LADIES and gentlemen, please welcome the man who put the ‘gas’ in Las Vegas…”
Well, that was just the first gag that elicited gasps from the packed audience who lapped up a sensational hour from Frank Sanazi.
If you’ve ever wondered what it would be like if Hitler came back as a Vegas lounge-act crooner – and let’s face it, we all have – wonder no more.
Frank, resplendent in tuxedo, Chaplin tache and trademark flick of hair (insert own Herr Flick gag here) is a master of hilarious pastiches of Rat Pack songs interspersed with jokes that are less near-the-knuckle, more way past the elbow.
At one point he muses that he hasn’t been cancelled and you do ponder that yourself, until you remember that this is clever satire and is basically ’Allo ’Allo! with catchy tunes.
Frank – and the other members of the “Iraq Pack” that join him onstage, Dean Stalin and the superbly-monikered Osama Bin Crosby – can really sing and to hear Great American Songbook standards tweaked to include mentions of Messerschmitts, U-Boats and the Graf Spee was right up this particular WWII-obsessed history graduate’s strasse.
Never did I think I’d be singing along to a version of Neil Diamond’s Sweet Caroline but bellowing out “Zer gut! Zer gut! Zer gut!” instead of the more well-known lyrics.
As Frank points out in one of his songs, we’re all still fascinated by Hitler, and can see him every day on the History and Yesterday channels.
Indeed, my wife once asked while I was viewing one such program, “What’s this, Hitler’s Favourite Sandwich?”
How much did I enjoy it? I’m going again on Thursday.
Frank Sanazi: Songs For Swinging Leaders, 20.15, Le Monde Shanghai, August 7-10, 14-17 and 21-23.
https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/frank-sanazi-songs-for-swinging-leaders
