Las Vegas Review-Journal (Sunday)
Bringing Ol’ Blue Eyes to Broadway
BOB Anderson’s tribute to Ol’ Blue Eyes is making a play for the Great White Way. “Frank: The Man. The Music,” late of The Venetian’s Palazzo Theater, is being revitalized as Anderson has signed multiple Tony Award-winner Eva Price and her partner, Carl Flanigan ,as the musical’s general managers under their Maximum Entertainment Company operation.
Price’s credits include “On Your Feet,” the Gloria and Emilio Estefan story; “Dear Evan Hansen” and the revival of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s “Oklahoma.” She’s worked with more than 15 Broadway musicals, plays and concerts and is a member of The Broadway League’s Board of Governors.
The next step for “Frank” is simple, but legendarily difficult: Find a theater on Broadway ready to stage the show by its targeted spring 2019 opening.
“We are in great shape, and I’m honored to be working with Eva Price and Carl Flanigan,” Anderson said Friday. “This has been such a haul, man, more than five years. But we’re moving closer and I’m really excited.”
Anderson performed in full costume and makeup with a 31-piece orchestra in the original version of the show, which ran from December 2014 through November 2015 at Palazzo Theater. The production just closed three weeks before Frank Sinatra’s 100th birthday Dec. 12.
A master vocal impressionist, Anderson is a revered live performer on the Strip, dating to his famously fortuitous debut, when he was called in at the last minute to open for Nancy Sinatra at the Sahara in 1972. He had shown up to the hotel somewhat bedraggled and in cutoff denim shorts, seeking the next and nearest gig. It happened to be that night. Sinatra summoned Anderson after the Everly Brothers — who were also on the bill — got into a heated argument and backed out of the show.
Anderson’s heyday on the Strip was from the mid-1970s to mid-1980s at the Top of the Dunes lounge at the Dunes hotel. The shows started at midnight, or later, and drew the biggest names of the day. Anderson has performed rote interpretations of such Vegas icons as Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Tom Jones, Sammy Davis Jr., Dean Martin, Nat King Cole, Bobby Darin and Mel Torme.
In July 2017, Anderson filmed a concert version of “Frank” at Avalon Hollywood Theater to pitch to national outlets such as HBO and Netflix. Todd Fisher, son of Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fisher, and whose Hollywood Motion Picture Experience is based in Las Vegas, produced that show. There is still no final decision on where or when that finished performance will appear.
Oddly, Sinatra’s only appearance on Broadway was at the URIS Theater New York from Sept. 8-Sept. 20, 1975, running a total of 16 performances.
“The goal for this show has always been to bring it to Broadway, and we think we have the audience for it,” Anderson said. “It’s some of the greatest music ever performed.”
OTR gets the Naughty
Naughty By Nature performed as expected, and Flavor Flav — conveniently a Las Vegas resident — showed up unbilled on the first On The Record “OTR Wednesdays,” the club’s industry night at Park MGM. He wore the clock necklace and the leather trench coat.
To quote the capacity crowd, “Yeah Booooeey!”
The club hosted Questlove on Friday night and Pete Wentz on Saturday.
Ellie’s feelin’ ‘Blue’
Yes, this would have been more, uh, usable information prior to Friday night, but 2014 Miss Nevada America Ellie Smith was cast as “Drunk Female Passenger” in Friday night’s episode of the CBS series “Blue Bloods.”
Smith’s portrayal was far out of character, but she is clearly toasting what has been a major move in her career.
The pageant champ from Las Vegas won the role against a field of 100 who auditioned. She appeared opposite “Blue Bloods” star Tom Selleck and was sporting what looked like a fur jacket and oversized shades. So you might not have recognized her, but it was her. Smith is also a great singer, and we’re always watching as her career advances … even if we’re a bit tardy.
Higgins, too, feelin’ ‘Blue’
Actor John Michael Higgins and his family attended Blue Man Group at Luxor on Thursday night and posed for the requisite backstage photo with one of the Blue Men (not Vida) afterward. You might know Higgins from “America Says” on Game Show Network; I know him from the canine-comedy classic, “Best In Show,” with this fantastic exchange: “We’re in Philadelphia for 48 hours. How many tea services do you need?” “I have seven. … Make it eight.”
John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. His PodKats podcast can be found at reviewjournal.com/ podcasts. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on Twitter, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.