(L>R) Stephen Webb, Matt Corner, Sam Ferriday and Lewis Griffiths on the press night of the Jersey Boys UK tour at the Palace Theatre, Manchester. Picture: Dave Long
Jersey Boys continues at the Palace Theatre, Manchester until 4 October, before touring until August 2015.
“It’s a classic American story. It’s rags to riches, and back to rags,” says book co-writer Marshall Brickman on why he took up the challenge of bringing the story of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons to the stage. Unlike many of its stage sisters, this isn’t your typical jukebox musical – the story is real, the characters are real, you won’t find a Greek Island or a music-seeking Bohemian in sight – and so we instantly connect to the material. We’re not trying to suspend our disbelief in moments of pure fantasy.
Jersey Boys takes an interesting line in its presentation. Instead of following one person’s narrative and hearing one person’s voice throughout, we get to hear four differing sides of the story from Frankie Valli (played on press night by Matt Corner, due to the indisposition of Tim Driesen), Bob Gaudio (Sam Ferriday), Nick Massi (Lewis Griffiths) and Tommy DeVito (Stephen Webb).
The Jersey Boys is a slick and polished production, the songs are delivered with panache, and on this occasion the show received one of the longest post-finale ovations I have ever witnessed in a theatre – made even more special by the fact that alternate Frankie (Corner) had only previously done one full run of the show before finding out he was on. His falsetto voice soars across the auditorium, his confidence growing throughout the piece. It is also a performance that really comes into its own during the more poignant and touching moments of Act II.
Stephen Webb as the hard-as-nails Tommy DeVito cuts the cloth perfectly, his arrogance knows no bounds and balances wonderfully with the naivety of Sam Ferriday’s likeable Bob Gaudio and Lewis Griffiths’ Nick Massi. When the four of them are together the chemistry is electric and their harmonies strong. However, it must be noted that the sound balance throughout was poor. Vocals were drowned out or cut off and feedback (plus a lack of defined levels) meant the technical aspects of the show let the hard work of the rest of the company down.
Saying that, the reduced ‘cut-down’ touring set by Klara Zieglerova may be a little less technical than its sister show in London, but nothing is lost in its translation – the pop art projected images still punctuate proceedings and allow for clever mood shifts within Des McAnuff’s assured direction.
Credit must be given to the hardworking ensemble which ensures that scene changes are tight and precise. Special mention goes to Amelia Adams-Pearce as Mary Delgado amongst other roles, literally brimming with energy and pride with every notable second on stage, and Nathaniel Morrison as Barry Belson (and other cameos) who is able to bring the house down in laughter with ease.
In the words of Frankie Valli: “Four guys under a streetlamp when it was all still ahead of us, the first time we made that sound, our sound – and everything dropped away and all there was was the music. That was the best. That’s why I am still out there singing. Like that bunny on TV with the battery – I just keep going and going and going. Chasing the music, trying to get home.”
And it’s on their way home that the audience will remember the real star of the show – the music. Oh What a Night!
Kevin Byrnes
SHARE THIS POST:
Comments are closed.