By MICHELLE HERBISON
MORTGAGING his house in 1998 to pursue a show celebrating Frank Sinatra turned out to be a worthwhile risk for entertainer Tom Burlinson.
Fifteen years later the star of The Man from Snowy River is still performing Frank – A Life in Song, finally bringing the show to regional centres including Geelong.
“It’s been far more successful than I ever imagined,” Burlinson reminisced.
An initial 12 shows at a Sydney theatre were so successful he ended up touring the show as far as Melbourne, Adelaide, Toronto and Las Vegas.
The show celebrated the “legend of entertainment” with music from Sinatra’s 60-year career, Burlinson explained.
“I start off with a couple of very well-known Sinatra songs, World on a String and Come Fly With Me. Then I go back in time to the early days of 1939 and chronologically through his career.”
Burlinson said he told stories giving context to the songs but avoided details of Sinatra’s personal life or allegations of his association with the mafia.
“My love for Sinatra has always been the music but Sinatra often chose material that reflected how he was feeling about things.
“There was the dramatic downturn of his career and the tempestuous love affair with Ava Gardner. I talk about his fantastic career comeback in the 1950s after winning an academy award for best supporting actor.”
Burlinson channelled Sinatra without “pretending to be him”, emulating his famous, fluid, bel canto style.
“People say you can close your eyes and it’s like Frank is still alive, which I take as a great compliment. It’s still me singing the songs but very much in the Sinatra style.”
Burlinson said Sinatra’s music was influential throughout his life despite being a child of The Beatles generation.
“Something about that music grabbed me when I was very young.”
Burlinson attempted to put the show to bed in 2009, instead taking Now We’re Swingin on tour, but realised regional cities had missed out on the Frank show.
The initial 16-piece band would shrink to an eight-piece for the regional shows, with a trumpet, a trombone, two saxophones, a piano, a bass, a guitar and drums, he said.
Tom Burlinson performs Frank – A Life in Song at Geelong Performing Arts Centre on 10 August.
