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Bringing some Las Vegas nostalgia to the Tri-Cities, the new age Rat Pack is on tour and on top of their game.
Fans of Joey Bishop, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr. and Ol' Blue Eyes himself, Frank Sinatra, can catch The Rat Pack is Back! show, at 7 p.m. Oct. 14 at the Toyota Center at 7016 W. Grandridge Blvd. in Kennewick.
"I think younger people would like to see the show, even if they don't really know these guys per say," said Brian Duprey, who plays Frank Sinatra. "I think they would have a good time because once you get in there, you can relate to the comedy as well as the music because you're going to recognize songs. The show works because it's entertaining, period."
Historically, the group never actually called themselves the Rat Pack. It was a term used by journalists and outsiders. Still, even after the stars' passing, the term Rat Pack is still used.
The show was created in Las Vegas and has been performed throughout the country. It's set in the 1960s, when the four icons were at the height of their acting and singing careers and filmed the movie Oceans 11 in Las Vegas.
"So that started the whole thing," Duprey said. "They were in Vegas filming the movie and thought, 'Hey, why don't we perform here?' It all came across as a really fun time."
The fun has been passed on to this Rat Pack, which also stars Mickey Joseph as Bishop, Drew Anthony as Martin and Kenny Jones as Davis. Duprey admits the group has good rapport.
"I think obviously people know the people that were involved in the Rat Pack," Duprey said. "People can expect to hear a great small piece band, great music, good singers, and a lot of comedy intertwined between the show. It's sort of like if you were back in the '60s watching these guys in concert. What a typical show might look like back in the day, that's the type of flavor we're trying to capture."
Duprey first got into Sinatra when he was 15.
"I'm an old soul," he said. "I really liked that kind of thing. He sort of gave everyone else that came after him a framework of how to sing a song correctly within that genre."
In 2003, Duprey performed on the FOX TV show Performing As and won the first round, earning him $20,000 and plenty of exposure. A career highlight was in 2007, when Howard Stern played audio of Duprey singing for Nancy Sinatra, who couldn't distinguish between him and her father.
"When you go to Vegas, you want to say 'What can I take away from this experience?' " Duprey said. "People want to see something nostalgic, something with some culture, and if there's a show that presents itself like ours, then people want to see it and go back in the day to old Vegas because it was a really cool time. We keep the show moving at a fast pace, so there's no way someone can say I hate the show because it's boring."
Tickets start at $27. For more information, go to www.yourtoyotacenter.com.
*Bethany Woo: 582-1465; blee@tricityherald.com
