BWW Reviews: Those Boys from Jersey Man, Can They Sing! JERSEY BOYS Rocks the Curran Theatre

The hit musical Jersey Boys made its way to the California shore and into San Francisco's Curran Theatre for a spectacular opening night where Franki Valli and the Four Seasons ruled the airwaves once again. Marshall Brickman & Erik Elice's Tony nominated book about how these boys from Jersey make good, runs at a fast pace; the narrative neatly conveying captivating bio clips, all the while building the momentum for each pivotal hit song. The "boys" each take turns telling the story of their rise from just a bunch of guys singing under a street lamp to one of the most prolific groups in pop history. Oh, what a night. Catch Jersey Boys now through April 28 at the Curran Theatre.

Lead guitar player Tommy DiVito (the dazzling John Gardiner) is the first to tell the tale. He's the genius who forms the group, taking them through successive name changes until they hit on the Four Seasons. He's a hustler at heart, scraping and scrambling just to get by. "You're from my neighborhood" he tells the audience, "you got three ways out. You could join the army. You could get mobbed up. Or you could become a star." Luckily he becomes a star, but never quite leaves off the mob-type connections.

DeVito pulls in his pal, bassist Nick Massi (Michael Lomenda) and tries out other guys but the group finally gels with the addition of Frankie Valli (Nick Cosgrove) and, for this production, Tommaso Antico as Bob Gaudio, the man responsible for writing the majority of their hits.

Gaudio takes up the next part of the story, sharing the sweet, heady rise to the top. The slow build to that first hit has the audience almost panting to hear it and when group finally breaks into the trifecta of "Sherry," "Big Girls Don't Cry," and "Walk Like a Man" the crowd goes wild.

Cosgrove dives right into the Frankie Valli falsetto, making the trip down memory lane feel like it was just yesterday. He imbibes his character with heart which is a good thing because Franki goes through the most changes in the show. He starts out as a young teenager who still has a curfew, and before you know it he's married with kids of his own. Kara Tremel, who plays Valli's wife, Mary Delgado, delivers a layered portrayal, going from a looking-for-fun 20-something to a harried wife raising the kids on her own while her famous husband tours the world. The toll that fame takes on Valli's family is clear as things start to erode around him.

Lomenda's Nick Massi takes over the story next as internal tensions, money worries and fights over women start to take their toll. By the time we get to Valli's turn, the Four Seasons fortunes are threatened by DiVito's ties to the mob. But Valli never forgot that it was DiVito that gave him his start and so he vows to help him.

The story, in and of itself, is not particularly powerful, but the Brikman and Elice book chisels out some clearly defined and likeable, wise-cracking characters that cuss hard, play hard and sing like angels. Somewhere in the creation of the show, the decision was made not to age them. I think it would been interesting to see the passage of time on their faces.

Klara Zieglerova's set is sparse but imaginative. The chain-link fences and orange Jersey skyline evoke the time, but quickly make way for the Ed Sullivan studio set, a sound stage or a club with amazing alacrity. Michael Clark's projections, which make use of Lichtenstein-like, comic-book cartoon images, didn't seem to say "Jersey" or the "Four Seasons" to me, but they did serve as good transition markers.

And the dancing. Sergio Trujillo's masterful choreography is a joy to behold. The Four Seasons dazzle with their showmanship, commanding the stage with their every move. The energy is high; they're having fun and they're doing it with flair. Howell Binkley, who won the Tony for Best Lighting Design for this show, is a master at his craft. He easily pulls and holds the focus where it needs to be, creating mood and enhancing the storyline at every turn with a deft touch.

In the end Franki is stunned by the fact that the fame and the struggles, the heartbreak and the accolades all happened to four guys from Jersey, and that they made it to the top of the charts and into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. How sweet that must have been. "It was great" he says to the audience, "but four guys under a street lamp, when it was all still ahead of us...and all there was, was the music - that was the best."

The same holds true for Jersey Boys. There's no denying some great acting, but the music was the best.

Jersey Boys
Book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice
Directed by Des McAnnuf
Through April 28
Curran Theatre
www.shnsf.com
Photo courtesy of Jeremy Daniel

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