BWW Reviews: Oh, What a Night You'll Have at JERSEY BOYS at the Hippodrome

I remember exactly where I was when I first heard the song "Walk Like a Man". It was the locker room at Northeastern Junior High School in Somerville, Massachusetts. I was manager of the basketball team and some players started singing it. It was infectious. So is the musical Jersey Boys based on the story of Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons.

I was so impressed with the show when I saw the original Broadway cast (winner of four Tony Awards including "Best Musical") which began in November, 2005 at the August Wilson Theater. I also happened to meet purely by accident the adorable Sara Schmidt (who played Francine and other roles) during lunch the day we were going see the show.  It was also fun watching the talented Michael Longoria (who played the role of Joe Pesci (as well as understudying the lead role of Frankie Valli) since I've known him since his freshman year at NYU.

I have a bad habit of moving to the music when I see a show. But, I really think it's impossible for any theatergoer not to move with the music of Jersey Boys.

Even if you are not familiar with their large canon of top 40 hits from the '60s and '70s, you will be in for a treat. Even though this was my third time (I saw the 2009 tour at the National Theater in Washington) seeing the show, I am still impressed.

You will wonder at the clever opening number which features John Edwards as a French rap singer with his three French "girl singers" belting out "Ces soirees-la!" ("Oh, What a Night") which was the French Number One in Paris for ten weeks in 2000. Tommy DeVito (Matt Bailey) explains. "Not bad for a song from thirty years ago."

Book writers Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice, utilize each member of the group as narrators. Thus, since there are four members, they each tell a different story based on each singer's point of view. In a way, it's like a documentary with incredible music. You will hear about three dozen blockbuster hits. You will recognize almost all of them. You'll hear such hits as "Dawn (Go Away), "My Eyes Adored You", "Let's Hang On", "C'mon Marianne", "Can't Take My Eyes Off You", "Working My Way Back to You", and "Who Love You".

To pull this off you need a talented cast and Director Des McAnuff (who won a Tony for The Who's Tommy) has assembled an amazing energetic and talented bunch. Bailey, along with Quinn VanAntwerp, Steve Gouveia (from the original Broadway cast) and Joseph Leo Bwarie are all extraordinary bringing to life, Tommy DeVito, Bob Gaudio, NickMassi, and Frankie Valli. (For seven performances, John Michael Dias plays Valli.)

There are only three female actors in the cast but you would swear there were many more.
Alayna Gallo (Lorraine and others), Denise Payne (Francine and others) and Kara Tremel (Mary Delgado and others) play a total of 43 characters. Other actors do likewise. Jonathan Hadley (Bob Crew and others), Joseph Siravo (Gyp DeCarlo and others), John Edwards (Barry Belson and others), John Gardiner (Billy Dixon and others), Buck Hujabre (Norm Waxman and others), Courter Simmons (Joey and others), Kevin Worley (Hank and others), Brian Reardon (Thug) and Mark Verdino (Thug).

You'll see the famous re-enactment when the Four Seasons appeared on "The Ed Sullivan Show" and "American Bandstand".  Chapters of the story are helped with pop art similar to that of Roy Lichtenstein (Klara Zieglerova's set design). However, I wish there were dates portrayed as a time-line. For instance to say it was the time of Eisenhower and Marciano covers eight years, 1952 to 1960.

The ten piece orchestra is amazing. It was strange to see NO orchestra pit. All the musicians (under the baton of John Samorian) are off-stage and occasionally on stage. I wonder if this is to sell more tickets?

The show broke all box office records at Boston's historic Colonial Theater. It may do the same here. More than 2,000 were in attendance for press night. The audience gave thunderous ovations twice during the middle of the show bringing it to a halt. One after "Walk Like a Man" in Act One and following "You're Just Too Good To Be True" in Act II.

Near the end of Act I, Gaudio, the amazing composer, added, "We weren't a social movement like the Beatles. Our fans didn't put flowers in their hair and try to levitate the Pentagon...Our people were the guys who shipped overseas...and their sweethearts.They were the factory workers, the truck drivers. The kids pumping gas, flipping burgers. The pretty girl with circles under her eyes behind the counter or the diner. They're the ones who really got us, who pushed us over the top."

There are signs in the lobby which warn "Flashing Strobe Lights, Loud Gun-fire, and Authentic Profane Jersey Vocabulary are special effects used in this production."

I recommend the wonderful companion book to the musical "(Jersey Boys, The Story of Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons") by David Cote which has the story behind the story and all the lyrics from the show. 

Visit  www.jerseyboysinfo.com/tour for video highlights.

For tickets, call 410-547-SEAT or visit www.BroadwayAcrossAmerica.com.

For those who work downtown, there is a Thursday 2p.m. performance on Feb 24. Consider taking a late long lunch.

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The REAL Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons Arrive for One Night Only - April 9, 2011

Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons will perform at the Hippodrome to benefit the Hippodrome Foundation on Saturday evening, April 9, 2011. There are VIP packages available which include cocktails and a dinner reception beginning at 6 p.m. for $250 and $350. Tickets just for the performance start at $55. Call 410-547-SEAT.

All proceeds will benefit the Hippodrome Foundation which provides free outreach and education programs for local students. The free programs include Young Critics, Camp Hippodrome, master classes, matinees, historic tours, and the Volunteer Usher Program. To get involved or learn more, call 410-727-7787 or visit www.hippodromefoundation.org.

For comments, write to cgshubow@broadwayworld.com.

Photo: (l to r) Quinn VanAntwerp, Joseph Leo Bwarie, Matt Bailey, Steve Gouveia and the Company of JERSEY BOYS; Credit Joan Marcus

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