There are those Broadway musicals that claim to be musicals, but turn out to be little more than plays with some songs thrown in. The “Jersey Boys” promises to not only be a musical, but a full-scale concert! It couldn’t be otherwise with the incredible music of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons from beginning to end.
The Journey to Broadway
This is the tale of four budding singers who went from singing under a street lamp in Jersey to singing under the big lights. Who are the main characters of this story? They are Francis Stephen Castelluccio, Frankie Valli’s given name, and his group the Four Seasons.
Frankie Valli got his start singing with a trio in 1951, but the group later disbanded. The remaining members of the Four Seasons started by singing with various bands at various times, but achieved little success with any of them. In 1960 the four members came together and the famous group was formed. Frankie Valli’s unique ability to sing both tenor and falsetto gained popularity and secured them a coveted spot on the show American Bandstand.
Rick Elice, Frankie Valli, Bob Gaudio, and Marshall Brickman sat down to dinner one night to discuss the idea of creating the “Jersey Boys” musical. Rick Elice and co-writer Marshall Brickman, who won the “Best Screenplay” award with Woody Allen for “Annie Hall”, had no experience creating musicals. Despite that fact, they certainly went ahead to write a winning one.
Since there was no large fan-fare surrounding Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons like there was with The Rolling Stones and The Beatles, both Elice and Brickman were hesitant to take on the assignment. Especially since Bob Guadio was interested in creating a production as extravagant as “Momma Mia”. However, after a conversation among the four about Frankie Valli’s and Bob Guadio’s experiences they had during their lives in New Jersey, Rick Elice and Marshall Brickman realized that there was a much deeper story to be told about the four boys from New Jersey.
The Potential is Realized
In the beginning of “Jersey Boys”, the first two acts surround these four Italian guys from Jersey. They are played out along with a score of musical numbers. “Jersey Boys” is a fresh way to tackle traditional biographies. Unlike so many biographies written now, this production was actually done with the characters collaboration.
The “Jersey Boys” musical was such a success that Frankie Valli found himself once again in the spotlight and landed a role on the successful HBO drama “The Sopranos”. Not surprisingly, playing a mob captain named Rusty Millio.
The “Jersey Boys” musical opened October 5, 2004 at the La Jolla Playhouse in San Francisco, California. It ran through January 16, 2005 and then on November 6, 2005 it opened on Broadway at the August Wilson Theater. The “Jersey Boys” musical opened to high ticket sales and great reviews. The current Broadway production stars Jarrod Spector as Frankie Valli, Sebastian Arcelus as Bob Guadio, Dominic Nolfi as Tommy DeVito and Matt Bogart as Nick Massi.
The once aspiring singers, Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990. They were also welcomed into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1999.
The “Jersey Boys” musical follows the lives of four average guys through their modest beginnings, to the formation and the conflict within their music group, a little mob activity and finally their rise to fame. Along with some excellent choreography, the music reminds us of an era past. The “Jersey Boys” musical is a dazzling production and is sure to have you leave the theater singing.
Jersey Boys Tickets - The True Story
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