East Lansing Loves Jersey Boys!
October 7th, 2011
The reviews keep popping up all over East Lansing! Critics and audience members are showin’ the love for the “Boys”! Check out previews of the latest reviews:
Allan I. Ross, City Pulse: Polished to a gem can’t begin to describe the slickness of “Jersey Boys.â€
Due credit must be given to Joseph Leo Bwarie, who plays Valli, the heart and soul of every incarnation of The Four Seasons.
Sure, the band was the brainchild of schemer Tommy DeVito (Matt Bailey), but it was Valli’s angelic vocal range — aided by songwriter Bob Gaudio (Preston Truman Boyd) and bassman/arranger Nick Massi (Michael Lomenda) — that propelled The Four Seasons from singing under a streetlight to becoming a British Invasion-proof juggernaut. Bwarie hits every last one of Valli’s legendary notes, convincingly embodying the singer — warts and all — yet still makes him feel like your kid brother.
Jim Fordyce, MIEntertainmentBiz: When you know they are just about to sing their first hit, “Sherry,†there was almost an electrical charge firing up the audience.
The singing is superb and it is mixed into a production that has a simple set that transforms before your eyes as you are invited on a journey that has its ups and downs as a legendary act changes over the years.
So walk like a man (or woman) to the box office and get your tickets before the Jersey Boys leave Michigan on October 16. This one gets a perfect four out of Fordyce.
Dana Casadei, Spartan Edge: From the very first moment that Frankie Castelluccio, aka Frankie Valli, begins to sing, you know you’re in for a very special show. Joseph Leo Bwarie brings so much depth and emotion to his portrayal of Valli, it’s as if the actual Valli never left the stage.
Whether it be Frankie as a young “green†teen or as a bitter man trying to not fall apart at the seams, Bwarie constantly delivers, while hitting notes that don’t seem natural in any register which he sings with ease, as if this was just any other day. To put it plainly, he’s a knockout.
