Show pays tribute to Rat Pack
What: Sandy Hackett's The Rat Pack Show: Shadows in the Desert
When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 28
Where: Odell Williamson Auditorium, 50 College Road NW, Supply
Tickets: $10-$27
Details: 755-7416 or www.bccowa.com
The name Rat Pack conjures images of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr. Pure class and sophistication – entertainers in every sense of the word.
The comedian Buddy Hackett didn't have the same swagger as the diehard Rat Packers, but he was welcome on their stage. And whenever he grabbed the mic, he kept the audience laughing.
All of the Rat Pack have passed on, but their style survives. And Hackett's son, Sandy, who made his TV debut on Dean Martin's talk show when he was 11 years old, wanted to do it justice. He wanted to capture that "narrow slice of history" when Sinatra, Martin, Davis and Joey Bishop were filming "Ocean's 11" by day and performing in Las Vegas showrooms at night.
Bishop once asked Sandy Hackett to portray him in an HBO special. Hackett didn't get that gig, but he kept the idea alive. Eventually, he formed his own Rat Pack tribute show, which plays weekly at the Las Vegas Hotel & Casino. On Saturday, Jan. 28, as part of a national tour, the show swings into Brunswick County's Odell Williamson Auditorium for a single show.
"There are other Rat Pack shows," Hackett said during a phone interview from California last week. "But I don't think they put in the time and effort that we do. And none have the character of Joey Bishop."
Hackett says Bishop is integral to his show, which takes place in modern times. The idea is that the Rat Pack is sent back from heaven to perform one more time. This allows Hackett to include more modern comedy and eliminate any politically incorrect subtext from the 1960s.
Hackett also wrote in a part for a female he calls Frank's One Love, which is essentially the role of Ava Gardner. The part is played by Lisa Dawn Miller, Hackett's wife. Miller brings a beautiful voice, sultry good looks and a connection to the late Ron Miller, a renowned Motown songwriter who wrote hits for Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross and Ray Charles.
Hackett incorporated some of Miller's songs into the show, including "Will I Still Be Me?" and the torch song "Wasn't I a Good Time?"
Hackett says the touring show is longer than the Vegas edition, which has to be condensed so that gamblers aren't kept away from the casinos for too long.
If Hackett's web site is any indication, the production will be professionally tailored from beginning to end and no detail will be ignored.
And, while most promoters like to think that their show is the best of the best, Hackett goes a step further.
"It has never happened that someone has said, ‘We were disappointed,'" Hackett said. "They always say, ‘Wow, we were really impressed.'"
Mike Voorheis: 343-2205