New ‘Frankie’ Dominic Scaglione, Jr. and Chicago Jersey Boys Deliver!
May 24th, 2009
Shonn Wiley as Bob Gaudio (in Chicago production since Jan. ’09); Michael Cunio as Tommy DeVito (in Chicago production since April ’09); Dominic Scaglione Jr. as Frankie Valli (in Chicago production since April ’09); and Michael Ingersoll as Nick Massi (in Chicago production since it first opened in Oct. ’07). (Photo: The Theatre Loop Blog)
In the Chicago Tribune, Theater Critic Chris Jones has re-reviewed JERSEY BOYS and gives the long-running Chicago hit FOUR STARS! Here’s a sneak peek of Jones’ rave review:
Like many great male singers from Frank Sinatra to Mick Jagger, Frankie Valli is a fascinating cocktail of the masculine and the feminine. When the Four Seasons were at their peak, girls could hear in Valli’s high, caressing voice the kind of long, slow, sweet seduction of which their own boyfriends were terminally incapable, especially after they married them. And blue-collar guys saw the toughness in his eyes, his difficulty with personal expressiveness, and they recognized one of their own.
Perhaps better than the other four Frankies I’ve seen atop “Jersey Boys†these last few years, Dominic Scaglione Jr., the new Chicago Frankie, understands that core Valli paradox.
Others have better caught the smooth vocal sweetness and the tonal purity of the Valli sound, but the emotionally complex Scaglione, who comes from Jersey himself and has a pleasantly scrunched-up face with prominent ears, looks as though he’s always slightly in pain, which is the way the real Valli looks. And the high notes don’t just float out of Scaglione’s mouth, they pop with the staccato of machine-gun fire. Perfect.
The Chicago production, which the dedicated stage manager Larry Baker has kept in tiptop shape, also has a new Gaudio in Shonn Wiley, another very skillful young actor who also deftly captures a key paradox: Gaudio came out of the same neighborhood but never subscribed to its value system, and thus he could keep the band moving forward. Wiley, an excellent singer, has that cultural separation down, which contrasts nicely with the sentimentality of the authorized book.
Dominic is a hottie!!
Comment by Sebrina — May 24, 2009 @ 8:57 pm
He’s incredible — his singing, his acting, his kindness to the fans.
Comment by Liz — May 24, 2009 @ 11:54 pm
Chicago is soooo lucky to have Dominic. Saw him NYC and he was phenomenal. His “Fallen Angel” is not to be missed. So glad I got to meet and chat and get a photo.
Comment by Gladys — May 25, 2009 @ 6:47 am
i know him he is my step dads friend and he is amazing!
Comment by amanda — October 31, 2013 @ 4:29 pm