Oh what a night! Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons review
The standing ovation at the end of the opening night performance said it all. This high-energy show about the life of the original four members of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons made for quite the night indeed, writes Metropol’s Nancye Pitt, who soaked up all the excitement at the Isaac Theatre Royal.
I had high expectations for the opening night of Jersey Boys performed by Showbiz at the Isaac Theatre Royal last night. My expectations for another fabulous Saunders & Co production. were well and truly fulfilled and is an unforgettable theatre experience.
Jersey Boys is more than a Juke Box Musical and embraces the impact of emotional relationships and the often-sad aspects of love and the loss of it. How it can be affected through ambition, money, loyalty, and then reinvention The way the business evolved bought a deep level of feeling and passion to the script and I actually found my eyes leaking with songs that are special to me, such as Can’t Take My Eyes Off You, Walk like a man, Big Girls Don’t Cry, Oh What a Night, and Who Loves You.
The show didn’t start with a “bang” like I had imagined it would, however it creatively drew the audience in to set the scenario and introduce the characters. The audience was well mentally groomed for what was to come as the cast cleverly introduced the music, determination and remarkable story of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons.
The opening had fully prepared the audience for how this famous story evolved and then SUDDENLY- BOOM – the stage exploded into life and the music and dancing began with gusto. Josh Johnson as Frankie Valli was superb and nailed the high tenor voice like he owned it. For me, the lead is the role that makes or breaks any production when it’s cast well, “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You” becomes the emotional summary of the whole show rather than just its most recognisable single. The local Showbiz Jersey Boys capture the unique sound perfectly, Myles Whittaker as Tommy DeVito, George Hiku as Bob Gaudo and Nick Cheesebrough as Nick Massi are as smooth as silk with their harmonies completing the unique sound.
The “Angels” added the female glamour aspect of the 60s with the big hair and the famous mini “Shift Dresses,” which I remember well. I loved, loved, loved all the costumes.
There are so many other characters on stage and an absolute highlight is the Orchestra. Seeing and hearing all the brass instruments added such pizzazz and their absolute showcase finale was spectacular and classy!
The set is simple and effective and with the magic of the many brilliant colour changes it cleverly allows the performers to shine as my eyes were 100 percent focused on the performers rather than too much going on in the background.
Jersey Boys is one of the more durable entries in the 1960s jukebox-musical genre, and it earns that durability by doing something a lot of shows in the category don’t bother with: it treats its songbook as evidence in a story, rather than a string of applause breaks stitched loosely together.
Jersey Boys isn’t playing on Broadway right now — the original Broadway production opened November 6, 2005, and closed January 15, 2017, at which point it was the 12th longest-running show in Broadway history, then it returned with a new production from November 2017 to May 2022, however – aren’t we so lucky to have our fabulous Isaac Theatre Royal right in the centre of our city.
The Christchurch ShowBiz Jersey Boys production left me with many resurfaced memories, a happy heart and smiling face!
