‘Come Fly Away’ does Sinatra proud

“Come Fly Away” brings together two exceptional elements.

It has the voice of the late Frank Sinatra – and I do mean “The Voice” – delivering about 27 of his greatest hits via the magic of audio technology.

And it has a world-class troupe of amazing dancers delivering the impossibly energetic choreography of the legendary Twyla Tharp.

These two elements are easily sufficient to create an entertaining, and sometimes exhilarating, evening of theater. A little more than 80 minutes of spectacle fly by like, well, like one of Twarp’s dancers leaping toward the rafters.

It’s a good thing, too, because “Come Fly Away” left me a bit baffled in the storytelling department. The story, such as it is, is told entirely through dance. There were many moments when I wasn’t sure what the dancers were saying beyond, “We are good. Really good.”

And that was enough. The true pleasure of “Come Fly Away” is in experiencing artists at the top of their game, reveling in the sheer joy of their art.

For me, the music alone was worth a ticket. I need not explain why Sinatra endures as the archetype of the crooner. Suffice to say that his vocals – digitally removed from the original instrumental tracks – fill the entire INB with warm, rich, bourbon-smooth tones. Using his recordings was, without a doubt, a smarter strategy than having a live singer attempt to imitate what is essentially inimitable.

And the sizzling 14-piece band was exuberantly live. The band occupied the back half of the stage – the setting was a nightclub – so the musicians were very much a part of the show. We saw the pianist-conductor Rob Cookman counting off the beat; the trumpeter Mike Herriott snapping his fingers; and sax man P.J. Perry digging deep into his solo. Their live accompaniment blended seamlessly with the recorded vocals.

On a few songs, the band itself took the spotlight sans Sinatra, most memorably in a perfect rendition of Dave Brubeck’s instrumental “Take Five.”

But the dance is without a doubt the most mind-boggling part of “Come Fly Away.” Tharp’s choreography is energetic, broad and astonishingly athletic. There were times where I thought I was watching a gymnastics meet, people were flying across the stage with such abandon.

But with such control and artistry. Anybody who is partial to “Dancing With the Stars” should check out this show to see what true, dedicated, disciplined professionals can do with a dance number. Every movement was precise, every body in alignment.

Ron Todorowski and Mallauri Esquibel got the show off to a whimsical start, portraying two shy and gawky young lovers approaching each other across the nightclub floor, to the tune of “Let’s Fall In Love.” All of the dancers play various nightclub denizens, pairing up and breaking apart over the course of the evening. All struck me as in complete control of their discipline: Cody Green, Ashley Blair Fitzgerald, Marielys Molina, Martin Harvey, Matthew Stockwell Dibble and Meredith Miles.

Please do not expect a lot of subtlety. Most of the dances are big, splashy and high-speed. Also, Tharp’s dances are sometimes sexually suggestive, approaching R-rated. With so much fast and steamy action, the occasional pensive ballad, such as “One For My Baby,” was a welcome respite.

In the end, I don’t think “Come Fly Away” works as well as Tharp’s previous all-dance musical, “Movin’ Out,” as a narrative dance piece. That show was more effective at storytelling, probably because Billy Joel’s songs were story songs.

Sinatra doesn’t so much tell a story as expound universal themes: Love is glorious and love is painful.