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Jersey Boys
By Marshall Brickman & Rick Elice
Music by Bob Gaudio
Lyrics by Bob Crewe
Choreographed by Sergio Trujillo
Directed by Des McAnuff
Scenic Design Klara Zieglerova
Lighting Design Howell Binkley
Sound Design Steve Canyon Kennedy
Costume design by Jess Goldstein
Musical Director Nick Finlow
Prince Edward Theatre
Old Compton Street London W1
Call + 44 (0) 844 482 5151
Tickets £20 - £42.50
Mon – Sat 7.30pm; Tues & Sat 2.30pm
Running time 2hrs 30 mins with intermission
Through 2008
Nice To Meet You Boys
In the centenary year of London’s Theatreland it is fitting, perhaps, that the latest musical to arrive in the West End is from Broadway, where so many of the great musicals were born, and which in turn gave life to the triumphant musicals industry here. It also feels as if our old friends, the Jersey Boys have finally come to visit. Anyone whose lives were touched by the great numbers of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons will feel that it’s nice to meet them after all these years.
It is one of the great charms of Jersey Boys that you come away understanding what it was that so endeared them to the American people. All we had was the music, and although that was enough at the time, the most unforgettable numbers were deeply rooted in their lives which are now shared with us.
The boys weren’t all angels, though, although Frankie, in a committed performance by the extraordinarily voiced, Ryan Molloy, almost qualifies, and it is the very honesty of their portrayal that gives the story its solid foundations. The first half is about the battle for an identity and of course, a hit, an absolute must for any aspiring group. After that you need another one, to prove you aren’t a one-hit wonder. Finally here, not one, but three in a row arrived, and The Four Seasons were on the map. Bob Gaudio, played with a boyish good humour by Stephen Ashfield was working his magic, and Sherry, Big Girls Don’t Cry and Walk Like a Man gave the group its sound and fame. And didn’t the boys here just deliver! The café they were working at gave them their beautiful name, and they wore it with distinction.
The show is memorable for much, including its humour eg Bob Gaudio discovering that ‘sex is nicer with someone else’. But the hard times, when they came, gave the show its poignant bite, and the acting was powerful enough to handle any emotional depths the story brought them. The progress of the band almost hit the wall through the strangely deep loyalty of Frankie Valli towards his band members, the loyal but complex Nick Massi of Philip Bulcock, and in particular to Tommy DeVito, a seductively fly performance by Glenn Carter.
The trials and tribulations of the boys were hugely enhanced by the people brought to life in the superb supporting characterisations of Stuart Milligan and Tee Jay in particular, and so too, Tom Lorcan, Amy Pemberton, Hank Majewski and Joseph Prowse. With a company brimming over with talent at his disposal, director Des McAnuff was able to wring truth from scenes that might have seemed contrived in less assured hands. The simple staging and overall design was in keeping with the unpretentious character of Frankie Valli, and it was a relief that there was no gratuitous dressing up of the show to create glitz for its own sake.
When the show was winding down it was a wave goodbye with warmth and affection to old/new friends, and the pleasure of having been given insight into the lives of those who brought so much fun and even romance to millions.
The Prince Edward Theatre in Old Compton Street in the heart of Soho, opened its doors 78 years ago to the New York Ziegfeld Theatre hit musical, Rio Rita. Now completely refurbished and very comfortable, there will no doubt be many more great musicals here.
Highly Recommended
Saul Reichlin
London correspondent
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