JB 2nd Natl Tour Rocks at DPAC!
November 8th, 2012
More rave reviews for JERSEY BOYS second national tour company in Durham. Check out the latest!
Dorothy Lewis, The Raleigh Telegram: Tony Award-winning Director Des McAnuff does an impeccable job of transporting the audience to the streets of New Jersey where life was not particularly easy for four guys from the wrong side of the tracks. The broadway actors never missed a beat with their rendition of “Oh What a Night,†“Stay,†“Can’t Take My Eyes Off Of You,†and “Working My Way Back To Youâ€, among other classics by the epic group.
Despite the show’s uplifting music, Academy Award-winner writer Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice don’t sugarcoat the lives of the quartet’s members. The story highlights some searing, emotional moments of love, betrayal and tragedy that nearly destroy the group.
However, these somber scenes are tempered with the resilience of the human spirit inherent in the bandmembers, who are trying to sing their way to the top.
Robert W. McDowell, Triangle Arts & Entertainment: Colby Foytik is terrific as the group’s cocky original organizer: part-time hoodlum, part-time lead guitarist, and all-around louse Tommy DeVito. Brandon Andrus is a comic delight as laconic bass guitarist Nick Massi (nee Nicholas Macioci), Brad Weinstock hits all the high notes as lead vocalist Frankie Valli (nee Francesco Stephen Castelluccio), and Jason Kappus adds a personable performance as keyboardist and songwriter Bob Gaudio — the final ingredient that fueled the group’s meteoric ascension to the top of the charts.
Whether performing The Four Seasons’ number-one hits — including “Sherry†and “Big Girls Don’t Cry†(both in 1962), “Walk Like a Man†(1963), “Rag Doll†(1964), and “December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night)†(1975) — with brio or tugging at the audience’s heart strings with Franki Valli’s chart-topper, “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You†(1967), which peaked at number two, Messrs. Foytik, Andrus, Weinstock, and Kappus give a solid-gold performance, which rocketed DPAC patrons to their feet at the end of last Friday night’s show.
Also creating unforgettable characters are Barry Anderson as The Four Seasons’ producer and Bob Gaudio’s songwriting partner Bob Crewe, Christopher Messina as excitable young Four Seasons hanger-on Joe Pesci, Natalie Gallo as Frankie’s fiery first wife Mary Delgado, Rachel Schur as his musically gifted but emotionally troubled daughter Francine, Kaleigh Cronin as his Frankie’s long-suffering girlfriend Lorraine, and Thomas Fiscella as suave gangster chieftain Gyp DeCarlo.
