May 31, 2012
From May 22 to June 10, 2012, Jersey Boys playing at Fabulous Fox Theatre-GA in Atlanta GA and Wendell Brock reviewed the musical. Check out a sneak peek of the review:
There’s a moment in “Jersey Boys” when Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons must decide whether to bail out bad-boy gambler Tommy DeVito or throw him overboard to the loan sharks.
In a smoky boardroom, Valli gets up from the table and declares his intentions to walk like a man. They’ll pay off DeVito’s debt and behave like a family.
At this moment, it may occur to you that “Jersey Boys” is more than just a seamlessly crafted jukebox musical describing the public acclaim and behind-the-scenes struggles of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons: It is also a tale of honor and loyalty to rival Mario Puzo (“The Godfather”) and Shakespeare (“The Merchant of Venice”).
And I’m happy to report that the touring production at the Fox Theatre through June 10 is the slickest, best-looking and most dramatically resonant telling of the expletive-spewing 2006 Tony Award winner for best new musical that I have seen. As the diminutive lead singer with the voice of an angel, the troubled personal life and the heart of gold, Brad Weinstock is simply electric. His performance is as good as you will see on any stage, anywhere.
Though Valli’s flaws were considerable, DeVito’s were apparently even more troubling, and Colby Foytik plays the stock villain with a mixture of snarl and charisma. The handsome Jason Kappus portrays Bob Gaudio, the musical brains of the group, as fresh-faced and likeable, while Brandon Andrus exudes plenty of masculine energy as bass singer Nick Massi, the quiet soldierly one who can only endure so much. As “Fifth Season” Bob Crewe, the group’s lyricist and frequent producer, Barry Anderson is a delightfully flamboyant figure who recalls Hugh Jackman playing Peter Allen in “The Boy from Oz.”
Read the complete review {Via accessAtlanta.com}
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May 7, 2012
Jersey Boys is currently playing on tour in Kansas City, MO and the performances at Music Hall Kansas City continue through May 20, 2012.
Jersey Boys Musical Reviewed by Russ Simmons at WDAF TV – FOX 4 – Here is the review:
The term “jukebox musical” is one that makes some Broadway purists cringe. It often refers to shows with weak or non-existent plots that are thrown together from existing music. They’re usually regarded as the poor stepchild of ‘real’ musicals.
The rousing, well-staged and engaging touring production of “Jersey Boys,” now on stage at Kansas City’s Music Hall, goes a long way to dispel the negative connotations usually associated with jukebox musicals.
“Jersey Boys,” the story of the pop music phenomenon The Four Seasons, might be more accurately described as a “musical docudrama.” It traces the history of the rise and fall of the group that achieved its fame and fortune in the time between the formation of rock and roll in 1950s and the British Invasion of the 1960s.
There’s a reason that The Four Seasons sold over 100 million records over the years. Their catchy songs with sophisticated arrangements and soaring falsetto lead vocals by Frankie Valli are considered pop classics. Their arrangements are faithfully replicated in “The Jersey Boys” by a crack band and talented acting ensemble.
The story unfolds in chronological order divided, appropriately, into four seasons: Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter. A different member of the group narrates each segment.
The group’s ascension to the top of the pop music charts was peppered with felonies, jail sentences, mob associations, affairs and divorces. The show’s amusing book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice provides us a sweeping overview of the conflicts that accompanied their artistic and commercial success.
Parents should be warned that the dialogue is filled with f-bombs and frank sexual dialogue. The Four Seasons may have sounded sweet, but they were closer to being ‘goodfellas’ than they were to choirboys. A movie version would, no doubt, garner an “R” rating.
“Jersey Boys” is an energetic crowd pleaser. As the group asks the audience the musical question “Who Loves You?” at the show’s finale, it’s clear that the affection goes both ways.
Read the complete review {Via fox4kc.com}
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April 12, 2012
Jersey Boys, the musical story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, is back in Chicago at the Bank of America Theatre.
Jersey Boys, Frankie Valli, Bob Gaudio, Tommy DeVito and Nick Massi, young blue-collar gentlemen of the Garden State, working their way back to you, have returned to Chicago’s Bank of America Theatre for a nine-week stand.
Jersey Boys, coming on top of the initial Chicago run of a mere two-and-half years. And when you’re running that long in Chicago, where international tourists are thinner on the ground, you’re reaching a pretty hefty percentage of the local population.
So if you were one of the 1.3 million people who saw the theatrical story of Frankie Valli, Bob Gaudio, Tommy DeVito and Nick Massi during that 2007-10 engagement, and I bet you are, and you are contemplating another go-around with the sweetie who loves you, a big juicy steak on the town, and some bonding time with the big-ticket “Bye Bye Baby” boys, you’ll want to know if the national tour compares sufficiently favorably with the dedicated Chicago company not to let you and yours down.
Joseph Leo Bwarie, the current Frankie, is one of the premiere Frankies of the franchise, for this show, soon to also be a movie, is most certainly now a franchise. Especially when you see Bwarie alongside the apple-cheeked Preston Truman Boyd, who plays Gaudio, you think at first that you’re suddenly watching “Sons of Jersey Boys,” but baby-faced Bwarie is deceptive in the early scenes, because he knows how to show some steel and take command of the show. Bwarie, whose fine performance is enough to merit a return for fans of this show (note that he does not perform matinees), doesn’t rely on tricks so much as, simply put, a beautifully clear and pure voice. I was struck by how many people around me were closing their eyes when he sung, even though he is very easy on the eyes. Not all Frankies have provoked that desire to lose oneself in the vocals.
Other notable performances here include John Gardiner as an especially irritating DeVito, which I intend as a compliment, and Michael Lomenda as an especially strange Massi, ditto. The tempestuous scenes between Valli and his first wife, Mary Delgado (scenes that terrified the creators of this show) pop better here than I’ve ever seen them, thanks to a very shrewd and concise performance from Kara Tremel, a Jersey girl of distinction, even though it’s tough for a girl to get a look-in with this gig.
Read the complete review by Chris Jones, Theater critic {Via WGNRadio.com}
Jersey Boys performances at Bank Of America Theatre (formerly Lasalle Bank Theatre) continue through Sunday June 03, 2012. Buy Jersey Boys Chicago IL Tickets, Get $10 OFF on Orders of $350 or more by using code #SpringSavings at Checkout!
March 25, 2012
Jersey Boys is currently performing in a new home Le Theatre Des Arts Paris Hotel on the Las Vegas Strip. In 2008 the show opened at the Palazzo. After a successful run, the four blue-collar kids packed their bags, hit the road and headed west to Paris Las Vegas. “Jersey Boys” opened at its new location in March.
For those who haven’t seen it, “Jersey Boys” takes audiences into the lives of Frankie Valli, Tommy DeVito, Nick Massi and Bob Gaudio and their rise to stardom as The Four Seasons. Their captivating journey is told through the sensational cast and the band’s hit songs like “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” “Rag Doll,” “Oh, What a Night” and “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You.”
At the Paris Las Vegas, the show features a slightly bigger stage and a more intimate theater experience than the Palazzo did for both the performers and the audience.
“There isn’t a balcony there so it feels just like one big orchestra section. The crowds have been great, and we can hear them a lot better on stage, which is nice for us,” said Graham Fenton who performs as Valli.
He started performing as an understudy with the Vegas cast when the show opened. From there he was promoted to performing as an alternate for the role of Valli in the touring version of “Jersey Boys.” He rejoined the Vegas cast in September 2011 in his current role.
Fenton said that playing the part of a famous artist who’s still living was both “daunting and intimidating at first.” For his audition he had to sing “Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You” while Valli and Guadio sat about 10 feet away from him watching and listening to his performance.
Jersey Boys Paris Las Vegas Performances:
Tuesdays – 6:30 PM and 9:30 PM
Wednesday to Friday – 7:00 PM
Saturdays – 6:30 PM and 9:30 PM
Sundays – 7:00 PM
Read the complete review {Via Vegas.com}
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January 21, 2012
Beau Higgins at BroadwayWorld.com praised Jersey Boys first national tour production at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts.
Jersey Boys musical, based on the life and careers of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons is thrilling, masterful, and certainly unforgettable. I tossed and I turned remembering magical pieces of stage craft, goose bump inducing performances and everything else that makes up this Tony winning Best Musical; indeed one of the best musicals of all time.
Jersey Boys demonstrates what a juke box musical can be when all the stars align just right and all the professionals are at the top of their game. The audience at the Broward Center last night received Jersey Boys with the wildest pandemonium, seemingly endless cheering, and simply bravo’d the show within an inch of its life. Oh, What A Night, as one of the classic Four Seasons songs of Jersey Boys sings. Oh, what a night, to say the least. Anyone able to attend Jersey Boys and misses it, does so at their own risk. Jersey Boys is one of the greatest musicals of anyone’s lifetime.
Read the complete review {Via BroadwayWorld.com}
Jersey Boys will be performing at Broward Center for the Performing Arts through January 29, 2012. Buy Jersey Boys Fort Lauderdale FL Tickets Online. Use Code AFF$10 to Get $10 OFF on Orders over $350!
October 30, 2011
Andrew Beck at Hartford Arts Examiner says “Jersey Boys offers four seasons of hits in Bushnell production”.
Jersey Boys touring production offers a strong, fluid staging by Des McAnuff and choreographer Sergio Trujillo, with outstanding performances–and memorable vocalizing–by the four young actors playing the world-renown quartet: Joseph Leo Bwarie as the diminutive dynamo with a remarkable vocal range, Franki, Preston Truman Boyd as the steady, talented composer Bob Gaudio, John Gardiner as the hyper, anxious and troubled Tommy DeVito and Michael Lomenda as the laconic Nick Massi.
All the great hits are here, richly sung by the cast and backed with top-notch arrangements, including “Walk Like a Man,” “My Eyes Adored You,” “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” “Sherry” “Stay,” “Bye Bye Babie,” “C’mon Marianne,” “Who Loves You,” and “December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night),” to name just a few.
Outstanding and exciting as the music is, “Jersey Boys” is no mere jukebox musical. One of its frequently overlooked strengths is its book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice (currently represented on Broadway by “The Addams Family.” They tell the story, warts and all, of how the group that would ultimately take the name “The Four Seasons” from a local bowling alley initially came together in suburban New Jersey in the late 1950’s following various failed attempts by DeVito and Valley (as Franki spelled his name at that point) to eke out a living in clubs and lounges.
Read the complete review Via {Examiner.com}
Jersey Boys Musical performances continued at Mortensen Hall Bushnell Theatre run through November 06, 2011 before it moves to Washington, DC performances starting from November 10, 2011. Buy Jersey Boys Hartford CT Tickets Online, Use Code AFF$10 to Get $10 OFF on Orders over $350!
