28 Oct - 14 Nov 2009
Music Review

The epitome of style and suaveness, the Rat Pack – consisting of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Junior and others – took the world by storm in the 1960s.  Now glitzy Las Vegas will come to Durban  as these hip, cool, wisecracking cats swagger onto stage... so laid-back as to be virtually horizontal! 

Of course, it won’t be the slick trio themselves, but the next best thing: a crack South African cast of singers, featuring American impersonator Patrick Tobin as Ol’ Blue Eyes, Dantanio Goodman as Sammy, and Matthew Stewardson – one of SA’s most accomplished Rat Pack performers – as “Dino”. 

Audiences can look forward to an entertaining evening with these whisky-swigging legends, who will recreate the era of swing, jazz and rock ’n roll, complete with a white-hot nine-piece big band.  Expect to hear favourites such as Fly me to the Moon, That’s Amore, Mack the Knife, I Only Have Eyes for You and My Way.

The Rat Pack concept originated in the 1950s, anchored around Humphrey Bogart, but by the ’60s the group included Frank, Dean and Sammy, as well as Joey Bishop and Peter Lawford. They and their music have become immortal, with the recent remake of the Ocean’s 11 movie and its sequels, as well as artists such as Robbie Williams and Michael Bublé, helping to repopularise the genre among younger generations. 

It’s a gas, it’s swell, it’s The Rat Pack – for three weeks only.  So straighten up and fly right, and saunter up to the Sneddon  for an evening in the company of three legends. Tickets are from R95 to R150  and are available through Computicket.