Muny’s Production of ‘Jersey Boys’ is

A Star-Studded Crowd Pleaser

by Pat Lindsey

Mike Isaacson’s moon must have been in Taurus when he was given the green light to produce the widely acclaimed Jersey Boys for The Muny’s centennial season. The end result is a brilliantly constructed masterpiece of theatrical entertainment brimming with cleverness.

     Jersey Boys tracks the story of one of the most famous American pop music sensations of all time, the Four Seasons, from its early beginnings as four guys from the New Jersey housing projects hanging out under a street lamp to the Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame. The group wrote, recorded, and performed their own songs and sold more than 175 million records before the members were 30 years old.

They struck a chord with my teenage self in the ‘60s and their music has had lasting appeal for generations. Their long history was a roller coaster ride of infidelity, mob connections, rap sheets, gambling debts, heartache, and rocketing success. The actors who play the members of the Four Seasons take turns explaining to the audience what their role was in the success of the group.

Each one is a star in his own rite. Tommy DeVito (Nicolas Dromard) unabashedly brags, “It all began with me,” and Bob Gaudio (Bobby Conte Thornton) says he knew they were a big hit “when my parents stopped talking about trade school.” Nick Massi (Keith Hines) provides comic relief when he describes what touring was like with uncouth Tommy as a roommate. Together, they are the Four Seasons, a name Frankie Valli spied on a bowling alley sign. Also integral to the group is mobster Gyp DeCarlo (Neal Benari), who served as the unofficial consigliere to the young singers.

This show has typically been produced in smaller theaters with simple dark sets where the actors can be the main focus. I’ve seen it in Las Vegas at the Jersey Boys Theatre and at The Fox in St. Louis and I was very curious to see how an intimate production could be expanded to fill the big Muny stage and include a large ensemble. The transformation is so smooth and flawless that the audience will think those singers and dancers wearing short shorts, mini skirts and go-go boots, bowling at the Four Seasons Lanes, or glued to their TV sets during the “Ed Sullivan Show” were written into the original script.

The Tony and Grammy Award-winning Jersey Boys enjoyed a 12-year run on Broadway and won 57 awards worldwide. The Muny’s charismatic lead, Mark Ballas, made his Broadway debut as Frankie Valli in the final cast and instantly became a star with the opening night St. Louis audience. For the Broadway lead, he was personally selected by Frankie Valli and Bob Gaudio. Ballas is well-known to many as a fabulous dancer/choreographer on ABC’s Dancing With the Stars.     On that show, he has been a 10-time finalist and winner of two mirror ball trophies, but who knew he could sing? His vocal abilities are nearly on par with his dancing and his Frankie Valli falsetto is remarkable. He deserves every decibel of applause he receives.

     Jersey Boys is referred to as a jukebox musical because it is filled with a sampling of Four Seasons hits that have been worked into the storyline. The audience went wild when the group sang its first hit, “Sherry,” and there was huge applause for every hit song after that, including “Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You,” “Walk Like a Man,” “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” “Bye Bye Baby,” and many more. Anyone who loves these songs will love this show. The cast is so believable that it makes the audience feel as though it were in the ‘60s and ‘70s and “Working My Way Back to You.”

The show contains mild sexual situations and some coarse language, but it has been cleaned up considerably from the original script. Although it may be objectionable to some, it is necessary to the authenticity of Jersey dialogue in this production, which is for mature audiences.

The stars are in alignment for a genuinely unique Jersey Boys experience this week at The Muny in Forest Park. See it and you’ll be singing “Oh, What a Night” all the way home. For ticket information, call The Muny at 314-534-1111 or go to muny.org.

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