Image: Milwaukee Rep
Milwaukee Rep "My Way"
Next month, the Milwaukee Rep brings David Grapes and Todd Olson’s My Way, an acclaimed presentation of 50 songs associated with Sinatra, to the Stackner Cabaret. As if no one vocalist could fill Sinatra’s place, the repertoire will be performed by four singer-musicians familiar to local theater audiences: Alex Bechtel, Kara Mikula, Nygel D. Robinson and Tiffany Topol.
Unlike many stars of his day who were content to sing the songs they were given, Sinatra leveraged his popularity for control over his repertoire and commissioned work from writers he admired. He added many numbers to the Great American Songbook. Even early on, Sinatra seldom failed to praise those songwriters by name while in concert. However, many of those lyrics and melodies—even when they became standards—are chiefly remembered from his indelible recordings.
“The many songs Sinatra recorded were often musical and lyrical masterpieces, but it was his interpretation and connection to the material that made him a star and continues to resonate with audiences,” says My Way’s director and choreographer, Kelley Faulkner, familiar to Milwaukee audiences from stage performances and her direction of the Rep’s tribute to the great artists of 1930s and ‘40s jazz, The All Night Strut! “His voice had such ease and carried such emotion, and he was able to move effortlessly between genres and eras and still remain on top of his game.”
In between numbers, My Way’s cast will engage in banter and anecdotes about Sinatra’s songbook in a setting that suggests a jazz club “where audiences could feel like they were witnessing a jam session with the coolest musicians in town. The set and costumes live in a contemporary world with some decidedly retro edges,” Faulkner says.
Stay on top of the news of the day
Subscribe to our free, daily e-newsletter to get Milwaukee's latest local news, restaurants, music, arts and entertainment and events delivered right to your inbox every weekday, plus a bonus Week in Review email on Saturdays.
The four singers, Faulkner insists, will not do Sinatra impressions but bring “their own unique individuality to the material and putting their own spin on these familiar tunes. We have four incredible vocalists who are also multi-instrumentalists and who are all creative collaborators.”
The 50-song package presents a deep well of material. “Audiences will hear a ton of favorites but also many songs that they may not have ever heard before, or perhaps didn’t realize that Sinatra had recorded,” Faulkner says.
March 4-May 1 at Stackner Cabaret. For more information, visit milwaukeerep.com.
