Who was she when she first heard these songs, compared with the woman she is today? Why do they remind her of so many couples she's known? And what is the essence of Ol' Blue Eyes' music beyond the thrill of an unforgettable vocal?
Tharp, one of the dance world's most respected choreographers and directors, set out to answer these questions in her newest musical, “Come Fly With Me," based on Sinatra's songs, which began previews this week at Atlanta's Alliance Theatre. It has become a very personal pursuit for her, even though she is dealing with a musical library that is intimately familiar to millions.
“There's a lot of history for me here," she said, minutes after watching a final rehearsal of the show in New York. “I wanted to get at some deeper meaning in this music, to open a much bigger world."
The new two-act musical tells the story in dance of four couples who meet and fall in and out of love in one night. As their tales unfold, tapes of vintage Sinatra vocals are accompanied by a live 17-piece big band playing original orchestrations by Nelson Riddle, Billy May, Quincy Jones and others.
Although Sinatra's songs were typically sung from a man's point of view, Tharp gives equal voice to both sexes in her storytelling. In the case of one couple, a man meets a woman and they have a torrid affair. But soon she feels stifled by him and falls into the arms of other men, flaunting her independence. Then she returns, and they plunge into a stormy, unsettled relationship. At the end, nothing is resolved.
“In this version, the women have their own reality," said Tharp, toying with a platter of Greek food in a Manhattan restaurant. “They instigate a lot of the action. There's a female vocalist who sings several numbers with the band, to offer a woman's perspective, and the men have to deal with it. It's no longer about things happening their way."
Audiences have powerful memories of Sinatra songs, she added, “but they'll also have memories of relationships in their lives. Relationships that failed, relationships that worked, relationships that evolved into being just friends, and relationships where you don't speak to the person anymore. By the end it should feel like the scrapbook of your love life."
Tharp has used Sinatra's music as a soundtrack in three previous ballets, but the new musical is easily her most ambitious effort yet. It follows on the heels of two shows that also choreographed a musical narrative to the songs of a pop music giant: “Movin' Out," her 2001 musical set to the songs of Billy Joel, won a Tony Award, played 1,303 performances on Broadway and toured for three years. “The Times They Are A'Changin," a 2006 show featuring the songs of Bob Dylan, opened to blistering reviews and closed after four weeks.
North Carolina Dance Theatre performed Twyla Tharp's Nine Sinatra Songs as part of Ballet, Ballroom & Bluegrass, September 17-19, 2009, at the Belk Theater in Charlotte, NC.
