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Tuesday, 27 June 2006 15:51 |
| John North
Editor & Publisher |
I??ve never been a fan of New Jersey ?? the state, that is, but I was pleased when I read recently that ?®Jersey Boys?∆ won the Tony Award for best Broadway musical.
While I have not yet seen the musical, I have read many features and reviews about it since its opening ?? and I do own a copy of the Broadway soundtrack CD, featuring 33 songs (although some are only fragments of the originals). Fortunately, all of the signature songs are performed in their entirety.
?®Jersey
Boys?∆ is the story of Franki Valli and The Four Seasons, a group that
was big in the early and mid-1960s. Valli later went solo and scored
occasional hits in the ensuing decades. The musical tells of Valli??s
journey from rising teenage prodigy to regretful falling star.
In my early teenage years, prior to catching on to The Beatles and,
later Jimi Hendrix, I remember listening to The Four Seasons and
appreciating Valli??s stratospheric falsetto voice, the group??s soaring
harmonies and the heavily romantic emphasis of the group??s songs. (They
sure liked to sing about girls.)
Billed as a jukebox musical, reviewers have described the plot of
?®Jersey Boys?∆ as ?®engrossing, carefully constructed?∆ and featuring
?®sharp dialogue,?∆ with the hit tunes adding to the overall dynamism.
In his Broadway
debut, John Lloyd Young as Valli has won much praise for his
performance, but critics seem to agree that a major factor in the
musical??s success is the concerted excellence of all four group members.
Indeed, based on my listening to the CD and familiarity with The Four
Seasons?? songs, I concur that Young sparkles in his role as the
extraordinary lead singer with a shrill, piercing falsetto
(three-octave) voice.
As for the ?®Jersey Boys?∆ name, my research indicates that three of the
members of The Four Seasons actually were native Jerseyites, including
Vallie, Nick Massi and Tommy DeVito. The fourth, Bronx-born Bob Gaudio,
qualifies as a Jersey boy because he was living in Bergen County when
he joined the musical group.
The jukebox musical genre has not fared well lately, but ?®Jersey Boys?∆
has basked in glowing reviews, positive word-of-mouth from
theater-goers ?? and it has generated more than $100 million in sales.
While the
staging is said to be extraordinary, some critics believe the musical ??
with its honest insights into colliding personalities of these four
extraordinary talents ?? is a success because it is triggering a growing
affection for the group itself.
Songs that are described as virtual showstoppers include their first
big hit, ?®Sherry,?∆ as well as ?®Walk Like a Man,?∆ ?®Big Girls Don??t
Cry,?∆ ?®My Eyes Adored You?∆ and ?®Can??t Take My Eyes Off of You.?∆
In the mid-1970s, I had the opportunity to meet Valli immediately after
his solo concert at the Roanoke (Va.) Civic Center. As a friend and I
chatted with him, Valli was charming, polite, funny and, perhaps
because he was tired ?? or short ?? perched on a tall stool.
Valli??s rags-to-riches story is inspiring ?? he grew up in a tough, working-class neighborhood in Newark.
After the group sold nearly 80 million records during its peak years,
Valli still drove an old car and lived in a housing project until the
mid-1960s, when success finally seemed real.
Whether The Four Seasons?? music will hold up over time, remains debatable. I think it will, because it??s unique.
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