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[0:00] Robert Bannon: This is Robert Bannon.

[0:30] Robert Bannon: It's The Roundtable with me, Robert Bannon.

[1:00] Robert Bannon: Now, I think it's happening. I think it's literally happening. Opening night was the 15th. Tickets are on sale at Our Sinatra. We have the original creators, the original performers. If you love Sinatra music, if you love this time frame, if you love to go back in time and hear the greatest music by one of the greatest singers in history, then this is your show. New Jersey, stand up. Get your tickets. Welcome to the... Hilary, I'm going to start with you.

[1:25] Hilary Kole: Great. It's so funny. I am a Jersey girl. I grew up in New Jersey. I was born in Manhattan, but I grew up in New Jersey. Yes, I feel it. I feel you. I'm expecting the whole Jersey crowd every night. I hope. I want Jersey. I want beautician hair. I want Jersey sass. I want all of the glitter and glitterati of the New Jersey people to come to this show. Well, I'm here.

[1:51] Robert Bannon: Yay! That's perfect. You are. Are you in Jersey right now?

[1:56] Hilary Kole: No, but I'm from New Jersey originally. Frank is our God.

[2:03] Robert Bannon: That's right. Christopher, where are you from? Because if you don't say New Jersey, we're kicking you off the show.

[2:07] Christopher Gines: Maybe. Bye. Oh, no, Christopher, no!

[2:12] Christopher Gines: I am a Westerner. I was originally born in Utah. I grew up in California and moved to New York when I was 10.

[2:19] Robert Bannon: Oh, well, you count then. You're close. We're fake New Yorkers is what I say. Hilary, this is the 25th anniversary of this show. Who came up with the idea? How did it start?

[2:28] Hilary Kole: It was actually Christopher Gines. It was Chris. And he knew Eric for many years in the cabaret world. And he became a sub up at the Rainbow Room. And I was singing at the... it was my first gig ever as a professional singer singing up at the Rainbow Room. And there used to be six nights a week music there with a live band, a 10-piece band for dancing back in the day. And he heard me sing and we became friendly. And he said, I have an idea. And he put us all together. And here we are over 25 years later, which is insane, which means that my first gig was when I was 12. Just for those of you counting.

[3:07] Robert Bannon: So, Christopher, you being from the middle of this country, at some point you must have discovered the music of Frank Sinatra. Why did you think there was a song review? If that's what you call it, what do you call the show and why? Why Sinatra songbook?

[3:23] Christopher Gines: Well, it was short. You know, I was a singer starting in my early 20s. I sang with big bands. As Hilary said, I met her at the Rainbow Room where I was subbing on a gig. And I was concentrating mostly on the American popular songbook. And shortly after Sinatra died, me and some friends were sitting around a piano bar and said, you know, every singer owes a debt to Sinatra in some way. And we in this community should put together a night and just say thank you. And it was really that simple. It started, you know, on that much of a fluke. And that first night was well received. And then we got an opportunity to do a whole engagement at the Algonquin. And it all took off from there.

[4:11] Robert Bannon: Incredible. So, Eric, tell us a little bit about how you got involved. I know you know Christopher for a while. What's your involvement in the show? What do you do when the show rolls into town?

[4:20] Eric Comstock: We're hearing from two fantastic vocalists there. And Hilary is a fine composer and pianist also. I play the piano and I sing. And together in the living room of my bachelor pad, we put together these arrangements. And it was, as Christopher has just kind of implied, no idea of how it would take off. And it's still a joy to sing this music and even deeper as we are. So they tell us quite a bit older.

[4:52] Hilary Kole: Allegedly. I didn't... I don't see it at all.

[4:56] Robert Bannon: Hilary, you know, you take your foundation of a singer to Manhattan and you go to school there and you have all these gigs and have sung all over New York and jazz and the American Songbook and pop and classic and Broadway and all of that. There's something about the music of Sinatra in particular that has lived on for now 70, 80, 60 years. You know, like it's eternal. Ten-year-olds can sing New York, New York or My Way or Love and Marriage and things like that. So what about it in the musicality of it is eternal and keeps living?

[5:30] Hilary Kole: Well, I mean, we're really talking about music that was written by... they're not singer-songwriters. They were composers and lyricists and they worked and they crafted songs. And really, in my opinion, at the highest level, you know, it was the golden age of music writing and songwriting that we're talking about. And Frank Sinatra just happened to be born during that time and became one of the people, one of the singers who kind of handpicked these songs. So, you know, some of the songs we talk about in the show, you know, were already out there. And then he made these definitive versions of them and they became such huge hits that they really were woven into the fabric of our history as Americans.

I always say, you know, this music, it's our greatest export. And I feel an obligation as a singer to share this music with people, to get all generations. So, yes, this was my grandmother's music, my father's music, but it's also my music now. And hopefully it will be my daughter's music and my son's music as well, because it really is timeless. And, you know, you just can't get better. There are other, you know, there are other singers out there. There are great singer-songwriters. I love singer-songwriters. I'm a composer myself. But these songs are just, as far as I'm concerned, at the highest, highest level. So, to be able to share them and to sing them every night again on, you know, off-Broadway is just a dream. It's exciting. You can get your tickets, everybody. Go to the website.

[7:02] Robert Bannon: So, Christopher, it says you've been in this business since you were 11 years old. So, also just 12 years. And what I love about it is what you've created here with the show. There are other... I'm not trying to be shady. There are other versions of Sinatra reviews. I did one. They're not very good, but yours is eternal. Like yours has lived the test of time. What did you guys put together that you think made it successful?

[7:27] Christopher Gines: Oh, some of them are bad. This one is one you need to see. I think the secret sauce is that, number one, we don't try to imitate Sinatra or compare ourselves to him in any way. It's a celebration of his artistry and music. And as Hilary said, the impact he's had on the culture. And also the other thing that you really can't explain or manufacture is chemistry that we have with each other on stage. And we had it from the very beginning, from that very rehearsal in Eric's bachelor pad. I think that's what makes it work. And, you know, jukebox musicals became... sorry, jukebox musicals became very popular just after we started. So, we feel like we were kind of, you know, a progenitor of all that. And we're very proud that we're kind of like trendsetters in that way. And that we don't rip off Sinatra. We don't talk about his personal life or any of the gossipy stuff. This is about the music and the songs.

[8:35] Robert Bannon: Yes. So, Eric, you too have sung... have you all... have sung everywhere. So, everywhere, from every dive to Carnegie Hall and lived it up. So, when you, Eric, get up on stage and sing this music and tell the story, why do you keep coming back? Why do you say yes, 25 years later to revisit this? What special place does this hold in your heart?

[8:57] Eric Comstock: Personally. To work with these two guys and sing this music that is so well crafted, it's a joy to do it and to watch how it affects people across the generations because Sinatra is one of the few who does that. And our gimmick is, as Chris said, is you got to get a gimmick. And it's that we do not stoop to impersonate. And it's a very respectful approach to him. And it's about the songwriters as well. We can't credit every songwriter that we sing because there are 60 songs, but it is a celebration of songwriting too. There might be medleys, Robert. Okay. Otherwise, you're going to have to carve out, you know, six hours of your life. But I love the idea that there are 60 songs. So, your favorite is probably going to be incorporated into it. So, Hilary, when...

[10:22] Eric Comstock: Celebrate “OUR SINATRA!”

[10:52] Christopher Gines: Celebrate “OUR SINATRA!”

[11:20] Hilary Kole: Celebrate “OUR SINATRA!”

[11:48] Eric Comstock: Celebrate “OUR SINATRA!”

[12:08] Christopher Gines: Celebrate “OUR SINATRA!”

[12:28] Hilary Kole: Celebrate “OUR SINATRA!”

[12:48] Eric Comstock: Celebrate “OUR SINATRA!”

[13:08] Christopher Gines: Celebrate “OUR SINATRA!”

[13:36] Hilary Kole: Celebrate “OUR SINATRA!”

[14:04] Eric Comstock: Celebrate “OUR SINATRA!”

[14:30] Christopher Gines: Celebrate “OUR SINATRA!”

[14:58] Hilary Kole: Celebrate “OUR SINATRA!”

[15:26] Eric Comstock: Celebrate “OUR SINATRA!”

[15:54] Christopher Gines: Celebrate “OUR SINATRA!”

[16:22] Hilary Kole: Celebrate “OUR SINATRA!”

[16:50] Eric Comstock: Celebrate “OUR SINATRA!”

[17:18] Christopher Gines: Celebrate “OUR SINATRA!”

[17:46] Hilary Kole: Celebrate “OUR SINATRA!”

[18:14] Eric Comstock: Celebrate “OUR SINATRA!”

[18:42] Christopher Gines: Celebrate “OUR SINATRA!”

[19:10] Hilary Kole: Celebrate “OUR SINATRA!”

[19:30] Eric Comstock: Celebrate “OUR SINATRA!”