Review - Jersey Boys

So after 2 long years of an open run the show Jersey Boys was coming to a close. I figured if I wanted to see it now would be the time. Jersey Boys is the story of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons rise to fame. It starts back from the very creation of the group leading all the way up to what is the current state of the four original members of the group.

Here in Chicago the show was running at the Bank of America Theatre in the downtown theatre district. As I did when I went to go see Animal Crackers I made the mistake of getting seats very close to the stage. My seats were in the second row and that caused one major issue with the show. You could not see everything that was going on at the back of the stage. Fortunately this was only an issue in a couple of scenes but it had me stretching up, craning my neck, trying to see what was going on. Like I said, mistake on my part. For future reference for anyone I would always suggest seeing a show from about the 5th row to the 10th. Still close enough to see everything well but far enough back not to feel overwhelmed by the stage and not miss anything out of view.

The cast in alphabetical order were:

Frankie’s Mother, Nick’s Date,
Miss Frankie Nolan, Bob’s Party Girl,
Angel, Francine…………………………………………...Mackenzie Bell
Officer Petrillo, Hank Majewski,
Crewe’s PA, Accountant, Joe Long…………………Jared Bradshaw
Bob Crewe……………………………………………….......Kevin Crewell
Detective two, Billy Dixon………………………………..Mike Erickson
Church Lady, Angel, Lorraine…………………………….Alayna Gallo
Joey, Recording studio engineer……………………..Steven M. Goldsmith
Nick DeVito, Stosh,
Norman Waxman, Charlie Calello……………………Douglas Crawford
Nick Massi…………………………………………………...Michael Ingersoll
Mary Delgado, Angel…………………………………….Tara Macri
French Rap Star, Detective one,
Barry Belson, Police Officer, Davis…………………Rashad Naylor
Frankie Valli………………………………………………...Dominic Scaglione Jr.
Gyp DeCarlo………………………………………………..Jonathan Weir
Tommy DeVito……………………………………………..Timothy Quinlan
Bob Gaudio………………………………………………....Ryan Quinn West
Thugs………………………………………………………....Kraig McCreary &
                                                          Chuck Webb

The show carried a large number of songs done by Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons as well as songs from other artists during the same era. The song list was:

Act One

1. Oh What a Night
2. Silhouettes
3. You’re the Apple of My Eye
4. I Can’t Give You Anything But Love
5. Earth Angel
6. Sunday Kind of Love
7. My Mother’s Eyes
8. I Go Ape
9. Short Shorts
10. I’m in the Mood for Love/Moody’s Mood for Love
11. Cry for Me
12. An Angel Cried
13. I Still Care
14. Trance
15. Sherry
16. Big Girls Don’t Cry
17. Walk Like a Man
18. Oh What a Night
19. My Boyfriends Back
20. My Eyes Adored You
21. Dawn
22. Walk Like a Man (Reprise)

Act Two

1. Big Man in Town
2. Beggin’
3. Stay
4. Let’s Hang On
5. Opus 17
6. Bye Bye Baby
7. C’mon Marianne
8. Can’t Take My Eye’s Off You
9. Working My Way Back to You
10. Fallen Angel
11. Rag Doll
12. Who Loves You

The show is a combination of stories that the creator put together from the members of the group. It’s told in these small stories as they related to the forming, rise and ending of the group. Many of these stories are very powerful and give insight into the lives of the four men who made the group so good.

Each of the four men takes turns telling their story in order. During the first act the story is narrated to you through the eyes of Tommy Devito and then switches about halfway thru to Bob Gaudio doing the narration. During the second act it starts off with Nick Massi doing the narration and finally finishing off with Frankie Valli’s point of view. This style worked out really well and it gave life again to the art of storytelling. I’ve said before in the blog about how important and how powerful good storytelling can be and this show proves that. Inflection that can be added in a voice can be a powerful thing. You not only listen to a story but you feel it too. It was a great choice for how to present this show.

Throughout the show you bounce back and forth between the narrative storytelling and the performance of the songs the group became famous for. At times you feel more like you are at a concert for The Four Seasons rather than watching a play. Quite a few of the songs were hits while I was too young to appreciate them but because I have older sisters that were fans of their music when they were younger I grew up listening to them. Through my sister I picked up an appreciation for ‘oldies’ and I knew all the songs they played. I caught myself singing along with most of the songs and would be reminded of times growing up with my sisters singing around the house.

Performances by the actors were terrific. Everyone in the show is first rate performers and they give it their all when they hit the stage. Although they were not quite as good as the real Four Seasons they were VERY good. Their renditions of the songs were super close to the actually performers with their step routines being at least equal in execution. At times you feel like getting up in the aisle and dancing. I almost gave into that impulse and now think maybe I should have. It would have been in the spirit of the show put on as a live performance of the group.

I enjoyed the show very much and while it has only a short run left here in Chicago it is showing in other major venues throughout the country. I enjoyed it so much that I’m giving it a solid 10 for a rating. It was much fun and a thoroughly entertaining show. So my recommendation would be to go see it. Be prepared though there are some very sad and moving part in the show so be ready to have your heart string tugged on. But in the end I think you find that there is a fulfilling, joyful feeling you will walk away from the show with.

Especially if you ‘Walk Like a Man’.