Date of performance – 13th April 2023
Venue – Wales Millennium Centre
‘Oh what a night. Early April back in twenty three…..‘
I have a lot to owe ‘Jersey Boys.’ It was one of the special few musicals that my Grandma took a real interest in, and dreamed of taking me to see one day (unfortunately this never came to fruition, and sadly never will). The soundtrack (which I’ve listened to umpteenth times with Grandma, and alone in my bedroom, doing my best Frankie impression) introduced me to the, frankly amazing, music of ‘Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons’ – and began a life – long love affair with the original Broadway cast album (is it a bit cruel of me to say that I actually prefer John Lloyd Young as Frankie Valli than the actual Frankie Valli? Mmmmm….) It introduced me to the concept of a ‘bio – jukebox musical’ that rather than shoving an artist’s songs into a fictional storyline (i.e. Mamma Mia), uses the songs to tell the real life story of said artist. Not to mention that it introduced me to the brilliance of the Falsetto Voice (which began with twelve – year – old me asking Mrs Google how Frankie Valli, a man, can sing so high). With that lovestruck intro out of the way, you probably think I’ve seen the show at least once, don’t you? Well, before this reviewed performance, I hadn’t – so I was really excited, but my expectations were also incredibly high. I already knew that the music was great – but, as I’m sure we all know, that alone doesn’t make a great show. More importantly – despite my love of their songs, I didn’t know anything about Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons!
Story
As those who’ve seen, or read about, this musical will know, ‘Jersey Boys’ tells the story of one of the biggest ‘rock n roll’ bands of the 1960s, Frankie Valli (That’s Valli with an ‘i’ – the Italian way) and the Four Seasons – chronicling their fascinating journey from the streets of New Jersey, to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame; and everything in between. The only other jukebox I’ve seen take this biopic approach was the relatively newer ‘The Osmonds,’ last year (which I loved) – and while that so – squeaky – clean group managed to avoid any trace of ickiness – the lives of Frankie and co were icky with a capital I. Prison stays, mob connections, relationship breakdowns, petty crime, and general sleaziness aplenty; and far from being a backseat, these elements were placed at the forefront; which only made it more intriguing. I also really enjoyed how this story was told. Unlike in ‘The Osmonds’ where virtually all the narration fell to Jay Osmond, ‘Jersey Boys’ allows the band members to share out story – telling duties, by having each member narrate a portion of the show (divided into ‘seasons’ – starting in ‘Spring,’ ending in ‘Winter.’) from their own point of view. This allowed for different perspectives, sometimes on the same events, and worked brilliantly to keep things from being too ‘one – sided.’ As we were told in the show, ‘you ask four guys (how everything happened), you get four different versions.’ It’s genius!
Cast
What’s so interesting about this touring production of the musical is that the role of Frankie Valli is shared by two actors (I’m guessing because of its’ notoriously difficult vocal requirements – the very first actor to play Valli even lost his voice during a workshop reading of the musical). Adorable Ryan Heenan (alternating with Michael Pickering) stepped into the Valli shoes on this occasion, and my goodness, he was perfectly cast – effortlessly emulating that distinctive falsetto, and hitting the lower notes too (he even sounded a bit like my previous favourite ‘Frankie,’ Broadway OG John Lloyd Young). Vocally wise, he particularly shone in the second act – delivering breath-taking renditions of ‘Can’t Take My Eyes Off You’ and ‘My Eyes Adored You,’ that had the audience roaring. Heenan also impressed on the acting front, especially in scenes that showed Valli’s personal problems, and when he combined both talents – the results were sublime. (Case in point – ‘Fallen Angel,’ which Valli sings after (spoiler alert) learning of his daughter’s death) He may be short in statue (just like the real Frankie Valli! A nice touch I thought.) but his performance was certainly mighty – and I wouldn’t be surprised if the London production snaps him up as the next West End Frankie.
That’s not to say the other Seasons did not give equally brilliant performances, because they most certainly did – the commanding Dalton Wood as Tommy DeVito, Christopher Short as Nick Massi and Blair Gibson as Bob Gaudio all effectively showcased the personalities of the different band members and had excellent voices. I particularly enjoyed Wood’s commanding, swagger – tastic portrayal of ‘bad boy’ band leader and founder (and ‘big brother’ figure to Valli during his early days with the group) Tommy DeVito, and Gibson displayed an exceptional sense of comedic timing when Bob Gaudio looses his virginity at a party (he seemed to enjoy this moment as much as the audience). The other two were great as well, I just didn’t feel they got as many chances to shine. However, Short and Heenan display DeVitio and Valli’s endearing business relationship (which began as a deal sealed with a proper Jersey handshake) beautifully. Crucially, all four ‘Seasons’ worked exceptionally well together – harmonising beautifully, moving perfectly in sync (nailing that seemingly easy but actually quite difficult, ‘march/bop’ chorography) and creating a blended sound during the ‘Four Seasons’ numbers that I’m sure the actual Four Seasons would be proud of. They all nailed those New Jersey accents too (so much that sometimes it was hard to hear exactly what was being said)!
Four Seasons aside, the other male standout for me was the fabulously funny Michael Levi who provided plenty of laughs as record producer Bob Crewe (who the Four Seasons originally signed with). It wasn’t all about the boys though, there were also some talented females too – chief among them Emma Crossley who brought ALL the Italian passion as Valli’s first wife – Mary Delago. Victoria Mccabe also put in a poignant turn as Valli’s daughter Francine.
Music
The story is engrossing, but let’s face it, a major reason why this musical is so popular is the music – and it’s so, so, so good. Classic hits came thick and fast, and this reviewer had a really hard time trying not to sing along (I managed to refrain until the finale though!). ‘Sherry,’ ‘Big Girls Don’t Cry,’ ‘Walk Like A Man,’ ‘ December 1963 (Oh, What a Night),’ ‘Working My Way Back To You,’ ‘Beggin,’ ‘Can’t Take My Eyes Off You……’ You don’t need to have grown up in the 60s,’or even heard of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons to recognise some of these; you might just not have realised that they’re originally Four Seasons songs. The backstory of the latter song (‘Can’t Take My Eyes Off You’) is particularly interesting and the way it was played out on stage kept me glued to my seat (Fact, not a spoiler alert this time because it isn’t mentioned in the show – after Valli, old – school crooner Andy Williams recorded the song – and his version is better known). These are classics for a reason, and I loved how they were used to drive the story forward. Others were simply sung to show the band performing in concert, on radio, or on TV and there’s nothing wrong with that. The use of instruments onstage was a bonus – though it would’ve been even more so if the cast had been playing them instead of separate musicians (I know it must be difficult to cast actor – musicians though)!
Set, Costumes and Technicalities
The set for this show certainly couldn’t be called elaborate, but there was no real need for it to be. Klara Zieglerova’s skeleton design let the music, story, and cast shine – and I spotted some really ingenious touches – most notably the use of screens to project ‘close – ups’ of the ‘Four Seasons’ performing, mixed in with ‘ACTUAL’ footage of wild 60s’ audience. A really immersive touch. Talking about immersive, at one point the band turned their backs on the theatre audience (I know this is normally a big ‘no no,’ but stick with me) to perform to a ‘concert’ audience in a sold – out gig – complete with ‘deafening screams’ sound effects and exceptionally bright spotlights. Technicalities were generally excellent too; despite some dodgy sound – mixing that seemed to drown out Heenan’s voice in some of the group numbers in Act 1 (or was that just me?) – this defiently improved in Act 2 though. The transitions and set changes however, were some of the fastest I’ve seen (hallelujah to pulley systems!), and certainly helped to keep proceedings incredibly sleek. And then there’s the costumes. Obviously, I can’t talk about ‘Jersey Boys’ costumes without mentioning those ICONIC RED JACKETS; but they weren’t the only good outfits. The guys also don some eye – catching glitzy gab for ‘Walk Like A Man.’
The JazzyHands Verdict
Jukebox musicals in general (even without the ‘biopic’ aspect) can be a hard nut to crack – but Jersey Boys is a shining exemplar of the genre. And the PACE. At first, the show seemed a little bit slow but as soon as the lads donned those red jackets for ‘Sherry’ – the production seemed to find its racehorse feet, moving at an admirable speed all the way to its’ foot – tapping finale, at which point the entire audience, young and old, was on its’ feet dancing their hearts out. The genuinely engrossing story, timeless music (literally timeless. The show demonstrated this by opening with a rap version of ‘December 1963’ performed entirely in the French language. A bit bizarre but proves that The Four Seasons has inspired, and continues to inspire, generations all around the world) and irrestible cast all combine to create something that’s just too good to be true. My eyes (and ears) ADORED it, and you know what? I’m pretty certain that Grandma’s would have too.