As a theatre producer, you know things are going pretty well when an extra in the background of a scene gets a whoop from the audience. When the punters are literally dancing in the aisles, give your cast a standing ovation at the end, and sing along to the curtain call, you can be sure you have a hit on your hands.

This was the reaction to the opening night of Jersey Boys at The Opera House. And you’d have to be a hard-hearted theatre-goer not to be charmed by this production. The costumes. The dancing. The New Jersey accents. And of course the music. [More]
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Opening on Broadway in 2005, Jersey Boys is beloved worldwide, having enjoyed record-breaking seasons on and off Broadway, successful global tours, and a nine year run on London’s West End, where it is set to return later this year with its entire original creative team. New Zealand company G&T Productions (formerly Amici Productions) has big shoes to fill in taking on a musical of this calibre, challenging the deep-seated belief that local New Zealand productions are somehow inherently sub-par. Opening night of the Wellington season crushes any opportunity for doubt, as the cast and crew of Jersey Boys deliver an absolute knockout of a show which feels more like an enormous celebration than simply a performance.

At the heart of Jersey Boys is the story and music of four men – Frankie Valli (Hayden Milanés), Tommy DeVito (Fergus Inder), Bob Gaudio (Matt Cranleigh) and Nick Massi (Andrew Coshan) – and this cast delivers everything an audience could ask for. New York-based Milanés’ experience and skill in the Frankie Valli role is a treat to experience first-hand. His nuance, charisma, and vocals are nothing short of brilliant, and Milanés is so finely skilled and in control that even within a production as tight and slick as Jersey Boys he finds space to personally connect with the audience and deliver a performance that feels genuine, responsive and fresh. Inder, Cranleigh and Coshan, each embodying their roles with depth and care, make up the quartet of Jersey Boys powering through this hugely demanding show with stamina and real joy. [More]
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[Updated 22/05, 11.58am]

Two sisters enter a packed-out Opera House for the opening night of Jersey Boys. One has thoroughly researched the jukebox musical and its subject matter (me, the one reviewing), the other is not convinced that she will recognise a single song. We are Millennials and let’s be honest, the music is that of our parents’ generation, if not our grandparents’ generation. I explain to her that Frankie Valli sang the theme of Grease, which is far more meaningful to her than saying “he was the lead singer of the Four Seasons.”

During the British Invasion of the 1960’s, only two American boy bands could keep the pace with the likes of The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, and they were The Beach Boys and The Four Seasons. With Valli’s distinctive vocals – a powerful falsetto long before Barry Gibb – the band topped the charts in 1962 with ‘Sherry’ and then went on to sell over 100 million records.

Jersey Boys, the 2005 multiple Tony Award-winning Broadway show, maps the journey of the four original band members: Valli, Tommy deVito, Bob Gaudio and Nick Massi. The three surviving members (Massi died in 2000) were interviewed by writers Rick Elice and Marshall Brickman and gave them their own perspective, and sometimes contradicting versions of ‘what happened’. In Jersey Boys, each man is given a chance to narrate the story, his story.

Jersey Boys is the 12th longest-running musical on Broadway, and you can see why. It’s a winner. This is a classic rags-to-riches story with four charismatic leads, a zingy, punchy script, and it is strewn with hit songs. At times, the audience can barely hold themselves back from singing along.

The production is super-slick and Act 1 moves with lightning speed, transitioning so seamlessly between scenes it makes your head spin. The set design by Harold Moot is clever and pared-back, which allows for some fabulous lighting and AV glitz and glam, and here I must applaud the stunning work of David Bosworth (technical director), Jeremy Fern (lighting design) and Glen Ruske (sound design and operator) who treat the audience to a true spectacle. In particular the brilliant AV design of Dave Spark in the scenes where the boys are projected onto multiple black and white screens, as if beaming into people’s living rooms on a Saturday night.

As for the performances, they are solid across the board. New Yorker Hayden Milanés has sung the role of Frankie Valli hundreds of times. It is vocally hugely demanding, with relentless falsetto singing, so it is understandable that the company recruited the very experienced Milanés. Tonight he is slightly under-amplified, but Valli is also the quietest character, often being bulldozed by the brash, outlandish Tommy de Vito (played by Fergus Inder) and swaggering Nick Massi (Andrew Coshan).

For me the stand-out is Matt Cranleigh as wide-eyed Bobby Gaudio, the youngest and savviest of the group. There are also some scene-stealing performances from musical theatre veteran Russell Dixon as the flamboyant Bob Crewe, and emerging from the ensemble, operatic tenor Lewis Francis, who is so impressive that jaws drop all around. 

The four members of the female ensemble take on multiple roles with speedy costume and wig changes, leading us to believe there are more than just four of them. Some lovely singing voices are also heard supporting the men’s harmonies.

As the show progresses we become deeply invested in each of the four lead characters. While Frankie Valli was the star of the group, he is not the star of Jersey Boys. It isn’t until several hours into the show when we finally get to know Frankie – his character development is a slow burn, but it’s worth it. In Act 2 the acting chops are much more on display and the drama comes to a head in a very tense and well-acted confrontation scene between the band members and mob boss Gyp De Carlo (Andrew Grainger).

The drama and energy build towards the musical highlight of the evening: ‘Can’t Take My Eyes Off You’. For those of us who grew up in the 90s and early 2000s we will never forget Heath Ledger performing it in 10 Things About You with a marching band. This is an incredible moment, and the crowd literally goes wild. Clearly so overwhelmed by the support and love of the opening night audience, the boys momentarily break character and grin broadly – as themselves – which makes Wellington love them even more.

Jersey Boys is so enjoyable I could watch the whole thing over again. In fact, I will – I’m seeing it again on Tuesday night and will be humming ‘Sherry’ until then. Meanwhile my sister tells me she’s singing ‘Big Girls Don’t Cry’ at work. It turns out we both know far more of the Four Seasons back catalogue than we realised. _______________________________

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