As the world premiere of the new show opens in Birmingham, Sinatra’s daughter reflects on her father’s music, his romance with Ava Gardener and being a Savoy girl at heart
One of Tina Sinatra’s lasting memories of being in the UK with her father Frank took place in the lobby of Claridge’s. ‘I remember coming to London to meet him; I guess I was in high school,’ she recalls. ‘I remember the concierge quietly, politely came over to me, with my long brown hair and bell-bottom jeans and quirky wedged shoes, and he said “Would you mind leaving the lobby?”.’
‘And with that Dad walked in and said ‘Pigeon! – he called me Pigeon – and the concierge turned right away. It was a funny moment.’ She hasn’t been back to Claridge’s, nor ‘felt comfortable in a lobby’ since, she jokes. ‘I’m a Savoy girl now!’
Yet the youngest daughter of one of the world’s most enduring musical figures (and sister of Nancy and Frank Jnr.), has found herself back in the UK as Sinatra The Musical gears up for its world premiere at the Birmingham Rep on Saturday 23 September.
Based on the life and career of Frank Sinatra, Tina, 75, is coming to the close of a journey that’s been some 10 years in the making. The concept of creating a ‘musical stagebook play’ that featured Frank Sinatra’s hits stems from a familial desire to ‘continue to bring his music forth’, she explains. Bringing his story to live theatre felt like a perfect match.
That, and bringing a collection of stories to life that might otherwise have been lost to history. ‘Dad never wrote a biography, and never would,’ Tina says. ‘You can’t open a book and hear the music. He felt his music was his biography.’
