Friday, March 13, 2009

The Rat Pack Is Back


Last week, we went to see The Rat Pack Is Back at the Robinson Center in Little Rock. I enjoy all types of music, so when my husband heard this show advertised and said it sounded good, I eagerly ordered tickets.

I was really expecting it to be an older crowd, but, boy, was I surprised at the actual turnout. To my right was the expected group of red-hat ladies, but my husband sat next to a boy about 12 or 13 years old. I saw older men in expensive suits and a couple of twenty-something guys in toboggans with tattoos all over their arms. There were women in minks and pearls, and women in blue jeans. I guess it goes to show that music is ageless and classless. Well, some music.

We had pretty good seats. We weren’t right up front, but we were in the center, and I think that’s a good thing when you’re going to see impersonators. We were far enough away not to be able to see their faces clearly, so it was easier to buy into the illusion. The Dean Martin impersonator looked exactly like him from a distance. He really had the mannerisms down, and he could sing well, but he just didn’t quite sound like the original. (And I should know. I used to beg to get to stay up until 9:00 to watch his variety show. My Mom usually let me, and now that I actually get all the jokes, I’m a little surprised that she did.) The Sammy Davis, Jr. impersonator was great. I don’t think he was quite as small as the original, but his voice and dance moves were right on target. But the best was ole Blue Eyes. He looked exactly like him (at least from a distance). He sounded exactly like him. You could easily forget that it wasn’t really Frank Sinatra.

And, of course, the Joey Bishop lookalike was there to liven up the night with jokes. He really played the audience and had us all laughing. Finally, he started a blonde joke. “A blonde walked into a library . . .” he began, and the primed-up audience began to laugh prematurely. “What?” he stopped. “It could happen . . .”

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

It sounds like a fun date! Love the joke. Congratulations on your progress with your paper. I'm so glad you are blogging. I love following your work.