AUGUSTA, Mich.–Lots of good things come out of the Barn Theatre. And very often, those good things return to its stage.

The latest is the closing show of their 2017 summer season, The Vegas Rat Pack. A musical revue that pays tribute to Rat Pack members Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr. and Dean Martin, its founding members met back in 1994 at the Barn Theatre. Seth Abrams was an apprentice and Michigan native Bruce Hammonds was returning to star in a show after three years as an apprentice.

A friendship was formed and 20 years later, they started touring with Kenny Jones to pay tribute to the music and comedy of the famous trio they were impersonating.

The show runs for only one week and opened with Charlie King stepping in for their usual emcee who was called away at the last minute. King performed several original songs on electric guitar that were lyrically entertaining and amusing but musically a little stale. His most entertaining moment came when he brought out one of the Barn apprentices to sing “Three Jugs.”

After King finished his numbers, the full band was brought out to surround the stage with their music. With a drummer anchoring the center of the stage, there was an upright bass, a keyboardist, and a horn section. They gave the singers a full sound and provided beautiful texturing.

The three impersonators—Hammonds as Frank Sinatra, Abrams as Dean Martin and Jones as Sammy Davis Jr.—rose from the pit in a rousing number that raised the energy levels both on stage and off.

While each had their turn as soloists where they commanded the stage with the other two backstage, they worked best as a trio. It was then that their sound was the fullest, they were able to play off each other comedically and their charisma and connection made it an exciting show.

Each performer has his own set where he performs the music the original stars made famous. It’s a recreation of the type of shows that the Rat Pack did in Vegas back in the 1960s. It includes Davis’ impersonations, Martin’s drinking and stand-up comedy and Sinatra’s seductive singing.

Abrams brought the biggest character to the stage, making Martin larger-than-life with his drunkenness, direct appeal to the audience and his swagger. Whether he was singing in Italian or the Italian sounding “That’s Amore,” or the love ballads such as “Everybody Loves Somebody,” he evoked the charisma of the man known as “The King of Cool.”

He also had great comedic moments with the trio re-creating skits in the style of those that were performed on the Dean Martin Show. Most of those skits worked, though a couple fell flat. The most successful was the one that was based on a computer dating match-up, one that didn’t fit their 1963 time period, but was entertaining nonetheless.

Jones didn’t have the larger-than-life qualities that the other two members of the trio did. He wore the iconic jewelry and had many of the same looks as Davis, but couldn’t quite pull off his legendary showmanship, especially not next to the other members of the trio. He did do Davis’ famous impersonations well, performing one song in many different voices.

Jones was best in the semi-quiet moments such as when he sang, “Mr. Bojangles.” It was then that Jones’ subtlety and richness of voice was effective and attention-grabbing.

The final solo set went to Hammond and he gave the audience everything they might expect from a performance by Ol’ Blue Eyes. From the snazz of his tuxedo to the richness of his voice, Hammond brought Sinatra to life on stage. He had a style all his own that distinguished him from the other members of the trio. He crooned the famous ballads and was at all times suave and debonair.

There were times when the trio begged a little too hard for applause from the relatively small audience rather than letting the energy build organically with authentic responses. However, they made constant efforts to reach out to the audience, sometimes leaving the stage to distribute handshakes and kisses.

With such classic numbers as “Luck be a Lady Tonight” and “My Way,” the show makes its appeal to Boomers who remember the days and nights of live shows in Vegas when any one of the three might crash another’s show to delight the audiences. The orchestra contributes to the lush sound that fills the Barn space.

For Rat Pack fans, the show is well worth the drive to Augusta.

Click here for show days, times and details.