Sinatra: RAW

Performed on Wed 17 Apr

“Shelton Sizzles As Sinatra… His mannerisms, his repartee with the audience, his velvety voice, are all incredible.” Hollywood Fringe 2023 - Bonnie Priever, Curtain Up

“… an astonishing performance of one of the greatest icons of our age… Richard Shelton’s performance is mesmerizing, emotional, tender and utterly real... if you love Sinatra and honestly, who doesn’t, this is unmissable.” Hollywood Fringe 2023 - Samantha Simmonds-Ronceros, NoHo Arts

The critically acclaimed, multi-award-winning show ‘Sinatra: RAW’ stars actor and singer Richard Shelton, accompanied on piano. Wolverhampton-born, and fondly remembered from TV’s ‘Emmerdale’, Shelton is internationally acclaimed as one of the world’s best interpreters of Frank Sinatra’s music. ‘Sinatra: RAW’ brings to life the man who defined an era, and whose musical legacy will never die.

Palm Springs, 1971 - Frank Sinatra prepares for his last pre-retirement intimate show. But his blue eyes are red rimmed with memories and regret. He drinks ‘One For My Baby’ too many when things take an unexpected twist. This is the 2am Sinatra you dream of meeting - dangerous, unpredictable, brilliant!

Regrets? He’s had a few. Sinatra gathers a few friends together in the Purple Room, Palm Springs to sing a few songs around the piano, smoke a few cigarettes and reminisce. As the Jack Daniels goes down, the memories surface. He rails against the iniquities of Mafia allegations, a trail of broken love affairs, a life as the leader of the Rat Pack and a life in Hollywood littered with indiscretions and even a suicide attempt.

At the heart of it is the great love of his life, Ava Gardner – arguably the most beautiful actress in Hollywood and known as ‘The Body’. She’s no pushover and meets him drink for drink and punch for punch as he recalls the heartbreak of their doomed love affair and marriage.

Despite it all, Sinatra emerges triumphant in a belting rendition of ‘That’s Life!’, summing up the substance of the man, and we see what made him such an enduring icon.