Jersey Boys: The Review

The boys are back in town and oh what a night it was!

This Milk Bar writer accompanied her mum to see the Tony award-winning musical and we left with a jaunt in our step.

Jersey Boys, the internationally acclaimed musical tells the true-life story of four boys from the wrong side of the tracks, and the rise to stardom of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons – one of the most successful bands in pop music history. The band sold more than 175 million records and were inducted into the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame for their worldwide hits, including ‘Can’t Take My Eyes Off You’, ‘Walk Like a Man’, ‘Bye Bye Baby’, ‘Sherry’ and ‘Big Girls Don’t Cry’, all of which feature in the musical.

The show is split into four parts, each named after the four seasons. “You ask four guys how it happened, you get four different versions. But this is where all of ‘em start. A thousand years ago … a few guys under a street lamp, singing somebody else’s latest hit.”

We open with Spring, narrated by the charismatic-but-shifty Tommy DeVito, played wonderfully by Cameron MacDonald. Tommy is the one who started the group. The one who discovered Frankie. Tommy gets things done. Without him, there would be no Jersey Boys. Tommy is also the one who breaks the band apart.

Admittedly, I found this season a little slow. I wasn’t familiar with the earlier songs and the plot focussed heavily on setting up the rest of the show. But every story has its origins. Once the shrill vocal of ‘Sherry’ echoed though the stately Regent Theatre, the vibe certainly picked up.

Summer was up next, narrated by Bob Gaudio, the group’s immensely talented songwriter, played sweetly by Thomas McGuane. “I never heard a voice like Frankie Valli’s. After eight bars, I know I need to write for this voice.” Fun fact, before he joined The Four Seasons as a teenager, Bob was behind the one-hit-wonder ‘Short Shorts’ (who wears short shorts, we wear short shorts). He went on to write the group’s first three songs: three successive number one hits. In a more personal first, he also lost his virginity, an event celebrated to ‘December 1963 (Oh, What a Night)’ – the highlight performance of the show in my opinion!

Summer was where the group hit their peak. They had made it. In Autumn, it all fell down. Autumn, narrated by Nick Massi (Glaston Toft) with his deadpan humour saw the band’s troubles come to a climax. The Four Seasons, as the world knew it, were no more.

Bob convinces Frankie that his voice is enough on its own and Winter sees the birth of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. Ryan Gonzalez truly shines in this season as Frankie. It can’t be easy performing Valli’s unique falsetto night after night, but each time he performed flawlessly.  It is here that he performs ‘Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You’ (the song of choice for Heath Ledger’s serenade in 10 Things I Hate About You, for those of you playing along at home), and my personal second highlight.

Overall Jersey Boys is a 10/10 night out that I can’t beam about enough! The performances were compelling, the singing first-class, and the storytelling uplifting, yet real. I couldn’t help but draw comparisons to Beautiful: The Carole King Musical. Both tell the story of the rise of renowned musical acts, both are set in the decades more familiar to parents of Gen Y than their children. However, I do think Beautiful managed to integrate King’s songs much more seamlessly into a highly emotionally-charged narrative than Jersey Boys, which at times felt like it was just rolling out the hits.

Regardless, what amazes me about me about both acts, is the ability of their songs to travel through several generations – whether you know it or not. Frankie Valli sang the Grease theme, for instance, and ‘Bye Bye Baby (Baby Goodbye)’ will resonate with anyone who is a fan of Love Actually – and lets face it, who isn’t? So do yourself a favour and experience the story of musical legends!

Jersey Boys
Till Sunday, 14 April 2019
Regent Theatre, 191 Collins Street, Melbourne CBD
jerseyboys.com.au

Images: Jeff Busby