BWW Reviews: JERSEY BOYS - An Electrifying Entertaining Evening

The 60's were an exciting time for music in America, due in no small part to the proliferation of groups with amazing vocal harmonies like The Mamas & Papas, The Beach Boys, Spanky & Our Gang and The Four Seasons. JERSEY BOYS is a jukebox musical based on the song catalog of The Four Seasons; however, unlike most jukebox musicals, JERSEY BOYS features an intelligent script where the songs flow with the story instead of being forced into a storyline. I suspect the participation of Rick Elice, who was also one of the scriptwriters for the charming and witty PETER AND THE STARCATCHER had more than a little to do with the intelligence and theatrical storytelling skill on display here.

The wise decision was made to base the story on the band's history rather than giving their songs the MAMMA MIA treatment. The musical's structure divides the story of the rise and fall of The Four Season into four 'seasons', each narrated by a different member of the band who gives his own perspective on their history and music. Not much was public knowledge about their personal lives, prior to this show, because magazines of the era didn't write about them much. Had had it been publicized that the members had prison records, it could very well have prevented their music from being played and had a disastrous effect on their eventual success.

When book writers Marshall Brickman and Elice interviewed surviving Four Seasons members Bob Gaudio, Frankie Valli and Tommy DeVito they noticed that each member had his own perspective on their history. DeVito was approached last. Elice said that getting DeVito's version was a 'eureka moment' and the contradictions in their stories ended up being incorporated in the musical for an extremely effective "Rashomon" effect.

Act One contains the seasons "Spring" and "Summer", narrated by Tommy DeVito (Matthew Dailey) and Bob Gaudio (Drew Seeley) respectively. Act Two consists of "Fall" and "Winter", narrated by Nick Massi (Keith Hines) and Frankie Valli (Hayden Milanes). These four "seasons" takes us from the band's street corner doo-wop days when Valli was first added to the group all the way to the band's induction into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990. These four performers do an amazing job of recreating the sound and energy of The Four Seasons. Alone, they would be reason enough to see this production.

Happily, they are surrounded by an extremely talented group of performers who, with the exception of Barry Anderson as Bob Crewe, the groups' mentor, portray a huge number of characters and execute the lightning fast scene changes. And, while I'm on the subject of Barry Anderson... he delivers a knock-out performance as Crewe managing to stop the show not once, but twice... with a line delivery... and in a musical, that is something to sit up and take notice of.

This touring production was directed by Des McAnuff, who directed the Broadway production. Not having seen the original production, I can't imagine it being any more sharp, powerful and tight than the touring production. Everything about this show is top notch: from Sergio Trujilo's choreography and Michael Clark's projection design, all the way down to Klara Zieglerova's ever changing, yet static set, everything combines to deliver an electrifying and entertaining evening.

And, for the fans, all of your favorite tunes are there: 'Big Girls Don't Cry', 'Sherry', 'December 1963 (Oh, What A Night)', 'My Eyes Adored You', 'Stay', 'Can't Take My Eyes Off You', 'Working My Way Back to You' and 'Rag Doll', among others. Having been a fan of the group, I had hoped there might be at least a passing mention of the groups' foray into the concept album and their attempt to court the FM station free-form format with "The Genuine Imitation Life Gazette" but since this was not a big success for them, the lack of inclusion is understandable. Sad however, because it was their most impressive album both lyrically and musically... sort of their "Pet Sounds".

All in all, if you grew up listening to the Four Seasons (or, even if you didn't), this is an electrifying evening of both musical and theatrical entertainment that is not to be missed.

JERSEY BOYS book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice, composer Bob Gaudio, lyricist Bob Crewe. JERSEY BOYS contains authentic, "profane Jersey language" and is recommended for ages 12+

Running time: Approximately Two Hours and 30 Minutes with one intermission.

JERSEY BOYS, produced by Broadway In Austin, at Bass Concert Hall in the Texas Performing Arts Center (2350 Robert Dedman Dr, Austin, TX 78712). Performances run through March 29th. Performances are Friday and Saturday at 8 PM, Saturday at 2 PM, Sunday at 1 PM and 6:30 PM.
Ticket info 512-471-1444 or
www.BroadwayInAustin.com
or
http://texasperformingarts.org/season/jersey-boys-broadway-austin-2014

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