The buzz around the show “Jersey Boys” has been significant ever since it won the Tony Award for Best New Musical in 2006. The show’s cross-country tour is currently playing at the National Theatre in D.C., and after seeing the show, you’ll certainly walk away thinking, “Oh, what a night!”
“Jersey Boys” tells the story of the group The Four Seasons, consisting of Nick Massi, Bob Gaudio, Tommy DeVito and Frankie Valli, delving into how they met, the band’s struggle for recognition, making it big and what happened from there.
The performers in the show were extremely impressive; Joseph Leo Bwarie was almost a dead-ringer for Frankie Valli. His character development was spot on as he began the show as the shy 16-year-old that Tommy DeVito had brought into his band.
Then, when the four of them took the stage for “Sherry,” their first big hit, it was as if Valli himself was on stage. The other three main actors also had phenomenal voices that blended so well together, it was as if they had been singing as a group for decades.
The casting of Bobby Gaudio (Josh Franklin) was slightly amusing, as he did not look like the minor he was playing — when he was first introduced, the others kept calling him a youngster despite the fact that he towered over the others in the group. Matt Bailey and Steve Gouveia, playing DeVito and Massi, respectively, were very apt at their comedic timing; they had a few of their own “Odd Couple” moments, and Massi kept going on about how he was the “Ringo” of the group and didn’t really matter.
The technical aspects of “Jersey Boys” were put together extremely well and didn’t interrupt the show, as sometimes happens when there is too much going on visually. The stage was mainly composed of chain link fences with a few staircases and an upper level, while for other scenes, desks, tables, and sometimes beds filled the area. The cast played against a backdrop of a New Jersey skyline, which, depending on the tone of the lights, gave either a hometown feel or an ominous foreboding. Several neon signs and windows would fly in and out of the scene as the boys traveled to new locations, which eventually lended to the band’s name, The Four Seasons. “Tommy, look!” Valli exclaims. “It’s a sign!” There is always a sense of the ever-present musical theater humor in “Jersey Boys,” but it is both well-played and well-written.
The show had great multimedia aspects that were unexpected but pleasant to see. The best technical elements were a series of screens that flew in from above and hovered over the heads of the actors. The show was organized into four parts, and as each one began, the screens would illuminate with one of the four seasons, progressing the plotline from spring to winter.
As the seasons changed, a different band member would narrate, beginning with DeVito in the spring, and ending with Valli in the winter. The screens also added an extra dimension to the locations of the show, adding in little cartoons of characters similar to ones seen in classic comic books and even streaming live video.
When The Four Seasons made it big and were performing for the silver screen, three old studio cameras made their way on stage, and the audience could see the performance on the screens as if they were watching from home.
But the most chilling and arguably best effect of the show came when The Four Seasons sang “Dawn (Go Away)” at the end of the first act, turning their backs to the audience as the entire stage was illuminated and light shot out into the audience. As the viewers peered through the almost blinding light, one could see the silhouetted figures of The Four Seasons singing to a roaring crowd in the darkness while camera flashes flicker. It was a fittingly dramatic ending to the first act.
Though one may expect this show to be just another tribute musical or another ill-fitting, poorly-written show that attempts to cram famous music into a theater to sell tickets, that is not the case with “Jersey Boys.”
The show’s plot line stands very well on its own and doesn’t just take you down a straight road to the finale. There are unexpected twists, sad news and broken hearts. The show is full of moments that can give you chills; “Bye Bye Baby” takes on a completely new meaning, and when the horn section comes in as Valli sings “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You,” it all seems to fly off the stage.
“Jersey Boys” is playing at The National Theatre until Dec. 12, when the cast ship off to the next leg of their tour.
You can reach this writer at thescene@theeagleonline.com.
