LowLife Staff Reviews

"Gritty but a Crowd-Pleaser"

From Mike Weatherford of the Las Vegas Review-Journal:

"...the absorbing story that propels this musical biography of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons has surprised audiences around the country. Those who expect perhaps a "Forever Plaid"-style revue get a crackling, cinematic staging of a saga so messy it can only be true.

Or at least true to the diverse viewpoints of the four original Seasons, who each narrate one metaphoric "season" of the group's history. The first, Tommy DeVito (Jeremy Kushnier), tells you up front that if you ask four different guys, "you get four different versions."

Director Des McAnuff shaped the 2005 Broadway hit with writers Rick Elice and Marshall Brickman, who was Woody Allen's co-screenwriter on "Manhattan" and "Annie Hall." They've deftly meshed the group's complicated history with its song catalog. More often than not, hits such as "Bye Bye Baby" are interrupted by dialogue, fading into background to underscore the action. When a song such as "My Eyes Adored You" does break out, "Mamma Mia!" style, as the emotional expression of traditional show tuneage, the impact is more effective for its rarity.

The group slogs its way through dive bars and bowling alleys until it meets Bob Gaudio (Erich Bergen), a teen songwriting prodigy who explains to the audience that he already was a one-hit wonder at age 17, having penned the immortal "(Who Wears) Short Shorts." The quartet teams up with flamboyant producer Bob Crewe (John Salvatore) and slowly but surely makes magic: The slow wind-up doesn't deliver the first Four Seasons hit "Sherry" until the 50-minute mark, and by then the audience is ready to cheer the triumph.

Some anxious fans have wondered whether and how much the musical would be cut for Las Vegas. The answer seems to be, imperceptibly, if at all.

"Jersey Boys" might be gritty, but it's a crowd-pleaser at heart."

Read the Entire Review of Jersey Boys