Jersey Boys

Once again, I took advantage of the discounted Broadway tickets I can get through TC and went to see "Jersey Boys" last night. "Jersey Boys" is a documentary-style musical about Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. Each of the characters does voice-overs now and then to share his perspective, and the story generally moves in chronological order from when Frankie and Tommy began singing together all the way up through this year, when three of the original four members talk about what they're doing with their lives now; the fourth one died a few years ago.

Thanks to the litigious nature of our society, most shows that involve any manner of mature subject matter now have to post warnings in prominent places. A sign hung in the entryway of the August Wilson theater warns patrons that gunshots, bright lights, fake blood, and "authentic profane Jersey dialect" are all included in the show. All were true, particularly the last one.

I thought I didn't really know much about the Four Seasons, but once the show started I found that virtually every song was one that I had not only heard before but could sing along with just about from start to finish. Talk about prolific. The score was made up entirely of Four Seasons music, so when the occasional character broke into song about how sad he was that his wife had left him or what have you, it seemed more authentic than in lots of musicals. Much as I love musical theater, it's hard to get around the fact that people don't generally burst into song in the middle of conversations in the every day world. It was believable, however, that these guys would express themselves through music. It was surprising to learn about the origins of many of the songs; because they're mostly catchy and poppy, I wouldn't have suspected that there was anything autobiographical about any of them, but turns out there was in most cases. Interestingly, Bob Guadio, who played the piano and wrote nearly all of the Four Seasons' songs, wrote the score for "Jersey Boys." Despite my nosebleed seat (I really should invest in binoculars) I really enjoyed it and would recommend it to anyone.