What if four blue collar boys from New Jersey rose
above their humble beginnings and earned a place in
the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame? Sounds like an idea
for a modern-day fairy tale, but this story is true.
Broadway’s hit “jukebox” musical Jersey
Boys follows the legendary doo-wop group, The Four Seasons,
from tough, working-class neighborhoods to the top of
the charts.
With over 100 million records sold over 40 years, the
music of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons is a permanent
fixture in American pop culture. In Jersey Boys, actors
portray the famous four and sing many of their number
# hits, like “Big Girls Don’t Cry,”
“Oh What a Night” and “Walk Like a
Man.”
A pair of Jersey Boys tickets transports you to the
glory days of doo-wop. Set in the early days of rock-and-roll,
Jersey Boys tells a story of triumph against the odds.
Even the youngest audience member will recognize the
familiar falsetto of Frankie Valli singing smash hits
like “Sherry” and “Rag Doll.”
Unlike traditional musicals, the characters do not sing
to each other, they perform the songs in various music
industry settings, such as nightclubs and recording
studios.
Jersey Boys, which was developed at the La Jolla Playhouse
famous for turning out The Who’s Tommy, features
a book written by Rick Elice and Marshall Brickman.
Brickman is best known for writing the screenplays for
The Manhattan Project, For The Boys and for co-writing
several screenplays with Woody Allen, such as Manhattan
Murder Mystery. His collaboration with Allen, Annie
Hall, won best screenplay in 1978.
Playing the real-life singing sensations are Christian
Hoff (Tommy DeVito) who
appeared in The Who’s Tommy, Jesus Christ Superstar
and on television in episodes of ER and JAG; Daniel
Reichard (Bob Gaudio), who created the role at La Jolla
Playhouse and is making his Broadway debut; J. Robert
Spencer (Nicki Massi), who has appeared on All My Children
and Girls Behaving Badly; and John Lloyd Young (Frankie
Valli), who recently appeared on Broadway in The Drawer
Boy.
Jersey Boys is currently playing at the August Wilson
Theater. The musical may not be appropriate for children
under 13, and children under 4 are not admitted.
.