Brinkhoff-Moegenburg
JERSEY BOYS UK Tour 2017/2018
"Oh what a night" – Jane McGowan enjoys this rip-roaring ride through the music of the Four Seasons at New Victoria Theatre.
Details
Venue: New Victoria Theatre, Woking
Dates & Times: 22nd October - 27th October, 7:30 pm
Tickets: atgtickets.com
Our Verdict
After nine splendid years in the West End, Jersey Boys – the rags to riches story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons – has hit the road, arriving at Woking’s New Victoria Theatre this week. I can certainly recommend you hotfoot it down there just in case there aren't any tickets left!
Narrated in turn by the four original members Tony DeVito, Bob Gaudio, Nick Massi and Frankie Valli, the story follows the rise (and demise) of the boys whose songs, Sherry Baby, Big Girls Don’t Cry and Walk Like a Man, propelled them to international stardom.
Their early days are chronicled by the fast-talking Tony, a small-time crook who sees the adolescent talent of Frankie as his ticket out of New Jersey. And although it is Tony’s initial drive that gets the band together, it’s the arrival of songwriter Bob Gaudio (drafted in after Tony’s brother is jailed) that sees the boys storm the charts.
One of the first so-called ‘jukebox musicals’, Jersey Boys offers a whistle-stop tour through some of the 60s biggest hits. Each song is more memorable than the last until of course, we reach the climactic December 1963 (Oh What A Night ) – which has every member of the audience on their feet.
We are given a full flavour of life in New Jersey, where worried mothers pray for hoodlum sons and Mafia members are never far away. And also later into the tedium and loneliness of life on the road, once the glamour of booze, girls and hotel rooms has worn thin.
Inevitably, cracks begin to appear and the original line-up disintegrates amid tax and gambling scandals, drink and weariness. But for Valli, the show goes on, thanks to Gaudio’s relentless hit-making.
The cast is fantastic – and understudy Dayle Hodge who stepped as Frankie Valli – received a well-deserved standing ovation from the appreciative audience.
The songs have all stood test the time and there is enough drama and humour in the script by Rick Elice and Marshall Brickman to keep the plot moving and the tension ramped up.
Although the twists and turns are those of almost every showbiz story going, the pure energy, enthusiasm and ebullience of Jersey Boys should see this run for another nine years… at least.
If you love the Jersey Boys, read our full interview with them here.
