Jersey Boys Review

Jersey Boys

(Prince Edward Theatre, London)

Jukebox musicals have been looked upon with disdain. I for one have been avoiding Mamma Mia after seeing the film version, though I keep hoping that the stage musical is miles better in terms of direction. However I did enjoy Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story, and to me the bio-musical which describes Buddy is the best type of Jukebox musical that uses a band's catalogue of music. I see Buddy simarly to documentary films, and I went to see this musical to learn the overall story of this musician, whilst enjoying the recreations of his songs in their original state. I was therefore looking forward to seeing Jersey Boys and learning about Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons.

As a bio-musical the focus is on the four actors playing the Four Seasons. I am not familiar with the group, but from what I can tell the actors played the roles very well. As narrators of their own stories they were laid back. passionate and easy to follow in their New Jersey accents, particularly Ryan Molloy as Frankie Valli, who was given the most narrative to say. Jon Boydon displayed Tommy DeVito as a domineering yet stubborn band member. Matthew Wycliffe showed Bob Gaudio as the brightest member who acted as the voice of reason during times of difficulty. Eugene McCoy had the smallest role as Nick Massi. Although they explained what happened to them when the band reunited, I wondered whether their stories could have been told simultaneously with the other two.

But on the whole the musical was very interesting to follow. I had a great time learning about the band, and I loved the ending where the members gave their epilgoue speeches before quietly exiting, which was met with applause. What is more the four actors were excellent when they sung the songs. I was looking forward to seeing my favourite songs from the Original Broadway Cast Recording, Sherry, Big Girls Don't Cry, Who Loves You, and Walk Like a Man, and I was not dissapointed. If I did have a problem it was that Eugene McCoy pronounciations of the words sounded weird, and his short solo moments during the songs was one of the things I was eager to hear. It sounded like he was chewing the words in his mouth.

The overall set was pretty basic. The band's New Jersey background was established by the chain link fences and steel girders, whilst a fire escape gave the actors a second level to act on. The simplistic set however allowed the production team to light the stage, and particularly the backdrop, with some stylised colours, whilst showing pop art images from two screens, in order to establish the hey-days of the Four Seasons. Also, props to the sound technicians for helping to produce the music clearly. If the heart pounding bass during Ce Soirees La does not hold your attention then I do not know what will.

I personally prefer Buddy and the musician's rock-and-roll music but like Buddy, Jersey Boys tells the story of a music band. Together the actors, music, scenery and lighting provided a very entertaining and enthralling musical. It is worth seeing at a Top Price.

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I would also like to take note that I went to see Jersey Boys after the Jubilee Pagaent on Sunday 3rd June, and I bought discount tickets at the tkts booth and was pleased to get seats G9 and G10 in the stalls. I got there 30 minutes beforehand and was second in the line. These seats were recommended by Theatre Monkey and although they usually cost £67.50 on the Delfont Mackintosh website, they were discounted at around £40.00. This was the first time I used the booth and those tickets may been avaliable due to the fact that it was a Sunday and the day of the Jubilee Pagaent, however I thoroughly recommend this booth due to the fact that even the best seats are avalibale at a discount price, depending on avaliability.