“The Rat Pack is Back” and is performing in Arizona.  The popularly acclaimed Broadway tribute show to the talented stars of the 1960’s, Joey Bishop, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr. and Frank Sinatra–known together as “The Rat Pack”–is headed to The Valley this month. Style with substance, swing with swagger and a non-stop party arrives on Valley stages at the Mesa Arts Center January 10-11; January 12-15 at the Orpheum Theatre.

The Las Vegas Sun exclaims, “‘The Rat Pack is Back’ is as close as anyone has come to capturing the feeling of the real thing.” The show’s producer, Dick Feeney, has done a wonderful job reinventing the characters for the performance. He has picked four men that are witty, charming, well spoken, and have great voices. These men’s vocal talents make even grown men swoon when they hear “Everybody Loves Somebody.”

Get to know the cast members who will be performing this weekend.

Drew Anthony

Drew Anthony grew up in New Haven, Conn. Anthony has always had a passion for singing because he grew up singing with his grandmother. She was extremely adamant that Anthony sang her favorite songs, like Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin. Anthony quickly took a liking to the old classics and since then has been much of a rock-and-roll type of singer.

His Italian roots have made Anthony extremely close with is family, which makes him not only endearing but also easy to talk to. He remembered that his grandma always said, “I would make a living singing and I didn't care when I was a kid but when I got older, I found a way to make it happen. I was blessed to make a living out of it.” Anthony goes on to describe his good-luck charms: “I keep a picture of my grandmother and my mom in my tuxedo pocket, now I sound truly Italian, but every night on stage there are with me and I can take them with me to each performance.”

 After Anthony’s childhood days, he continued to sing and play songs in wedding bands and went to school for jazz. He kept finding ways to sing and the musical theater was perfect place to show his talent and be himself while still being able to perform in casinos. He moved to Vegas in a pursuit of a career in 2006, he saw the “Rat Pack is Back” and fell in love. He auditioned for Frank Sinatra but little did he know that Anthony would be the perfect impersonator for Dean Martin. He landed the part of Dean and never looked back. The job is special to Anthony because he has the ability to make a living on what he loves to do. He always loved performing because of the enjoyment the audience gets from watching him sing. Anthony says, “When people smile I know I did my job right!”

Anthony loves performing because with the “Rat Pack is Back” there is a script but never a set formula to follow; nothing is ever set in stone. According to Anthony, every show is special because “there is always a different mood and things always change when we are having fun.” He never worries about loosing himself in a roll because although he loves all the classic songs, “I respect Dean Martin and I don't take my job lightly. What he did with his life is amazing and he left behind tons of fans but I have a very different personality and lifestyle so I hardly absorb his mannerisms into my day to day lifestyle.”  

Brian Duprey

Brian Duprey is from Rhode Island but has lived in Las Vegas for 10 years now. Although it is very seldom used, he can drive in the snow and take on that job if it ever decides to hit below zero in Vegas. Duprey stared to learn how to imitate Frank Sinatra when he was 14 years old. He kept his talent hidden and would whip it out as a pocket talent or in karaoke bars. He never wanted to sing for a living but it just happened and fell into place. Duprey was in the pharmaceutical industry and would travel for long period of time for about five years. He became bored in his day-to-day life and realized he wanted to sing. On a whim, he quit his job, moved to Vegas and got his first gig at Caesar’s Palace.

Like Anthony, Duprey has never had an identity crisis when he has to impersonate Frank Sinatra. He says, “I am not like Frank at all. I just become him for a few hours then get right out of character.” Duprey is much more laidback than Sinatra ever was; he likes to play golf and is “not an unmediated bipolar, luckily, I do not have a nasty-and-nice switch bottom.” Since Sinatra had some issues in his behavior, Duprey taps into that and it helps him perform much better. Duprey still admires Sinatra though for his opinions in equal rights and always standing up for what he believed in.

The most gratifying part of all of this to Duprey is the fact that he gets to have an outlet for people to hear him sing and he is thankful for that. Also, he appreciates the little moments to be free of Frank’s character and laugh. He enjoys the flexibility in his character. I love that I am able to “maintain Frank Sinatra but laugh like Brain Duprey, those are the moments I look forward to.”

Click here to find out dates and where to buy tickets!