Newsflash: Jersey Boys Named ‘Best Show on the Strip’ by Las Vegas Weekly!
May 21st, 2009
(Photo by: Joan Marcus)
This Just In: Las Vegas Weekly has posted their “Vegas’ Best 2009” issue and JERSEY BOYS is the staff pick for Best Show on the Strip!
This show should not have survived, coming after the Broadway West vanguard (Avenue Q, Hairspray, The Producers and Spamalot) went down in quick succession. Unlike those shows, Jersey Boys, the story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, is a serious drama that maintains its length and its intermission and offers no Vegas stagecraft to punk up the fun factor, Ã la Phantom. This is a serious Broadway musical that, without compromise, continues to thrive thanks to word of mouth, being a great theater experience and, these days, having almost no competition in the category of Broadway West.
JERSEY BOYS is also listed on Steve Friess’ Las Vegas Weekly article: “Ten shows that you absolutely have to see (or send your visitors to see)”:
“All right, very quickly, before we go, Steve Friess,†KNPR’s Dave Berns intoned in his dulcet voice, “one entertainment tip you have right now. Something you’ve seen recently on the Strip or off the Strip that you think people should go to?â€
On that particular day last week, I blurted out Jersey Boys, because at the moment, I’m a little obsessed with the show. But that was a quick-fire answer to a question that seems simple and is, in fact, quite complex.
No. 6: Jersey Boys (Palazzo): Yes, it was the first thing on my mind when Berns quizzed me. And gosh, it’s terrific. The Four Seasons tunes have obvious appeal for older Vegas-goers while being presented anew for the rest of us in a beautiful, perfectly written story that keeps it from being a nostalgia act or jukebox musical. Still, there’s a “but.†See No. 2 for why it’s not higher on the list.
Congratulations to JERSEY BOYS Vegas on their latest honor!!
