FREDO

I’ll admit, I wasn’t looking forward to My Way, the Frank Sinatra tribute that has opened the season at Theatre By The Sea, in Matunuck. I’m not a big Sinatra fan and the thought of sitting through 57 songs seemed to me something of a chore.

But the show isn’t half bad. It’s an entertaining couple of hours filled with some familiar and not so familiar tunes sung by a hard-working vocal quartet.

The first thing you should know about this show, though, is that it does not feature Sinatra impersonators among the cast of two men and two women. This is a show featuring music Ol’ Blue Eyes made popular, not a lineup of sound-alikes.

Actually, John Fredo, who has been with the show since the beginning, does sound a little like Sinatra, with that reedy voice of his. He’s also got plenty of stage presence. And he’s a terrific tap dancer, who cut loose a couple of times. That’s not to suggest that Sinatra was a notable tapper. It was just a chance to spice up the show a little, to add a little variety, and to let Fredo show what he can do on the dance floor.

The other thing you should know is that there is no plot. It’s a musical revue, much like Ain’t Misbehavin’, which opened the Matunuck season last summer. The thinking is that shows such as this have small casts and modest sets that make them less expensive to mount at a time when the summer season is not yet in full swing and houses tend to be smaller.

There are groupings of songs, though, such as the Broadway medley, with a sultry performance of “My Funny Valentine” by talented Casey Erin Clark, and a Love and Marriage set that featured such hits as “That Old Black Magic,” “I’ve Got You Under My Skin,” and of course, the catchy “Love and Marriage.”

The singers took turns soloing, pairing up for duets and joining in four-part harmony for numbers such as “Strangers in the Night.” Some of the tunes are heard only in medleys, with the signature songs — “That’s Life,” “Fly Me to the Moon” and “My Way” — sung in their entirety.

Fredo seemed to sing more of the “rat pack” songs, leaving the slower ballads to Jason Watson, who is a solid vocalist but didn’t have the flair of his partner, Fredo. Watson was just a little blander.

Of the two women Clark was the more appealing, singing with lots of passion in the slower numbers like the lesser-known “L.A. is My Lady.” Karen Jeffreys was OK in mid-range but became awfully pinched and strident when she tried to belt.

But the instrumental trio that accompanied the singers was top-notch, especially the elegant piano playing of music director John C. Brown, who was right there for the singers.

Sprinkled between songs was the occasional joke and Sinatra factoid (he recorded 1,500 songs, for example, and was born in Hoboken, N.J.). Banter from the singers covered things like Sinatra’s many loves and his magical touch when it came to shaping a song.

The attractive set, centered around a black baby-grand placed in the middle of the stage, was made to look like a night club with a bar and round café table.

The show is in two acts, the second a shorter and faster-paced than the first. True, it could have been pared down somewhat, but to its credit it does not drag. And it pretty much covers the popular songs for which Sinatra was known, with a rousing take on “New York, New York.” And a moving “My Way.”

So, what I found was you don’t have to be a big Sinatra fan to enjoy this show. And if you are a Sinatra fan, all the better, just as long as you’re not looking for imitators.

My Way: A Musical Tribute to Frank Sinatra runs through June 14 at Theatre By The Sea, 364 Cards Pond Rd., Matunuck. Tickets are $39-$49. Call (401) 782-8587.

cgray@projo.com