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Greg Moo ney
e Eyes Is pack
By Matthew Lopez
Directed by Gary Anderson
:;,Eerie and absorbing...at once gorgeous and terrifying.:
September 7 us October 2, 2011*
The vocals of Frank Sinatra shine
in new musical at Fisher Theatre.
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Confederate soldierfarnily borne all throe are uncomfortably inhabiting it
reordered a. Ctermtl, of the just concluded Civil
\Jar. It is Simon, the elder of the two Cornier
slaves and Q. man of stroll, unswevin3 faith who
leads the ceremony.
-
Come Fly Away features 14 dancers in all and an onstage big band.
Suzanne Chessler
Contributing Writer
S eon after Fisher Theatre audi-
ences watch dance interpreta-
tions of Frank Sinatra hits in
Come Fly Away, the first production
of the 2011-12 season, they can gain
insights into the personality delivering
the songs with the upcoming paper-
back edition of Frank: The Voice.
Come Fly Away: A New Musical,
being staged Sept. 13-25, follows four
couples falling in and out of love at a
crowded nightclub. Showcasing Twyla
Tharp choreography, the troupe moves
to actual Sinatra vocals enhanced by
a live big band. Selections include "Fly
Me to the Moon,""My Way" and "That's
Life." Tharp also choreographed Movin'
Out, to the music of Billy Joel.
James Kaplan's
Frank: The Voice
(Anchor Books),
the paperback ver-
sion of last year's
well-reviewed hard-
cover edition to be
released Nov. 1, cov-
James Kaplan
ers the first half of
the entertainer's life.
The author promises insight into the
later years with a hardcover sequel set
to be completed in time for the 100th
anniversary of Sinatra's birth in 2015.
"I haven't seen the show, but one
song that especially delights me every
time I hear it is 'Come Fly With Me:"
says Kaplan, whose writing goal was
to emphasize what he defines as the
genius of Sinatra's musical style.
Kaplan points out that the "Come Fly
With Me" lyrics were written by Sammy
Cahn, one of many Jewish associates
influencing Sinatra, who performed
in Israel, donated large sums to the
American Friends of Hebrew University
and served on the Simon Wiesenthal
Center's board of trustees.
Kaplan's interest in Sinatra as a
subject was inspired by performer
Jerry Lewis. The two worked on
the book Dean and Me, a Lewis
biography. Besides learning about
Sinatra from Lewis, Kaplan gained
more information from musicians
performing on the MDA Labor Day
Telethon with Lewis who recalled
firsthand encounters with Sinatra's
impressive talents.
"I wanted to find a subject who
wouldn't just present a story about one
thing but about many things, and in
Sinatra, there is the story of America
in the 20th century:' says Kaplan, who
has written essays, reviews and pro-
files for many magazines, including
the New Yorker and Vanity Fair.
"Sinatra's life touched on so many
facets of American life from the 1920s
almost until the millennium. It wasn't
just about the music; it was about
movies, politics and literature:'
The range of Sinatra's experiences
reach from making the film The House
I Live In (with the goal of combating
anti-Semitism) to showing fascina-
tion with the ways of Jewish mobster
Bugsy Siegel.
Sinatra, raised Catholic, kept and
wore a mezuzah given to him by his
Jewish babysitter, according to Kaplan,
whose research was helped with the
American music archives maintained
by singer-pianist Michael Feinstein,
recently performing and recording a
string of Sinatra hits.
Manie Sacks, a Jewish executive
with Columbia Records, was another
important influence in Sinatra's con-
siderable achievements, detailed in
the book along with the entertainment
icon's down times.
"Sinatra was very much the manager
of his own career:' Kaplan says. "Manie
made sure Sinatra was commercially
successful while overseeing an impor-
tant part of his recordings." L I
Come Fly Away runs Sept.13-25 at the Fisher Theatre in Detroit.
Performances are 8 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, 2 p.m. Saturday-Sunday
and 7:30 p.m. Sunday. $39-$89. (313) 872-1000; broadwayindetroit.com .
Other shows in the 2011-12 subscription series include A Christmas
Story: The Musical, Million Dollar Quartet, Shrek the Musical, Beauty
and the Beast and Blue Man Group.
-
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Co-Produced
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September 8 • 2011
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