JERSEY BOYS is back (hey la, hey la)
Sterling vocals, vivid characterizations distinguish PTC’s production.
Beginning in 1961 with “Sherry” through 1976’s “Oh, What a Night,” The Four Seasons was one of the best-selling and longest-performing musical groups of all time.
A short titular list of the 100 million memorable chart-topping records sold: “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” “My Eyes Adored You,” “Stay,” “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You,” “Walk Like A Man,” “Who Loves You,” “Working My Way Back to You,” “My Boyfriend’s Back,” “Let’s Hang On (To What We Got),” and “Rag Doll.”
Between the Broadway premiere and subsequent move off-Broadway and a 38-city national tour, along with British stagings, JERSEY BOYS, which relates to the rise of The Four Seasons, nearly sets a long-running record of its own. Not forgotten is Clint Eastwood’s film adaptation.
With sterling vocals, vivid characterizations, beautiful staging, and magnificent performances, Pioneer Theatre’s JERSEY BOYS is nothing short of fabulous. Were it possible, the production could be nominated for a Best Musical regional Tony.
The pithy book — by Marshall Brickman (a frequent Woody Allen scribe) and Broadway’s Rick Elice (the team also wrote the long-running THE ADDAMS FAMILY) — can be credited for the popularity of JERSEY BOYS. A show about four New Jersey from New Jersey who clawed their way to the top of the music business would be fascinating even without the music, especially considering that little was known to the public about the Four Seasons’ history before the musical because magazines of the era quizzically did not write much about them. Noted that although biopics were a common format in film, a similar story format was still relatively rare on stage, and there’s a belief that none had been tried at the time.
The story covers a true tale of mob connections, bad debts, prison spells and soaring success, with a seemingly endless catalog of hits — jam-packed with some 35 songs. In essence, JERSEY BOYS is so compelling that it transcends the jukebox musical stigma to become a splendid musical-drama-revue composite.
The cast is uniformly outstanding, beginning with Trevor James as Frankie Valli. A magnificent singer and a charismatic performer, he confidently makes the audience forget the real Frankie Valli, who isn’t actually up there on the Simmons stage. He’s on point with a distinctive nasal falsetto, heading up to helium territory. Also notable is the progression from awkward 16-year-old to a take-charge leader.
The three other actors rounding out the Four Seasons’ original members — Daxton Bloomquist (Bob Gaudio, tenor vocals); Adam Enrigue Hollick (Tommy DeVito, baritone vocals); Brent Thiessen (Nick Massi, bass vocals) — impress with their ability to make the characters distinct from one another, as they step forward to express their views. And the four players harmonize beatifully.
Utahn Timothy Aaron Cooper plays Joe Pesci (“Yup, that Joe Pesci, the actor”) and a wide assortment of other characters, contributing great humor.
We also see exemplary design from Jo Winiarski (scenic), Brenda Van Der Wiel (costume), Christine Watanabe (lighting), and Aaron Hubbard (sound), although the sound run crew misses a number of actors’ cues.
The company helmed by director Karen Azenberg and musical director/conductor Phil Reno, credited for the show’s vision and leading the cast to excellence within the standard short rehearsal period.
Also remarkable is employment of the original script (thank you), without alterations as in the Tuacahn Center’s watered-down staging.
► pioneertheatre.org, through Sept. 28
