The program cover for Dino – An Evening with Dean Martin shows the body of a man, wearing a tuxedo, who is holding his drink in a double old-fashioned glass.
Now, if you have no idea what size of glass this is, you can stop reading right now. It may mean you are from a younger generation that is more apt to order a lemon drop martini from the bar than whiskey on the rocks.
And you certainly would have no recollection of Dean Martin, one of the greatest entertainers of the 20th century. Teamed with Jerry Lewis (where he first gained celebrity status) and then, years later, as a member of Frank Sinatra’s “rat pack,” Dean Martin crooned his way into America’s hearts.
The boy who grew up in Ohio eventually landed in New York (after abandoning a wife and four children). Dean’s dream was to “make it,” and he began singing in local clubs. Early in the performance, he tells jokes and kiddingly “propositions” pretty girls in the front rows. He looks suave in a tuxedo (costumes by Destiny Harris).
Martin’s warm-up act wouldn’t be complete with references to his “slightly tipsy” behavior. In fact, Martin is introduced as, “straight from the bar ….” Martin’s character was so linked to his drinking that he enters from the wings with a drink in one hand and a cigarette in the other. Later, when he sits on a stool waiting center stage, Martin buckles himself in as if in a car or airplane. Martin wasn’t afraid to laugh at himself, and he was still a popular figure when he died in 1995.
For two hours, Martin goes through one medley after another, from his well-known hits, “Ain’t That a Kick in the Head,” “That’s Amore,” and “Volare,” to other musical numbers from his era.
In addition to pretending that the multi-talented Tally Sessions is actually Dean Martin, the audience is also supposed to place themselves in a wintry Milwaukee night in 1978 (the wintry part is all-too-believable). Martin’s regular accompanist, band members and back-up dancers were stuck in the snow, Martin says. So he forges on with a substitute, PJ Ju, accompanying him on piano and guitar.
Sessions gives an impressive performance, in every sense of the word. He looks nothing like Dean Martin, despite the famed singer’s hairstyle. It’s clear that the talented Sessions can dance circles around Dean – and hit the notes better, too.
Sessions is an actor with Broadway credits, who has also appeared in other productions (outside of Milwaukee) as Sweeney Todd, the Beast, from Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, and Captain von Trapp from The Sound of Music. He is a terrific chameleon, as all actors must be.
Here, he has perfected the gestures and dance moves that were part of Dean Martin’s repertoire. Credit also goes to director Jonathan Hetler, who has programmed this act seamlessly.
Other highlights include song standards such as “It’s the Glory of Love,” “Pretty Baby,” and “It Had to Be You.” In between songs, Sessions reveals some facts about Martin’s life, including the crooner’s three marriages and three divorces. We also learn that Martin’s favorite way of clinching a business contract was with a handshake.
At one point during the show, Martin gets a phone call from “Frank Sinatra.” This spurs a host of memories about his days with Frank, Peter Lorre, and Sammy Davis Jr. Martin notes poignantly that Davis, who was Black, wasn’t always allowed to stay in the hotels he performed in.
Younger audiences in the crowd must remember that, during Martin’s era, it wasn’t surprising for women to be referred to as “dames” or “broads.” Instead of saying a particular woman’s name, Martin would often over-use the term, “Baby.” Among members of the rat pack, that’s just the way it was.
Martin never veers far from the bar – even when onstage. Tally begins the second act by rolling out a chrome and glass bar car. He then accompanies himself with various bar tools, such as a stainless steel cocktail shaker. He is now dressed in what would be called “casual business wear” for that time.
As the mild-mannered pianist, PJ Ju sometimes gets into the act, playing straight man to Martin’s jokes. They even have a “competition,” of sorts, during one memorable number. Ju is equally adept on the guitar as the piano, and it makes for some nice variety in the act.
The show is being done in the Milwaukee Repertory Theater’s Stackner Cabaret. It’s sort of a nightclub setting, with small tables and chairs (with a bar in the rear). It seems the perfect backdrop to a performer who developed his act at countless clubs over the years.
After an entertaining two-hour show, Martin signs off with his signature tune, “Everybody Loves Somebody Sometime.” Those who remember the crooner fondly won’t want to miss a chance to “see” him again.
