BWW Reviews: JERSEY BOYS Opening Night in Nashville

The national tour of Jersey Boys made its stop at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center in downtown Nashville last Tuesday night. The cast opened their weeklong stay with a captivating rendition of the classic and musically historical show to a nearly sold out audience.

Jersey Boys follows pop music icons, The Four Seasons, on their journey to becoming one of the greatest successes in pop music history. The show highlights the band's journey from their in and out of jail lifestyle during the start of their careers in New Jersey to them celebrating their eventual induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

"Sherry", "Big Girls Don't Cry", "Can't Take My Eyes Off You", "Dawn" and "My Eyes Adored You" were some of the many hits performed. With each song the audience was given the chance to cheer, laugh, applaud and reminisce along with each memory and feeling each song induced. Along with this, they were able to experience each song with a deeper knowledge behind the making, creative inspiration and timing behind each hit.

The show started to a slow pace with some fidgeting through the audience leaving many wondered in anticipation for when the show's "fun factor" would begin. But, once it did, no ones gaze seemed to be wandering anywhere other than the stage in front of them. Cast, crew and orchestra executed the performance of each song, emotion and transition flawlessly. Humor soared, sad undertones were felt and most importantly, the group's legacy was well represented.

Each performer and member of The Four Seasons played into the quirks, personalities and vocal tones of the group. Audience members seemed delighted in the actor's abilities in mimicking the famous vocal tones and personalities.

The set was left to a minimal riser with alternating scrims and multimedia screen hung center stage. This made for very little set changes leaving most of the focus on the performance itself and responsibility upon the actors to set the scene in which they did quite well.

One of the most successful aspects of the show was during their most complicated set change when the perspective of the stage flipped and the audience was given the chance to feel as if they were on stage with the group. At this point the audience grew very excited and started to sing along.

The show ended to a standing ovation with many audience members lingering in the aisles after to continue reminiscing and discussing the memories the show and songs induced.

After the show, the cast gathered to celebrate their opening night in Music City. The moral was high and seemed generally happy with the performance made.

"Nashville is one of my favorite cities to perform this show in because the audience seems to understand and laugh more at the music industry jokes," noted Kaleigh Cronin (Lorraine).

The show has won the Best Musical Award on Broadway, in London and Australia, remains number one in Las Vegas and continues to break records across the country. However I would not recommended the show for children as it discusses and contains mature subject matter including guns, drugs, violence and profanity.

In comparison to other productions of Jersey Boys that I have seen, I am happy to conclude that this cast and crew generated my favorite of them all. The casting was spot on and the performance of the story was educational, engaging and well presented. It was also very fun to watch this show in Nashville, TN as it does in fact pack a ton of "inside jokes" aimed toward the music industry.

I would highly recommend catching this cast in action if you are in a city where they are next performing. They are currently in North Charleston, South Carolina taking audience members on their journey up the charts in the very much loved and one of a kind, Four Seasons, style.

Photo Credit: BWW-Staff