly skyrockets, he struggles with balancing the love of his wife, Nancy, against the demands and temptations of being the most popular singer in America. But when he begins a torrid affair with movie goddess Ava Gardner, his records stop selling and the press turns against him, sending his career into a tailspin. Driven by his devotion to his family, Sinatra employs his peerless artistry and dogged determination to stage the greatest comeback in showbiz history. Sinatra The Musical played its World Premiere at Birmingham Rep in 2023. Check out rehearsal photos from the production HERE!
The creative team for Sinatra The Musical includes Peter McKintosh (set design), Jon Morrell (costume design), Gareth Valentine (musical supervision), Larry Blank & John Clayton (orchestrations), Ian Eisendrath & Gareth Valentine (arrangements), David Chase (dance arranger), Mark Aspinall (music director), Tim Mitchell (lighting design), Paul Groothuis (sound design), Akhila Krishna for Circadian Design LTD (video design), Cambell Young (wigs, hair & make-up design), David Grindod for Grindod Burton Casting (casting), Jim Carnahan CSA & Jason Thinger CSA (US casting), Lisa Iacucci (production stage manager), and Hudson Theatrical Associates / Neil Mazzella (US technical director).
