Jersey Boys created much buzz
with the powerful male bravado of the Four Seasons and each pivotal
character's personal experience and interpretation on the road to
fame. The cast of Michael Longoria, Christian Hoffm Sebastian Arcleus,
and J. Robert Spencer continues to have the audience firmly in its grasp
as it mixes personal confessions and ensemble musical performances that
beckons to every patron's nostalgic connection to the music of the
'60s that was not part of the British invasion.
The performances were terrific
with their vocal prowess that dominated the jukesical. Often times in
the musical documentaries, the plot gets lost and only seems to be useless
filler between songs. Jersey Boys leaves no void between hits, whether
they are snippets of the original or full performances.
The musical has so many songs
to choose from because of the amazing catalogue of hits by the Four
Seasons. With only bits and pieces of smaller hits and full on productions
of the most recognizable, the musical reaches the perfect balance and
avoids the pitfalls of becoming simply a cover band doing a complete
set and a play loosely inspired by a few key songs.
Jersey Boys is not Mamma Mia!
The seemingly endless circle of trial and error follows the group as
they come together in the face of popular ambitions and mob pressure.
Jersey Boys ends with an induction to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
in 1990, but takes the audience to the several trips to jail and the
countless the crossroads the quartet encounter along the way.
Michael Longoria makes the
move from Joe Pesci, who introduced the members of the group, to Frankie
Valli, one half of the driving force behind the groups continued thriving
popularity. Longoria seamlessly makes the transition and owns the role
with wit and charm.
Christian Hoff reprises his
Tony-Award winning role as Tommy DeVito. His performance is amazing
because it has not gone stale despite playing the same character as
three years ago. He shines again as perhaps the most charismatic of
the four-some.
Sebastian Arceles and J. Robert
Spencer as Bob Gaudio and Nick Massi play there torn characters very
well, sometimes even inspiring tiny screams of joy from women who remember
the Four Seasons when they actually began in the '60s. Sebastian Arcelus
also continues his original role from the debut production. It is rare
that a musical as successful as Jersey Boys would have so many from
the original run still on stage, theater tickets to shows like that are rare.
The set design only adds to
the feel of the performance. It would be ridiculous for a musical as
close to perpetual motion as Jersey Boys to create enough sets to keep
up with the raucous pace, so Klara Zieglerova's preference for piping
and pop art perfectly convey the spirit of the early '60s and the
clamor the Four Seasons created as they went from stage to jail throughout
the jukesical.
Be warned, Jersey Boy tickets are not necessarily for the entire
family. These were rock stars and their many female admirers make appearances
on the stage and the dialogue may be too lewd for younger children.
Nonetheless, the latest run of Jersey Boys is something to be enjoyed
and celebrated for adults.
The nonstop singing and dialogue
quickly takes the audience through 30 years in about two hours with
the direction of Des McAnuff and the choreography of Sergio Trujillo.
It was surprises that the show was able to stay so evenly divided between
the four principal group members despite the involvement of Bob Gaudio.
August Wilson Theater
tickets are well
worth their price to see this show. Jukesicals of this caliber are rare
and often grow stale with time, but this show has remained as timeless
as the Four Seasons themselves.
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