Jersey Boys Dazzles Denver!
December 15th, 2008
Jersey Boys National Tour Cast Members: Steve Gouveia, Joseph Leo Bwarie, Josh Franklin and Erik Bates. (Photo: Joan Marcus)
From John Moore, Denver Post Theater Critic: As a vocal performance, “Jersey Boys” strikes not one false falsetto note. That’s thanks mostly to Joseph Leo Bwarie’s endearing re-creation of Valli and his angelic voice. Along with Erik Bates (DeVito), Steve Gouveia (Massi) and Colorado Springs native Josh Franklin (Gaudio), they pound out the rigorous score with unyielding energy, at times moving audiences to their feet midshow.
It’s a performance full of swagger and heart. The voices blend like buttah, turning what might have been an ordinary night of theater into an extraordinary night of music. All culminating in a goosebump-raising, fully orchestrated, “Who Loves You.” The finale proves there’s just something about the pulsating, palpable rapport that develops between a band and its audience over the course of an evening that theater can never match. It leaves them wanting to hang on – to what they’ve got.
Visit DenverPost.com for the full review.
