BWW Reviews: The Torrid and Tumultuous Relationship Between Two Showbiz Icons is Brought to Fiery Life in FRANK AND AVA

Ava Gardner was the sex symbol who dazzled all the other sex symbols-a fabulous, jaw-dropping beauty who became a Hollywood star. Frank Sinatra was a pop singer who became one of the most popular and successful performers of his time. The torrid and tumultuous relationship between these two showbiz icons is brought to fiery life in FRANK AND AVA, the new play by Willard Manus which premiered at the 2013 Hollywood Fringe Festival and has been extended (after being chosen for Best of Fringe) through September 29 on Sundays at 5:00pm at Three Clubs, a favorite Hollywood hangout of Sinatra's.

FRANK AND AVA tells the story of two people who loved each other as if love were a battle to the death. And their battles were as legendary as they were. The night I saw the play, Brian Fortuna stepped in as Frank with Stefany Northcutt was Ava. These two actors were not playing the roles - they were Frank and Ava - right down to the intense push and pull of their torrid pairing. These were two independent and jealous souls who did everything with unbelievable intensity, from supporting and loving each other to hating and then forgiving their trespasses, of which there were many. And of course there is all that drinking, a constant in their lives which no doubt fueled the fire of their passions.

The play opens with depressed and insecure Frank worried that his career is over now that he has left his wife to be with Ava, calling her the Jezebel who broke up his marriage, even tough he admits he has a "fire out his ears" for her. But his movies are tanking and his albums are not selling well. Ava uses her sexual charms to get him out of his funk, but Frank is obsessed with getting the part in "From Here to Eternity" which, as he knew it would, re-launches his career and wins him the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. This is the timeframe of their lives covered in the play.

Many elements of their lives together are covered including Ava's short-lived marriages to Mickey Rooney and Artie Shaw, her passionate affair with a bullfighter while filming in Spain, and Howard Hughes in Hollywood. Just the mention of Hughes names throws Frank into a panic that he is spying on them, his paranoia being ignited by his ties to the mob. "That's just how life was in Jersey. You hung out with the guys," he reasons with Ava.

The authenticity with which Fortuna and Northcutt present Frank and Ava is astounding. You will truly feel you are in the room with them as they banter and fight, love and lust in all their demented glory. Northcutt embodies the sensuality as well as the overall sex appeal of "country girl" Ava who knows her "face and tits" opened all the right doors for her. Her costume changes are done in full view of the audience, even down to the sensual way she removes her stockings. And her "live life in the moment" philosophy is certainly reflected in the way Northcutt handles Ava's clothing, tossing it aside as if the pieces were worthless rags when she is not inside of them.

Fortuna moves with a dancer's grace, with his slim build certainly mimicking the "skinny kid from Hoboken" who believes "danger is spice for the soul" when Ava questions his trip to Cuba with Lucky Luciano. Fortuna's innate machismo and suave good looks are a perfect match for Frank, the man who caused young girls and women to faint at the mere sight of him. Like Ava, he knows his sexual power over the opposite sex and Fortuna turns it on with Northcutt making each touch between them igniting the stage. Their last dance together was a touching reminder of how special and intense their attraction for each other truly was.

Between each scene, one of Sinatra's recordings is played, each a perfect match for the mood of the previous scene. Many audience members, including yours truly, could not help but sing along. There's no one like Frank - or Ava, for that matter. But Fortuna and Northcutt give the icons a run for their money!

FRANK AND AVA written by Willard Manus, directed by Kelly Galindo, is presented at Three Clubs, one of Hollywood's famous cabarets, located at 1123 Vine Street, L.A. 90038, just north of Santa Monica Boulevard, in Hollywood's Theatre Row. Through September 29 on Sundays at 5:00pm. For tickets and information visit http://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/1371

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