September 19, 2010

Jersey Boys Rocks at Theatre Royal!

September 19th, 2010

Another rave review for JERSEY BOYS in Sydney! This one comes from John Holden of Blacktown Sun:

Jersey Boys at the Theatre Royal tells the story of The Four Seasons’ rags-to-riches-to wreckage rollercoaster ride.

Some might say in itself it is not an unusual scenario, but Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice’s fast-paced and funny book brings about a certain freshness.

This is a tight production (even though the night I went it started 12 minutes late). One scene moves very quickly into another and the dialogue is punchy.

The staging is minimal, yet effective. A backcloth illustrates New Jersey’s factory skyline, a gantry, chain-link fencing, benches, tables and chairs.

A video link showing the band’s appearance on the popular the Ed sullivan Show was a nice touch.

But more than anything this was about the music. Irish actor Bobby Fox did justice to Frankie Valli’s wonderful falsetto voice.

Audiences will find they warm to one of the characters. Either Frankie (the three and a half octave voice and warm personality); Tommy De Vitto (the lovable rogue, the founding member who gets the band into deep financial troubles); Toft (the bassist with the wonderful musical ears and grounding influence on the band) or Gaudio (a sheer musical genius — a true craftsman).

Visit Blacktown Sun for the full review.

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