Frank Sinatra mixed with Twyla Tharp choreography creates one of the new plays on Broadway and recently appeared in  Tampa Bay at the Straz Center for Performing Arts.

Come Fly Away brings alive Frank Sinatra’s musical talent in choreography that 16 dancers elegantly and swiftly master. The play sets its stage at a nightclub, and goes through four couples’ relationships. Reviews say that the relationships are not the key of this play but the choreographed dances are.

Matthew Stockwell Dibble, who plays Chanos in this production, lauched his career on Broadway when Come Fly Away debuted in 2010. He says “Sinatra’s voice, the meaning behind what he says, the lyrics and the way he delivers them lend themselves to Twyla’s choreography.” Since the play opened on Broadway, Dibble has witnessed the play transform from two acts to one act for Las Vegas theatres.

He also says regarding Frank Sinatra, “It’s the way he seems to break or stretch a word. If he sang ‘I Did It My Way,’ he put the accent on ‘my’. That accent accentuates the choreography and puts a different emphasis on the movement.” Twyla Tharp never makes a moment stale- there is always movement in the show that evolves more into the plot of this themed work.

Come Fly Away takes you right into the action of this play by solely having the vocal track of Frank Sinatra with the accompaniment of live musicians on the stage. It brings the audience the true songs from Frank Sinatra, not the remakes of his music sung by other artists. Thus, Come Fly Away is a concert style performance with a small intertwined plot that should have Sinatra fans eagerly lined up outside the ticket area.

Come Fly Away is only featured at the Straz Center for a few days. The cast performs here Tuesday, March 27 through Thursday, March 29 at 7:30 p.m., Friday, March 30 at 8 p.m., Saturday, March 31, at 2 and 8 p.m., and Sunday April 1 at 2, at 7:30 p.m.

If you enjoy Frank, the play is definitely one to see!