Jersey Boys Dazzles Down Under!
July 5th, 2009
JERSEY BOYS opened to rave reviews in Melbourne at the Princess Theatre on Saturday! Check out what the critics are saying:
Bryce Hallett, Sydney Morning Herald: If the opening night response is anything to go by, Jersey Boys – due in Sydney next year – will be around for quite a few seasons. The tunes Big Girls Don’t Cry, Walk Like A Man, Rag Doll and Bye, Bye, Baby are delivered with precision and toe-tapping verve.
The energy, skill and commitment of the leading men carries the slick production. Together with the versatile ensemble they bring the thrills and spills of the underdog dreamer and his creative cohorts vibrantly to life, enough for the recycled to sound dynamic and new. The orchestrations, sound and musical direction is exemplary.
Bobby Fox is an exciting discovery as the omnipotent, approval-seeking Valli. His rendition of My Eyes Adored You brings welcome depth to the show. His conviction, vocal assurance and poise make you believe every word.
Fox is well anchored by Scott Johnson as the bad-boy guitarist Tommy DeVito, Stephen Mahy as the song-writing prodigy Bob Gaudio and Glaston Toft as the underdog Nick Massi.
The Australian, Alison Croggon: And Jersey Boys sure is a show. It’s a rags-to-riches biography of the Four Seasons, four boys from the blue-collar Italian neighbourhood of Jersey City who started out singing on street corners and ended up as chart-topping megastars, the first and still maybe the greatest boy band.
In other words, it’s a quintessentially American story, here told in the quintessentially American art form, the musical. And it’s brilliantly realised. The book, by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elise, lifts Jersey Boys above the usual jukebox biography.
Its smart, economical storytelling neatly avoids the perils of hagiography, generating a little grit from the group’s mob connections and background of petty crime. The design is industrial chic, a simple double-level of girders with evocative projections: a backdrop of industrial Jersey in silhouette against a sunset sky, or Roy Lichtenstein-style pop art. Des McAnuff’s direction features seamlessly slick transformations and has moments that are pure showbiz genius.
It’s Entertainment with a capital E, and it gives you plenty of bang for your buck.
