Jersey Boys - Kevin's Thoughts

I guess Jersey Boys is my show for first comment. I know - it's been out for a while, but we just got around to seeing it. The show - pretty great. However, if you're doing the student rush thing, beware the even number Row A seats. We sat behind a honkin' staircase and really missed a bit of action. Quite disheartening and frustrating. However, the show was still quite enjoyable.

Jersey Boys has a solid cast, doing some great renditions of The Four Seasons' and Frankie Valli's songs (and all those other combinations of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons and whatever other names they had that you learn from watching the show). It's really rather impressive watching the leads, especially John Lloyd Young as Frankie Valli, crank out this music (and the songs were in pretty rapid succession) while acting and dancing (sort of), etc. It's kind of like, whoa.

So truth be told, when I first heard about the show, I was like, "Um, Jersey Boys? Dumb. Another Jukebox musical? Please." But really, it's not your typical jukebox musical. Instead of weaving a really stupid plot around a bunch of songs (like making characters named Rhonda so you can sing "Help Me, Rhonda" to them... someone please gouge my eyes out with a spoon), the show tells the story of The Four Seasons, using the songs in actual performances to the audience rather than plot builders (with a few well-done exceptions). There's still a little cheese, and there are some moments of silly melodrama, but given that it's pretty much their story, it's forgivable.

It's a pretty interesting story, very Jersey, and told quite well, shifting narration and perspectives among the four leads. It's got a nice solid conclusion with some satisfying closure and feel-good warm and fuzziness. And of course, the music pretty much rocks, even if it's way before your time. Even at my age (23, for those of you who were wondering), I knew most of the songs, even though I didn't know The Four Seasons sang some of them before going into the show. Big fan of Christian Hoff as Tommy DeVito. All in all, I'd say see it if you're looking for a good time.