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FRANKLIN — The Midtown Men, four stars from the original cast of the Broadway smash “Jersey Boys,” brought back the sounds of the 1960s during a dazzling June 2 performance with impeccable harmonies and top-notch choreography at the Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts.

The quartet of big-time, Broadway-trained singers-dancers, backed by a crack seven-piece band that showed off its own ‘60s’ moves, opened in high-octane fashion with the Four Seasons’ “Let’s Hang On” and “Working My Way Back to You,” followed by Neil Sedaka’s “Breaking Up Is Hard to Do.” The crowd responded in kind, applauding the group’s youthful vitality and full-fledged efforts.

Following the three opening songs, the Midtown Men noted that this was the group’s first trip to the Smoky Mountains — and that they liked the area. They also told a bit about their backgrounds and noted that, while performing in “Jersey Boys,” they “fell in love with the great songs of the ‘60s ... We’re truly having the time of our lives!”

As the crowd cheered, one group member teased the crowd that it was time to get rowdy, saying, “Let’s make them to call the Franklin police on us!”

The group then performed a note-perfect rendition of The Beatles “Can’t Buy Me Love,” followed by The Turtles’ “Happy Together” and Marvin Gaye’s “Ain’t That Peculiar?”

The Midtown Men (from left) are Michael Langoria, who sang the part of Franki Valli; Christian Hoff, Daniel Reichard and J. Robert Spencer.

Langoria, who played the part of Franki Valli (lead singer of the Four Seasons) in the musical “Jersey Boys,” then told the crowd of one evening when he was lounging in his jeans and T-shirt in his apartment in New York. Suddenly, he received a telephone call, saying that Valli, his idol, had asked that Langoria be invited to that night’s Four Seasons’ concert, which was to start shortly.

The singer said he was so excited that he immediately ran out of his apartment, got his free ticket at the box office and figured nobody would pay any attention to his sloppy attire, as he was seated near the rear of the concert hall

Instead, he said Valli eventually introduced the star of “Jersey Boys,” as the spotlight was trained on Langoria — and he was invited to join Valli on stage to sing a song.

Embarrassed by his scruffy appearance, Langoria said he was even more mortified as Valli sang the first verse of “Let’s Hang On” — and then invited him to sing the rest of the song.

The Franklin crowd roared with laughter as Langoria explained that only the first verse of “Let’s Hang On” is sung in ‘Jersey Boys” — and Valli had sung the only verse he knew. Nonetheless, Langoria said he improvised, using the wrong words — and it somehow worked, much to Valli’s amusement.

At that point, the Midtown Men broke into the Four Seasons’ “December 1993 (Oh, What a Night),” which the group noted it had the honor to sing at a Dick Clark New Year’s Eve party. (Clark, they added with a note of sadness, died recently.)

Next, the group sang the Four Seasons’ dynamic and dramatic “Dawn (Go Away),”  prompting some of the loudest applause of the evening. The Midtown Men also performed the Four Seasons’ “Candy Girl,” The Association’s “Never My Love,” the Four Seasons’ “Big Girls Don’t Cry” and the Mamas and Papas’ “California Dreamin’”

After an intermission, the group, previously clad in sports coats, reappeared in maroon dinner jacksets, black trousers, black shoes, black ties and white shirts, resembling the “Rat Pack” in their stage presence and appearance.

The Midtown Men launched into The Foundations’ “Build Me Up, Buttercup,” The Monkees’ “Daydream Believer,” The Zombies’ “Time of the Season” and the Ides of March’s “Vehicle.” The group’s version of “Time of the Season” — with even more pronounced dramatic pauses than the original had — was a highlight of the night.

Among the other hits performed were Valli’s first solo hit, “My Eyes Adored You,” followed by The Temptations’ “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg,” the Jackson Five’s “I Want You Back,” The Temptations’ “My Girl” and “Just My Imagination (Running Away With You)” and a reprise of the Four Seasons classic “Oh, What a Night.”

As the crowd applauded enthusiastically, the group gratefully bowed, waved and left the stage. 

However, the sustained roar of the crowd prompted the Midtown Men to return for an encore — the rollicking and appropriate Four Seasons’ hit “Bye, Bye, Baby, (Baby Goodbye).”