Theatre Review: City Springs presents dazzling production of ‘Jersey Boys’

City Springs Theatre Company is currently presenting a dazzling production of the Broadway musical “Jersey Boys,” and before we go any further, I’ll say simply “Go”; this show should not be missed.

Amid a summer of discontent and turbulence, City Springs’ beautiful 1000-seat Byers Theatre and a stellar cast, crew, and orchestra are inviting you to escape to the thrill of a great live performance. “Jersey Boys” runs through Aug. 11.

This story of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons is directed by Shane Delancey, with music by Bob Gaudio, lyrics by Bob Crewe, a book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice, scenic design by Mike Wood and Justin Gamerl, lighting design by Mike Wood, sound design by Anthony Narciso, costumes by Amanda Edgerton West. The music director/conductor is Miles Plant.

In the 1960s four blue-collar guys from New Jersey—Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons—were selling millions of records, but the Vietnam War was raging and suddenly four young men from England called the Beatles turned the whole musical and cultural establishment upside down. The Four Seasons seemed to fade a bit.

But they didn’t go away. In 2004 when Frankie Valli and Bob Gaudio (the Voice and the Genius of the Four Seasons) met with writers Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice in 2004 about the possibility of a Broadway musical—using their music—Elice said that Valli and Gaudio were skeptical: Their group “didn’t have long hair or exotic accents and didn’t come from across the pond—no glamor quotient.”

Instead, “Jersey Boys” opened on Broadway in November of 2005 and was an immediate smash. It won a slew of Tony Awards, and became a sellout wherever it played, including London and other world capitals. I remember seeing a sold-out matinee performance of the show; I have seldom experienced more audience joy and delight than when the “boys” started unfolding those songs.

What’s fun is discovering songs you didn’t know you knew, such as “Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You,” “Sherry,” “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” “Walk Like a Man,” “Oh What a Night,” “Bye Bye Baby,” “Working My Way Back to You,” and others. Once these Four Seasons classics start rolling out, the excitement and delight in the audience become palpable.

Frankie Valli is played by the golden-voiced Haden Rider, and if you’ve never heard him sing (or if you have), he is reason enough to see “Jersey Boys.” He handles Valli’s famous falsetto with ease, but just as he can travel up and down the musical scale, he also handles Valli’s flexible, heartfelt emotions. Mr. Rider is a complete performer.

There are three other “Seasons,” and they are very fine indeed. Nick Walker Jones (as Bob Gaudio) is a talented, emotionally accessible actor who is also a terrific singer. Alec Beard (as Tommy DeVito) and JD Myers (as Nick Massi) complete the quartet with style and panache. All four of these actors perform the famous moves of the Four Seasons with ease, choreographed by Meg Gillentine.

The fine cast includes Tyler Pirrung as Bob Crewe, Chris Damiano, Frankie Marasa, Jordan Sam Rich, Rob Millerick, Chloe Cordle (as Frankie’s wife), Amanda Fallon Smith, Samantha Lane (as Frankie’s daughter), Rayvon Love, Claudio Pestana, Asher Patten, Branden Hembree, Meredith C. Rhines, Mallory Nolting (Dance Captain), Ruby Calamia, Zac Pritts, and Keeley Cauble.

I haven’t told you how visually stunning the show is; you simply must discover that yourself.

It all comes back to the music, those songs, “that sound” – part of our collective unconscious, and we didn’t even know it. “Jersey Boys” rocks, so don’t miss it.

For tickets and information, visit cityspringstheatre.com .

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