Sinatra and dance thrill a Fort Smith audience
by February 14, 2012 3:48 pm 98 views
Though it was cold outside, things heated up pretty quickly inside the Arkansas Best Performing Arts Center as dancers wowed a packed crowd at Come Fly Away — a musical conceived, choreographed and directed by one of the biggest names in the business, Twyla Tharp. All music was by “Ol’ Blue Eyes” himself, the late Frank Sinatra.
The touring production of the show, in Fort Smith for just one night, drew fans young and old. Sinatra’s vocals were backed up by an 18-piece band on stage while more than a dozen dancers performed choreographed dances to each of Sinatra’s songs.
Come Fly Away was the last national touring production scheduled in the Season of Entertainment 31 of the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith.
The musical is set in a 1940s New York City night club and follows four couples who fall in and out of love. Many in the audience couldn’t help but mouth the words to Sinatra mainstays such as “New York, New York,” “Witchcraft,” and “Luck Be a Lady.”
The cast of composers was perhaps as impressive as Tharp’s stunning choreography. The show featured original arrangements by Nelson Riddle, Don Costa, Billy May, Gordon Jenkins, Quincy Jones, Johnny Mandel, Neal Hefti, Torrie Zito, Sam Nestico and Ernie Freeman.
The musical follows the couples Kate and Hank and Sid and Babe through coupling up and uncoupling through seductive and graceful dance. The movements themselves tell the story with no words ever spoken.
The Come Fly Away’s 80-minute running time passed quickly and left the audience wanting more, as evidenced by the solid standing ovation they delivered in the end.
The cast in order of appearance were Betsy (Ramona Kelley), Marty (Christopher Vo), Sid (Stephen Hanna), Kate (Ashley Blair Fitzgerald), Slim (Amy Ruggiero), Hank (Anthony Burrell), Chanos (Matthew Stockwell Dibble), and Babe (Meredith Miles).