Jersey Boys (l to r) Matt Faucher, Jon Hacker, Eric Chambliss and Devon Goffman
(Photo Credit: Joan Marcus)
Jersey Boys
5th Avenue Theatre get tickets and info here
Through February 20, 2022
** Proof of Vaccination and Masks Required
Jersey Boys is one of the most successful ‘Jukebox’ Musicals that have ever hit the Broadway stage. This show is filled with toe-tapping music that will easily be recognized, and is assured to bring enjoyment, fun, and nostalgia to anyone sitting in the audience. Currently returning to the 5th Avenue Theatre, Jersey Boys is bound to please.
The story is the true story of one of the greatest singing groups in American history – Frankie Valli, and the Four Seasons. The show follows their career from the early meeting of the quartet in New Jersey, 1963. The show follows the rise of the group, the challenges they faced, and the successes in becoming a legendary music group. Told in ‘documentary’ style, the musical allows all four of the members to tell their own story and give their own viewpoints (which differ slightly from one another) about the success and challenges. Each of the members becomes a narrator as the “Seasons” pass from one to the other. The show makes no effort to disguise the help from the “Organized Crime” members of the local neighborhood, nor of the difficulties about philandering on their wives/girlfriends, or the battle of egos that erupts with any group consisting of such great talents.
The four main leads all do incredible impersonations of the original group. The first to appear is Tommy DeVito (played by Devon Goffman) in “Spring”. Tommy makes no bones about his involvement with petty crime or organized crime. He is the one to discover Frankie Valli and claims to be the one to organize the group. In “Summer” Bobby Gaudio (played by Eric Chambliss) adds in how he came to be in the group courtesy of Joe Pesci (yes, that Joe Pesci, the actor). Bobby is the songwriter and responsible for such hits as “Big Girls Don’t Cry” and “Sherry”. In “Fall”, Nick Massi is (played by Matt Faucher). Mr. Faucher’s base voice is wonderful. He is the one on stage (opposed to the other actors) that seems to have the perfect steps with that “something extra” that literally defines the group’s movements of the era. Of course, last comes “Winter”, when Frankie Valli (played by Jon Hacker) comes forth to clean up the story and express his final views of what made The Four Seasons such an American treasure. Mr. Hacker voice is the perfect facsimile of Frankie Valli himself, complete with charm.
Jersey Boys (l to r) Devon Goffman, Eric Chambliss, Jon Hacker and Matt Faucher
(Photo Credit: Joan Marcus)
Jersey Boys is a fun show. The music will have the audience tapping their toes and humming along (silently in their own heads, OF COURSE), to the classic songs. Audience members are warned that “strobe lights”, “gun shots” and “Authentic Jersey Vocabulary” (with somewhat less exaggerated accents than the usual) are all used in this production. Jersey Boys does what it is supposed to do; it entertains, and sends the audience out into the night after a night of wonderful music.
Jersey Boys opened on Broadway November 6, 2005 and made it’s home there for over 16 years. Running for over 4,642 performances, the show was nominated for eight Tony Awards (2006) and won four, including Best Musical, Best Actor in a Musical (John Lloyd Young) and Best Featured Actor in a Musical (Christian Hoff). A film version was released in 2014 with John Lloyd Young repeating his role as Frankie Valli.
