Jersey Boys is the smash Broadway hit about four Newark, New Jersey raised boys who go on to be one of the most popular singing groups of the 1950's and 1960's.
Jersey Boys is based on the book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice, with music by Bob Gaudio and lyrics by Bob Crewe.
Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons are the
Jersey Boys. The 1960's rock group sang classics like "Big Girls Don't Cry" and "Walk Like a Man."
Jersey Boys is a documentary-style musical told from the four perspectives of the members of the group. Each tells their viewpoint of the success and fall of the group.
Jersey Boys is a great introduction for those who were not familiar with the rock music of the 1950's and 1960's. The existing songs from the group were relived on the stage with the same clamor and enthusiasm held at the time. Between 1962 and 1967, Frank Valli and The Four Seasons scored 13 Top 10 hits, including "Rag Doll," "Big Girls Don't Cry," "Sherry" and "Walk Like a Man." They also had two dozen songs in the Top 40, which was really monumental at that time.
In the beginning
Jersey Boys enjoyed its world premiere at the La Jolla Playhouse in California in 2004. It garnered great reviews, but some felt that the second act needed a rewrite. Its run in California lasted until January 16, 2005.
Jersey Boys began its Broadway start in November 2005 at the August Wilson Theatre, but it didn't take long for it to earn award nominations and wins. In 2006,
Jersey Boys won four Tony Awards, including "Best Musical." The 2005 production starred John Lloyd Young as Frankie Valli, Christian Hoff as Tommy DeVito, Daniel Reichard as Bob Gaudio, and J. Robert Spencer as Nick Massi. With direction by Des McAnuff,
Jersey Boys is part musical, part concert because of all of the songs that tell the story.
Jersey on the Road
With the Broadway success of
Jersey Boys, it was time to hit the road. On December 10, 2006,
Jersey Boys toured San Francisco at the Curran Theatre until September 30, 2007. Los Angeles was next in May 2007, with a production at the Ahmanson Theatre. The second national tour debut began on October 5, 2007 at Chicago's LaSalle Bank Theatre, with a slight change in character with native Chicagoan Michael Ingersoll as Nick Massi. The excitement of Chicago's debut was the visit from Frankie Valli and Bob Gaudio for Chicago's opening night.
Jersey Boys was also promoted at a December 2007 Chicago Blackhawks game during their puck drop.
A special engagement of
Jersey Boys made its return during the holidays to the Curran Theater in San Francisco from November 20 to December 30, 2007. Las Vegas got a taste of New Jersey in May 2007, where
Jersey Boys debuted at The Plazzo Hotel in the newly built
Jersey Boys Theatre. At the 2007 Emmy Awards, the Chicago and San Francisco cast appeared as a tribute to HBO's
The Sopranos.
Londoners experienced the sound of the
Jersey Boys with its West End debut February 2008 at the Prince Edward Theatre. Toronto is sharing in the success of
Jersey Boys and opened the Toronto Centre to the musical to play until December 6, 2008. Aussie's announced that
Jersey Boys would open at the Princess Theatre in Melbourne in March 2009, but there has since been a delay and
Jersey Boys will be opening July 2009.
A CD entitled
Jersey Boys: Original Broadway Cast Recording was released in November 2005 by Rhino Entertainment. It was certified Gold in February 2008 with more than 500,000 copies sold in the United States.
Jersey Boys is a rockin' good time to have in a theater. It's the best of both worlds – concert singing and overall great acting.
Jersey Boys is singing in your city soon!