JERSEY BOYS Opens at The Croswell Opera House

JERSEY BOYS, the story of how four young men from New Jersey became the 1960s pop sensation known as Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, opens this weekend at the Croswell Opera House in Adrian and runs through June 18.

The musical includes more than 30 of the band's biggest hits, including "Walk Like a Man," "Big Girls Don't Cry," and "December 1963." It tells the story of the band's origins, as four high school dropouts from the wrong side of the tracks, and their rise to international stardom.

JERSEY BOYS won the 2006 Tony Award for Best Musical and ran for 4,642 performances on Broadway.

The Croswell's production, which opens Saturday, is directed by Mark DiPietro. The choreographer is Audrie Hafner, the vocal director is Michael Yuen, and the conductor is Ray Novaak. Additional choreography and dramaturgy was provided by Shonn Wiley, an Adrian native and Croswell alumnus who starred as Bob Gaudio in the long-running Chicago production of the show.

Adam Woolsey of DeWitt plays Frankie Valli, with Kevin Ludwig of Ann Arbor as Tommy DeVito, Adam Baker of Adrian as Nick Massi, and Cordell Smith of Riga as Bob Gaudio. Rounding out the 20-person cast are John Bacarella, Autumn Bradford, Wyatt DuFord, Matthew Herr, Abby Knight, Gabriel Kucera, Aubrie Lauren, Anjewel Lenoir, Sarah Nowak, Jeremy Pastoria, Savannah Ritter, Olivia Skierski, Eli Stachowske, Will Strickland, Amber Woollcott and Griffin Yeater.

The production's first weekend includes just two performances, at 7:30 p.m. Saturday and 2:30 p.m. Sunday. Additional performances are June 8, 10 and 11, and June 15-18. A complete list of dates and times may be found at croswell.org.

Tickets are $22 to $44 for adults for $15 to $25 for students. The Croswell reminds patrons that it will never sell tickets for more than the advertised cost, and any websites listing tickets for JERSEY BOYS at higher prices are third-party marketplaces trying to trick people into overpaying.

JERSEY BOYS contains some adult language and situations.

The Croswell, a 640-seat historic theater, is at 129 E. Maumee St. in downtown Adrian.

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