‘Jersey Boys’ is back out on the road, touring the UK once again. This production is one of the most iconic stage musicals of the 21st century and audiences have been lapping up the story of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons for almost twenty years. The story of “Jersey Boys” follows the bandmates of The Four Seasons, Frankie Valli, Tommy DeVito, Bob Gaudio and Nick Massi. It shows the roots of the bands, the trials they endured (literally), their personal life and of course how they created the iconic music that the world has come to love. The musical is playing the Edinburgh Playhouse until Saturday 4th February 2023.
Ryan Heenan provides staggering vocals and a versatile performance as Frankie Valli. Ryan does well performing the musical numbers with a voice that radiates the same countertenor tones as Valli’s, without making it seem like a cheap imitation or impression but rather a complex performance. The versatility and power of Ryan’s vocals is something that is staggering to listen to. You hear Ryan’s vocals distinctly in ‘Sherry’, ‘Big Girls Don’t Cry’, and of course Ryan owns the stage during ‘Can’t Take My Eyes Off You’, each is a flawless rendition of Frankie and The Four Season’s repertoire. With this musical there is the challenge of the character’s journey taking place over a long period of time, therefore the aging of the characters is mandatory for the themes/issues to properly be explored believably. Ryan does a great job for taking Frankie from being a young teen to an elderly man within the space of 120 minutes. This is a fantastic performance.
Dalton Wood is subtle, sly as a fox and hilarious as Tommy DeVito. Dalton supplies a character bursting with Italian American charm. Dalton’s voice it also very impressive, building up as one part of the quartet’s harmony. The audience absolutely love this character and it’s mainly due to how open Dalton makes Tommy, there is no filter present, what you see is what you get.
Blair Gibson’s portrayal of Bob Gaudio shows a rather innocent young man who gets caught up in the madness of his bandmates. Blair excellently delivers a fresh element and a character with a different tempo to the rest of the group. His character’s journey and conflict is portrayed with great naturalism and humour. Also Blair’s vocals are superb which add to the quality of the groups vocals.
Nick Massi is shown on stage with an honest, funny, loving and dignified portrayal from Christopher Short. Nick is presented as the quiet baritone in the group, however, every one-liner is golden and you can tell there is a lot of thoughts ready to explode up there in the genuis’ head. Eventually Christopher shows the cracks in Massi’s relationship with DeVito which ultimately makes for comical relief but is still a powerful scene and the veil is lifted on the collected member of the band’s thoughts. This is a comical and much-respected performance from Christopher Short which the audience simply adore.
In this company, there is a large ensemble who play a multitude of parts, each of them are dynamic, adaptive and hold strong presence. George Salmon as Joe Pesci (and others), Michael Levi as Bob Crewe (and others), Jordan James as Gyp DeCarlo (and others), Matthew Lawrence as Norm Waxman (and others), Damien Winchester as Barry (and others), Victoria McCabe as Francine (and others), Ellie Seaton as Lorraine (and others), Dan O’Brien as Hank Majewski (and others), Emma Crossley as Mary Delgado (and others), Olly Manley, Tom O’Brien, Nathan Routledge and Kirsty Whelan are swings for this production.
Director, Des McAnuff, manages to cram Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice’s book into the two hours 30 minutes running time (with interval), by making the show fast paced, however doing so in a way which the story sticks with the audience and that they don’t miss a beat. Des co-ordinates the actors well around Klara Zieglerova’s minimalist yet technically advanced set design, so that the audience’s imagination guides themselves through the setting of each scene. His emphasis on that this is a true story and not your typical musical is definitely shown in the identity of the show, seeing as there is a need and meaning for every musical number used, not just people bursting into song for the sake of it. These numbers are gloriously complemented by Sergio Trujillo’s effective and visually delightful choreography, which stays true to the group’s original dancing while performing. The costume design by Jess Goldstein really adds to the visual treats that this production supplies and even though most of these are simplistic 50s/60s clothing, some of the suits the boys wear are very dazzling.
‘Jersey Boys’ is a jukebox musical that holds some clout due to the creative approach Des McAnuff and his team have taken to ensure the story of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons prospers on stage. The cast are also just simply incredible and its so nice to see them hand this musical over to younger generations to see it continue to conquer stages up and down the UK. Do not miss this stonking hit at the Edinburgh Playhouse.
Get tickets at the link below:
https://www.atgtickets.com/shows/jersey-boys/edinburgh-playhouse/
Theatre Scotland 
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