I Love Your Faces: The Don Lane Story, at The Palms at Crown - 2 hours 20 minutes, including interval

The multitalented PJ Lane takes us on a most entertaining and thoroughly enjoyable walk down memory lane, as he pays tribute to his famous father.

With special guests Patti Newton and Rhonda Burchmore, PJ Lane sings, dances and delves into the life and times of fellow entertainer, Don.

Complete with a striking 12-piece band and four glittering showgirls, PJ has a strong, powerful and melodic voice, which he uses to full effect.

The variety show is interspersed with black and white and colour photos and video clips of Don Lane, including several signature moments.

The latter’s eponymous The Don Lane Show ruled the airways from the mid 1970s to the early ‘80s, his partnership with sidekick Bert Newton legendary.

PJ goes into detail about his American-born father and the latter’s desire to make it in the world of show business from a young age.

From performing for the family to entering a talent contest at the local church, Don’s trajectory was set.

Small scale appearances in the US beckoned.

But it was happenstance that saw him recruited to front a Channel 9 Sydney Tonight show as a fill in host that saw him fly to the antipodes.

He could sing, tap dance and tell jokes that landed.

He was the perfect front man, as he proved with 24 hours notice, when he took over the national Don Lane Show.

When that ended, stints at Channel 10 and hosting NFL games for the ABC followed.

PJ readily reels off some of the biggest names in entertainment that Don interviewed, and we see video snippets of several of them.

Don also managed to squeeze in shows in the US, as, by then, he was an international figure.

Through a series of full-throated show tunes, hit songs and medleys channelling Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra, PJ pays Don the ultimate accolade.

Like his dad, he has an easy-going patter and a golden voice to match. In short, he is a showman.

The band compliments him magnificently and the show girls in their ever-changing sparkling, colourful costumes add a great deal of pizzazz. 

While I Love Your Faces is largely about Don’s vibrant public persona, importantly PJ also reflects on some of his personal interactions with his father.

That includes a funny story about how Don managed to sneak him into the Super Bowl when the latter was only 10. 

In the second act, Patti Newton makes an unexpected appearance.

She shares tales about the love and respect that her husband Bert and Don had for each other.

She is a beauty – effortlessly friendly, entertaining and, I should add, surprisingly sprightly, despite a recent hip replacement.

As for the statuesque Rhonda Burchmore, who follows with a big, big number – what a voice! She has still got it … oh my, has she ever.

Burchmore got her break on The Don Lane Show and hasn’t looked back since.

It was great to see both Patti and Rhonda in such fine form. 

The truth is that Don Lane was the master of reinvention and it is clear that with PJ, the apple hasn’t fallen far from the tree.

He too can talk up a storm, warble with the best of them and make some sweet moves on the dance floor.

I Love Your Faces, which is a reference to Don’s famous sign off on The Don Lane Show, is a rare combination of intimate and showy … and it works a treat.

After a couple of hours plus interval, I exited the theatre privileged to have been part of such a feel-good celebration.

While no further dates for the show have yet been announced, I Love Your Faces: The Don Lane Story is expected to tour. Keep an eye on PJ Lane's Facebook page.