Sinatra The Man and His Music at the London Palladium
KARL Sydow, award-winning producer of productions such as Our Country’s Good, Dirty Dancing and Backbeat, has announced the team behind Sinatra The Man and His Music at the London Palladium.
The official celebration of Frank Sinatra’s centenary year, it opens on July 10, 2015, marking 65 years to the day since Sinatra’s first ever performance in the UK at the Palladium back in 1950.
Sydow has handpicked his team from the best in theatre, music, technology, dance and design in order to create an unforgettable West End show.
The production will be directed by multi award winner David Gilmore, whose credits include Daisy Pulls It Off, The Hired Man and Grease, and have set design by Ray Winkler of Stufish Entertainment Architects. Stufish has designed impressive sets for the BRITs, NFL Super Bowl, tours for U2, The Rolling Stones, Jean-Michel Jarre and Robbie Williams.
Leo Warner, from world leading video and projection design company 59 Productions, was a winner at the 2015 Tony Awards for his work on American In Paris, and will be integral in bringing Sinatra to life on stage using the state of the art technology with never-before seen footage from the Sinatra Estate.
Lighting will come courtesy of Patrick Woodroffe, who has worked with The Rolling Stones, Lady Gaga, AC/DC, The Three Tenors, and on the Opening and Closing ceremonies for the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympic Games.
Choreographers Glenn Wilkinson and Jacquie Biggs will create the routines for the company of 20 dancers that will accompany Sinatra on stage. Between them Wilkinson and Biggs have an unrivalled amount of experience performing in the West End, and most recently restaged Dirty Dancing across the world.
Rounding off the creative team is the West End’s finest Musical Supervisor, Gareth Valentine.
The company of 20 dancers has also been announced. Rigorously auditioned by choreographers Wilkinson and Biggs, they all come from the UK. And they are:
Alistair Postlethwaite (from Lancashire), Amy Hollins (Cheshire), Anabel Kutay (Manchester), Ashley Nottingham (Coventry), Aston Newman Hannington (Brighton), Bryony Laura Whitfield (London), Charis O’Connor (Guilford), Faye Best (Kent), Francis Haugen (Wales), Gemma Whitelam (Hull), James Revell (Hampshire), Jamie Firth (London), Liam Paul Jennings (Liverpool), Lucy Banfield (London) Matt Holland (Wrexham), Niall Swords (Cambridge), Nicola Coates (Yorkshire), Rachel Ensor (Ireland), Christopher Black (Crawley, West Sussex) and Aaron James (Portmouth).
Conductor Richard John will lead a 24-piece orchestra to match the emotion and tempo of the original masters of Sinatra’s voice giving the audience an experience which is as close as they will get to hearing Frank Sinatra live.
Sinatra The Man and His Music at the London Palladium is a completely unique celebration of Frank Sinatra’s legacy. The high-tech show features 3D, rotoscoped imagery, rare and never before seen footage from the family’s archives and original masters of Frank Sinatra’s voice, to bring the great man back to the stage of the London Palladium – the first venue Sinatra played anywhere outside of the US.
Karl Sydow, the show’s Producer, said: “Sinatra at the London Palladium is the official celebration for the centenary of Frank Sinatra’s birth, and we’ve brought some of the biggest names in the industry together to do it justice. A show of this magnitude requires the best in the business. It’s going to be a mind-blowing and unforgettable experience for the audience.”
Talking about what audiences can expect, Nancy Sinatra said: “The Palladium show will be as close as we can get to a live Frank Sinatra concert. Using technology, his wonderful voice, state of the art sound and all of the images, the audiences will understand the magic of the man and why he was the legend, the icon, the brilliant musician that everyone who did see him live actually remembers.”
Sinatra The Man & His Music at the London Palladium opens on July 10, 2015 and runs for three months – until October 10 – and is the only show to have the support of the Sinatra family.
Tickets: £14.40 – £125. Special rates and concessions available. To book, call 0844 412 2704 or visit www.sinatraonstage.com/.
Times: Monday to Saturday at 7:30pm; Wednesday and Saturday at 3pm.