Cast member Nathan Madden describes the musical Come Fly Away this way: “If you love big-band music and if you love women being thrown across the room to another partner, maybe you’ll have a good time. We certainly do.” The latest offering from Gexa Energy Broadway, the show pairs the smooth vocals of Frank Sinatra with the quirky choreography of Twyla Tharp to tell the story of four couples falling in and out of love.
Madden, who spent his senior year at Houston’s HSPVA and later graduated from Juilliard, performs as part of the ensemble and understudy to the role of Sid, which he gets to do three to four times a week. He had previously turned down roles in other Broadway tours, but when the opportunity with TUTS came up — that’s where he got his start — he decided to take it. “It’s the right timing,” he says.
Madden warns audiences, “If you’re coming expecting a Frank impersonator, you’re not going to get that.” In Come Fly Away, a live, 14-piece orchestra backs up the recordings from the Chairman of the Board as couples whirl through one night in a club.”For me the magic is that it really is Frank’s voice. And on top of it you have Twyla’s choreography; she always challenges herself and reinvents herself. The show has gone through many changes; in New York it was two acts — they brought it to Vegas and shortened it, made it one act. I think it’s extremely entertaining.”
7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, 8 p.m Friday, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, 2 and 7:30 p.m. Sunday. Hobby Center, 800 Bagby. For information, call 800‑952‑6560 or visit www.-thehobbycenter.org. $30 to $85.
Tuesdays-Thursdays, 7:30 p.m.; Fri., April 13, 8 p.m.; Sat., April 14, 2 & 8 p.m.; Sun., April 15, 2 & 7:30 p.m. Starts: April 10. Continues through April 15, 2012
