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).
