Jersey Boys

Jersey Boys

Like many of the recent musical biopics, the subjects of Broadway’s Jersey Boys are more familiar than you might realize. Yes, if I say Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, a slight feeling of vague familiarity might overcome you. If I say, “Walk Like Man” or “Big Girls Don’t Cry”, you’ll definitely bust out in high falsetto with some inglorious, yet irresistible, karaoke. These singles, along with classics like “Bye, Bye Baby” and “Oh, What a Night” anchor the intriguing true story of the rise and disintegration of the Four Seasons in Jersey Boys. Quick hit: great music, good performances, entertaining show.

Similar to Walk the Line or Ray, Jersey Boys takes the Behind The Music approach to reveal how the hits you heard on your radio came to existence. We learn about a young Frankie Castelluccio, who under the tutelage of local wiseguy/musican Tommy DeVito, grew to a lead singer named Frankie Valli. We find out how Bob Guadio came to join the band to ignite the legendary Four Seasons into superstardom. Then we witness the difficulties of stardom, the infidelity, the money problems, and the infighting. No successful band ever scoots along in harmony, at least not one showcased in a docu-musical. And so we see the rise, fall, and eventual Hall of Fame induction of the Four Seasons.

The musical numbers are framed around the interpersonal stories of the four individuals who comprised the Four Seasons. We see the highs and lows, but there’s not a whole lot of time invested in delving deep. This isn’t a character study by any means, and while the story provides some insight into the band, it serves more as a way to get to the next number. Each member takes his turn in commentary, providing his own take on how events unfolded through the tumultuous times, but the music is the main attraction.

The presentation of these musical numbers is a feat of imagination early on. The sparse set allows for numerous set-ups and gives the band a variety of ways to sing to their hearts’ content. Aside from the prerequisite sing-directly-to-the-crowd, there’s the time they sing to the back of the stage, making the crowd a backstage participant. More impressive is the “TV broadcasts”, where the band sings to either side of the stage into the prop TV cameras. However, large video screens “broadcast” their performance in authentic black-and-white, producing a most nostalgic bandstand performance for the audience to enjoy.

And the nostalgia factor is a great thing. There were countless moments where the crowd applauded like frenzied teenagers, reliving their own youth through the spot-on performances of these Four Seasons. With mannerisms and voices so well executed, the Jersey Boys cast delivered moments to be cherished by those once-adoring, now-grown-up teens.

Overall, Jersey Boys is a great show. They deliver the goods and provide the spark to get the audience to drop their guard and enjoy a show without embarrassment. Nostalgia is a powerful thing, it provides a chance to relive the good memories when life’s difficulties have been washed away by the immense power of time. Never underestimate the importance of days gone by. Out of four seasons, Jersey Boys nearly fills the bucket with 3.25 bandmates. Good show.