Jersey Boys Launches it’s 2nd National Tour from today at Philadelphia, PA. Brandon Andrus, 32, was born in Willingboro, N.J., grew up in Langhorne and graduated from Neshaminy High School in 1998. He plays “Nick Massi,” in the second national tour of the Grammy and Tony-award winning musical about Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons opening this week at the Forrest Theatre in Philadelphia.
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You’ll have a good time. My hand to God. My lips should fall off my face if I’m telling you wrong. Jersey Boys, which has been touring the world, winning prizes (Tony, Grammy, Olivier) wherever it goes, is the story of guys who grew up in a tough Italian neighborhood in New Jersey and became the Four Seasons. It’s like a singing Sopranos, with a book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice, lyrics by Bob Crewe, and directed by Des McAnuff.
Frankie Valli (Joseph Leo Bwarie) is just a teenager with a killer falsetto and melting eyes when he finds his local guy-mentor, mobbed-up Tommy DeVito (Matt Bailey – why, oh, why, am I still falling for the sexy bad boys?). What with one street-corner singer or another going to prison, it’s hard to keep a group together. But eventually, with the addition of Nick Massi (Steve Gouveia) and the songwriter Bob Gaudio (Quinn VanAntwerp), the Four Seasons rock to the top of the charts and, eventually, the Hall of Fame.
The cast members, who can act as well as sing, are also sound-alikes/look-alikes for people who remember the originals. Besides the four, Joseph Siravo, as both the mob boss and a smarmy record producer, is terrific, and a slew of capable others play multiple roles in a show that never lags.
The set is mostly just a stage with a catwalk and some movable furniture, but the wit in Klara Zieglerova’s design lies in the huge Roy Lichtenstein paintings that loom over the stage, illustrating and commenting on the action onstage.
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Jersey Boys playing in Forrest Theatre, 1114 Walnut St., Philadelphia, PA. Buy Jersey Boys Forrest Theatre Tickets now and Save $10 on Jersey Boys Ticket Orders over $350! Code AFF$10
