Ol' Blue Eyes and Friends

For those of you who have never been to Las Vegas, Celebrity Attractions will take you there this weekend. And for those of you who weren't around in the 1950s, who don't remember a time before AIDS, global warming, cell phones, microwaves and the Internet, Celebrity Attractions will take you there as well.

The production company responsible for bringing major Broadway acts to Tulsa brings The Rat Pack: Live at the Sands, which enjoyed four years on London's West End while also touring across the U.S. and abroad.

The Rat Pack, starring Stephen Triffit as Frank Sinatra, David Hayes as Sammy Davis Jr. and Phil Barley as Dean Martin, takes audiences back in time to Las Vegas's Sand Hotel when three of America's musical legends crooned, quipped and horseplayed together on stage.

Hayes says Sammy Davis Jr. is his "entertainment hero" and has been impersonating the man for years. But, he says, when he, Triffit and Barley are on stage, they are not imitating Sinatra, Davis and Dean; they are those guys.

"I say this with humility, but when we're on stage, we are (the Rat Pack). It's a transformation, as opposed to an impersonation," Hayes said. "It's authentic."

The show involves a 15-piece orchestra and includes such classic hits as "Fly Me to the Moon," "That's Life," "Mr. Bojangles," "I've Got You Under My Skin," "That's Amore," "Me and My Shadow" and "New York, New York."

Each performer has his solo opportunities, the three do a few numbers together, and they engage in plenty of banter in between. Most of the dialogue is scripted, Hayes said, and much of it is derived from actual conversation carried on between Sinatra, Davis and Dean when they shared a stage. What isn't derived is inspired.

"If those guys did it, we do it," Hayes said.

Hayes said he thinks people who remember the Rat Pack with fondness will enjoy its reincarnation and that those who are too young to remember it will still enjoy and appreciate its purity, quality and nostalgia.

At the time of this writing, The Rat Pack: Live at the Sands was enjoying its run in Oklahoma City, which Kristin Dotson, marketing director for Celebrity Attractions, said has been very successful. She also said season ticket holders in Tulsa have reacted favorably to the show's appearance on the 2008-2009 bill.

Tickets to the show, which opened on Tues., Nov. 18 and continues through Sun., Nov. 23 are $15-$50. Showtimes are 7:30pm Thursday, 8pm Friday, 2pm and 8pm Saturday and 2pm and 7pm Sunday in the Chapman Music Hall of the Tulsa Performing Arts Center, 110 E. 2nd St. For more, visit tulsapac.org.

All in One Place

Also at the Tulsa PAC, Oral Roberts University theatre department presents "Moonlight and Magnolias," which recounts absurd, albeit actual events surrounding the production of one of history's most notorious films, Gone With the Wind. The play is written by Ron Hutchison and directed by Courtneay Sanders and will be performed November 20-23 at 8pm and 2pm (Sunday only) in the Liddy Doenges Theatre.

On Sunday, Nov. 23, at 3pm in the John H. Williams Theatre, Chamber Music Tulsa will present the American Chamber Players, a six-member ensemble performing familiar masterpieces, forgotten gems and newly commissioned American works.

Tulsa-based artist Jeremy Lamberton's exhibit "Pictures from Lookout Mountain" still hangs in the PAC's gallery but will come down November 25. Lamberton's inspiration for this collection of photography comes from his home, a ranch on Lookout Mountain.

More to See

Philbrook Museum of Art, 2727 S. Rockford Road, hosts its second 3rd Thursday event this Thurs., Nov. 20. The first 3rd Thursday event, in October, Political Poster Print Action, was wildly successful.

Thursday's event, in conjunction with the Art Directors Club of Tulsa, brings animator Jay Schuster, who will discuss his work on Pixar films Wall-E and Cars.

The evening begins at 5pm and will include a cash bar and local DJ. Admission to the event is free with paid museum admission, which, for adults, is $7, and guests are welcome to visit the other areas of the museum until 8pm. For more information, visit philbrook.org.

Also at Philbrook, November 23 marks the beginning of the museum's annual holiday event Festival of Trees. The event runs through December 7, and all of the holiday-themed and Christmas tree-shaped art, which is made my local artists, on display is also for sale. The event is open during regular Philbrook hours.

On Sat., Nov. 22, Gilcrease Museum, 1400 N. Gilcrease Museum Road, presents "Where God Makes the Scenery," a lecture by Michael Lasser on the influence of American music about natural places on the social and emotional context of people living during Ansel Adams' productive years. The lecture begins at 1:30pm in the Tom Gilcrease Jr. Auditorium.

Saturday also marks the opening of a new exhibit at Gilcrease, "Cheyenne Ledger: Art from Fort Reno," which will hang through March 22.

On Saturday at 6pm, Living Arts of Tulsa, 308 S. Kenosha, will hold its annual gala, holiday sale and auction "Champagne & Chocolate."

On display and for sale will be art, curated by Living Arts director Steve Liggett, by more than 60 Oklahoma artists. Paintings, pewter vessels, jewelry, pottery, photography and turned wood will be available.

Dragonmoon Tea Co. and CFC Chocolatiers will provide complimentary champagne and chocolate.

Tickets are $15 at the door or available online at livingarts,org. Advanced tickets will be sold for $10.

Prior to the gala's opening to the public, patrons with a purchase credit of $250 or more will be able to preview the art available for auction. The preview party begins at 5pm.