Jersey Boys–The Most Enjoyable Musical in Years!
January 23rd, 2008D.L. Groover of HoustonPress.com says that Jersey Boys in Houston is solid gold!
Instead of plopping songs into a plot that was never intended to hold them, book writers Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice take the path of least resistance. Since they’re using Four Seasons songs, they’ll tell the group’s story. What could be simpler? With some poetic license, the songs fit in the order they were recorded and overlap with the story of the Four Seasons. This interweaving of song and plot is most dexterous, and when it works best it reveals character as it propels the narrative, as when Frankie’s marriage breaks up and he sings “My Eyes Adored You.” This is sophisticated musical storytelling. If future musical producers want a quick lesson in structure, Jersey Boys is the one to learn from; it’s the top.
All four guys narrate the story, adding pieces to each other’s puzzle. It’s essentially Frankie’s story, but everybody gets an equal say, and this cohesion among the guys is an unwritten theme of the show, as are loyalty and keeping your word to your buddies. These old-fashioned values go a long way in making Jersey Boys so appealing. In spite of all the infighting and obstacles on the march to the top of the charts, this is a very “up” show — another of its many charms.
Read the entire review on HoustonPress.com.
This is an excellent article. I believe the author gets it and offer the following sentence from the article as support of that:
“…Jersey Boys would be more of the same if not for the show’s ace in the hole: the Boys themselves. These petty hoods are so lovable, we root for their success right from the start. Standing on a street corner in rustbelt New Jersey, they love to sing, harmonizing like roughhouse angels, and they have a chance to make it if they can stay out of jail long enough to form a group.”
Bravo D.L. Groover
Comment by David Cace — January 24, 2008 @ 10:39 am
My wife and I saw the Houston Jersey Boys musical on Jan 18th and Jan 19th, yes twice, and it was incredible. Having seem it on Broadway in Oct. of 2006 we had something to compare it to and we can honestly say it was great. The cast was wonderful and there was a real sense of electricity in the theater. We can’t wait until we have the opportunity to see it again.
Comment by Jeff — January 27, 2008 @ 10:45 pm