Review: Jersey Boys At The Prince Edward Theatre
Published on Monday 5th July, 2.56pm, Written by Kelly Pentland
Jersey Boys celebrated its 1000th West End show at the Prince Edward Theatre on Sunday, and what a performance it was.
The story of the hugely successful group Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons, Jersey Boys lit up the impressively grand theatre with slick narrative and a host of smash-hit songs.
A jukebox musical with style, the show opened with a brilliant French rap version of Oh What a Night, before we the audience were introduced to band member Tommy DeVito (Jon Boydon), who would go on to narrate the majority of the show.
The Four Seasons in Jersey Boys. From left: Eugene McCoy, Ryan Molloy, Stephen Ashfield and Jon Boydon
A finely-tuned production, the transitions between songs and narrative were utterly outstanding. Directed by Des McAnuff and choreographed by Sergio Trujillo, the production wonderfully told the fascinating story of The Four Seasons without a single dull moment. The witty, fast-paced narrative worked well with the brilliant songs and made sure that the story moved along in an entertaining fashion.
The set design was simple, which worked well in a show that does not require grand scenery. The wire framework of a prison was frequently used, symbolising the band’s dark side – after all, the band members had frequent brushes with the law and had connections to the Mob who helped with their rise to fame. The theatre’s stage was often all that was required for the larger show tunes, although The Four Seasons also performed in front of onstage cameras and a black and white stream of the video was shown on big screens creating an impressive retro effect.
A silhouette of New Jersey against an orange backdrop was the most striking set and was used several times throughout the production. There was also one spectacular scene when the entire stage was lit up by bright lights and the whole theatre was aglow, symbolising how the band’s fame shined out across the world.
Leading man Ryan Molloy was brilliant as Frankie Valli; commanding the stage, hitting the high notes (boy, were they high) and even talking in a convincing New Jersey accent. Saying this, however, it was Jon Boydon as Tommy DeVito who stole the show with his fantastic singing voice, funky moves and all-round bad-boy attitude.
Stephen Ashfield was perfectly cast as singer/song-writer/producer Bob Gaudio, as was Eugene McCoy as the somewhat mysterious Nick Massi – although at times McCoy seemed to struggle with the thick New Jersey accent, often sounding Liverpudlian.
A show that relied heavily on the quality of the songs, credit must be given to the four leading men and all other cast members for playing instruments live onstage. The vast range of songs including Big Girls Don’t Cry, Walk Like A Man, Beggin’ and Stay were sensationally performed and received a great reaction from the audience. The costumes were equally impressive (bravo Jess Goldstein), especially the jackets with the sparkly lapels.
Jersey Boys is a spectacular show and has the ability to transport people of all ages back in time.
A toe-tapping production, this musical will have you singing the songs for days, however, due to strong language and the occasional sexual reference, it is more suited to an adult audience.
We were lucky enough to get tickets to the Jersey Boys on a weekend break to London to see Cirque du Soleil. What a show – the energy of the cast, their fabulous singing voices and the tempo of the show made for a very entertaining evening.
Unlike Mama Mia and We will Rock You, which feature the songs of Abba and Queen respectively, and have stories built around the songs, Jersey Boys is the story of Frankie Valley and the Four Seasons, the group that had hits with the featured songs. The story is actually quite interesting, documenting their rise from obscurity to fame, their links to the Mafia and their visits to prison.
The set was simplel but very effective – an elaborate set would have been superflous in this instance and, would in fact have detracted from the Show. Costumes consisted mainly of the suits worn by the guys at gigs and were perfect.
As I said the story is interesting but it is the fabulous music that makes this Show. Who knew that Frankie Valli had all those hits ?? These are songs that have been part of our lives forever and have been covered by so many bands. You will know every song and will be singing along the whole time. The four boys do a fantastic job on the songs and they flow seamlessly from dialogue. I came out singing and had ‘Oh What a Night’ in my head for the next 3 days !! Loved it, loved it, loved it …………
What else can be said about this anmazing Show , I have been twice to see It and Recomend It to everyone I know , the Score is Fabulous with all the top Songs of the Four Seasons , I would describe this Fabulous Show in 1 word “SLICK” The singing is second to none.
Fantastic A must see Show !
Looking forward to see the show, nice reviews, guys, thank you.