Just Too Good To Be True?
As the East Coast arrives at the West End, we send one of our writers to check out the latest Broadway smash Jersey Boys
If anyone would have asked me to name all the Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons' songs I knew before last night I would have struggled to come up with maybe three? Sherry Baby right? They sung that didn't they? Walk Like a Man? I'm not sure actually- Oh What a Night! They definitely sung that... That's about it. Much to my surprise, however, it turns out that I basically know all the words to every song in the whole of Jersey Boys. Who would have guessed? In fact, all evening the auditorium was peppered with mutterings of 'Oh this one, I didn't know they sung this!' and so on. As it turns out then, (between you, me and the proverbial gatepost) I seem to be somewhat of a fan of the ole Four Seasons...
The evening kicked off in a rather elegant French restaurant called L'Escargot which is located directly behind the theatre. Despite it's name there were very few snails on the menu, bar of course the wee chocolate ones that were given away with the coffees. The restaurant was well versed with the fact that we were theatre goers and so stepped up the excellent service so that we made the show in good time. The Prince Edward Theatre matches L'Escargot in all its urbane sophistication and, as we filtered through the graceful Art-Deco auditorium, a gentle buzz of anticipation began to zip around the place. The set that greeted us looked something of a cross between the film
Mean Streets and that performance of
Jailhouse Rock and, in fact, that is exactly what the entire show felt like.
After a quick prologue we are thrown into the nitty gritty of life in New Jersey in about 1950. Seasons' members Tom DeVito and Nick Massi are desperately trying to make it as musicians and claw their way out of their life of petty crime and their association with small-time wiseguys. In between spells at the State Penitentiary, they stumble across the 16 year old Valli and, after roping him into the line up, their music and success begins to take off. Throwing musical genius Bob Guadio into the mix midway through the first act seals the deal and The Four Seasons are now set to take the world by storm.
Big numbers come thick and fast, Walk Like a Man, Big Girls Don't Cry ,Sherry Baby; literally a string of doo wop and early rock 'n' roll classics. The band storm the billboards and, thanks to some pretty fantastic stagecraft, we move from fairly dingy juke-box-dives to some pretty awesome stadium concerts. Great screens swing down from the wings and we find ourselves watching the boys snap and chirp through the Ed Sullivan Show and into musical history. After a rousing collection of hits the first half closes with the revelation that Tom DeVito, who as well as performing had been managing the band's finances, has got himself into quite a considerable amount of debt with some mob guys and the dream looks ready to fall apart.
The performances up till now have been pretty much fantastic, Ryan Molloy's Frankie Valli has a comparable soaring tenor and the songs come alive with the seamless interplay of backing tracks and real instruments. Throw in the exquisite harmonies provided by Stephen Ashfield and Philip Bulcock and the spirit of The Four Seasons explodes onto the stage. What's more, it becomes patently clear that I'm not the only one impressed with the music as, all the way to The Stalls' Bar and back again, the interval flickers with spontaneous outbursts of "Late December back in '63, What a very special time for me, dum da dum dum da da da!"
Needless to say, the plot seriously thickens in the second half as everything begins to come unstuck and band members start falling by the wayside. There are some more huge songs (in fact, probably the biggest song of the night is nestled midway through the second half and it really brought the house down) and some great set pieces.
The dialogue is always snappy and really zips the show along, tying the songs together with purpose, wit and charm. I would say that the only problem with the entire show would be with the dramatic scope of the story. That is to say, as this is roughly a straight biopic, it's not like the libretto can introduce drastic and daring sub-plots. In fact, there are no complimentary plotlines to speak of whatsoever. That said, the whole thing ebbs and flows like one of the boys' hit records. Pithy remarks bound around the stage (as well as some pretty fruity language - adults only really) and sets fly in and out accompanied by Lictensteinesque comic cells. The whole two and a half hours is geared to create a colourful and culturally sharp backdrop for the action. For anyone who owns an old Four Seasons LP or is even slightly interested in the music of the 50s and 60s, this show is seriously set from stun to kill!
So, out with it then, Jersey Boys 'Just too Good To be True?'... maybe not, but 'Oh what a night'!
Published by: Nathan Brooker
