July 22, 2012

Jersey Boys Story Is Captivating In Portland!

July 22nd, 2012

The JERSEY BOYS first national tour is ROCKIN’ in Portland here’s a preview of a rave review by Holly Johnson:

The book by Marshall Brinkman and Rick Elice, with input from director Des McAnuff, provides a delicious complexity: Instead of a straight third-person narrative, we get the story line from each Season, one at a time, and with each musician, there’s a slightly different take on the truth.

The first narrator is the cocky, macho Tommy DeVito (played with slick, affable charm by John Gardiner), the member who continually flirts with danger. He’s been in and out of jail, even when we first meet him, but he lets us know he’s the one who finds Valli (Joseph Leo Bwarie played him to perfection the night I attended) and cultivates his talent, and skill with the ladies, before composer Bob Gaudio (Preston Truman Boyd) and singer Nick Massi (Michael Lomenda) come on the scene.

A magic theatrical moment fills the stage when Gaudio first meets the rest of the blue-collar guys. They’re around the piano with a song he’s just written, and as Valli adds vocal embellishments, Gaudio sings the melody and DeVito and Massi gradually join in, as we watch the Four Seasons’ popular sound in the making.

Visit OregonianLive.com to read the entire review.

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