If you have young children who enjoy the music of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, buy them an album or DVD, but don’t take them to see Jersey Boys. If you have a friend or family member who is offended by frequent coarse language, don’t take them to Jersey Boys. (Unless you think you can convince them the cast is just saying ‘fudge’ or ‘funk’ an awful lot.)
If, however, you’re prepared for a fair bit of language and some occasional sexual themes, you’ll have a %#$&#@# good night out. The show’s website warns that it’s not recommended for children under 12 due to strong “authentic Jersey” language. I wouldn’t recommend it for anyone not prepared for the strong content.
JERSEY BOYS is the story of how four boys from the wrong side of the tracks became one of the biggest American pop music sensations of all time.
Frankie Valli, Bob Gaudio, Tommy DeVito and Nick Massi, The Four Seasons, wrote their own songs, invented their own sounds and sold 175 million records worldwide – all before they were thirty.
JERSEY BOYS features their hit songs
“Sherry”, “Big Girls Don’t Cry”, “Rag Doll”, “Oh What a Night” and “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You”, among others.
Having sounded that warning, I need to say that the show is amazing. Pauline and I were at the opening night show and thoroughly enjoyed the performance. It tells the story of the band well and had me searching details online when I got home. I wanted to know even more about their rise to fame.
One of the things I found in my search is that Frankie Valli himself believes the show to be about 95% accurate. Not a bad endorsement.
The music is stunning and the band members work well together to provide the harmonies that you’d expect from a show about The Four Seasons. I’m sure that the original band members have seen a rise in royalty cheques since Jersey Boys started on Broadway back in 2005. As the show continues you hear hit after hit and you’re reminded what great songs the band produced before they called it a day.
Jersey Boys is structured as four “seasons” with each season each narrated by a different band member giving different perspectives on the group’s history and music.
Jersey Boys is playing at the Crown Theatre until the 9th of June.
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