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Jersey Boys The Broadway Show Introduction :
 How did four blue-collar kids become one of the greatest successes in pop music history? You ask four guys, you get four different answers. Have we got a story for you!
Everyone knows their songs. Few know their story. Named for a bowling alley that refused to book them, The Four Seasons—Frankie, Tommy, Bob, and Nick—were four high school dropouts who emerged from New Jersey to become true American Idols: one of the biggest American pop music sensations of all time. With a shiny doo-wop sound highlighted by lead singer Frankie Valli’s stratospheric falsetto, they wrote their own songs, invented their own sounds, and sold 175 million records worldwide—all before they were thirty.
Jersey Boys, Broadway’s 2006 Tony Award® Winner for Best Musical, is the electrifying tale of the Seasons’ rise, the moment they established their signature sound with their breakout hit “Sherry”; becoming a sensation on American Bandstand, of being young and full of hope and dreams and promise; of riding the rocket of success against the irresistible pull of the Jersey mob and the old neighborhood. Like the show itself, this gorgeous, full-color companion book captures the magic and the original excitement of the band’s life and times through all-new interviews with the band members. It also features the show’s libretto; interviews with the show’s writers, director, and cast; and over 200 photos from the band members’ personal collections of rarely seen memorabilia. For anyone who's ever sung along or danced to "Oh, What a Night!", “Walk Like a Man” or “Big Girls Don’t Cry”, and for those just discovering the timeless sound of The Four Seasons, Jersey Boys is the ultimate keepsake.
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Jersey Boys The Musical - What happened to 4 young boys from Jersey :
As seen from the New Jersey Turnpike, the grim industrial skyline has unfortunately served as a negative image for what is more agreeably referred to as The Garden State. But that is the only negative image projected in the vastly entertaining and celebratory new bio musical Jersey Boys, the story of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons. Otherwise set designer Klara Zieglerova’s functional metal construction, enhanced by pop art projections by Michael Clark, serves this authentic jukebox musical that doesn’t compromise or insult your intelligence.
 Under the gutsy, unfussy direction of Des McAnuff realism has its day in the fact-based story of four talented young men who transcend their discouraging beginnings. The songs under Ron Melrose’ brisk direction and with terrific orchestrations by Steve Orich, are thankfully never coerced into defining character but principally confined to their places as performance pieces. This is a jukebox musical in which an engrossing carefully constructed plot with sharp dialogue is actually given heft by the interruptions of hit tunes.
The concerted excellence of the four principals is a major factor in this musical’s success. The bravura performance by John Lloyd Young, as Frankie Valli, the extraordinary lead singer with the soprano voice resonates with the most impact. Young, who is making his Broadway debut, delivers a dynamite portrayal of the boy whose survives a bad marriage to an older woman, the bitter betrayal of one of his partners whose debts he undertakes to pay, and the tragic loss of his daughter. But just as the drama behind the music remains the propellant, Young’s singing often and deservedly brings down the house. I suspect that the whistles and cheers come from many Jerseyites.
While three of the boys -- Frankie Valli (Newark), Nick Massi (Newark), and Tommy DeVito (Belleville) -- are natives of New Jersey, the fourth, Bronx-born Bob Gaudio, was undoubtedly validated because he was living in Bergen County when he joined the musical group through an introduction initiated by an obnoxiously pushy kid named Joe Pesci (Michael Longoria). That’s right. Pesci was destined to be a movie star and the future employer of DeVito who hit the skids after leaving the group in 1970. Heavily in debt to the mob and essentially exiled to Las Vegas, DeVito was a sterling singer/guitarist, but nevertheless a hood at heart. In this musical that gives equal opportunity to each of the Jersey boys, DeVito, as played by Christian Hoff with the brass of a mob soldier right out of the Soprano TV series, gets first crack at telling the story of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons
The so-called jukebox musical genre has been taking on the chin whether successful like Mamma Mia! or walloped at the box-office (Good Vibrations and All Shook Up). What gives Jersey Boys its authority and superiority over the others is not the expectedly exhilarating staging of the popular songs but our growing affection for this group that produced over $100 million in sales. In the end, however, it is the honest and affecting book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice that provides some real insights into the colliding personalities of these immensely talented young men.
Considering that the show takes into account four points of view, it is remarkably cohesive despite altering the perspective with generous doses of grit, cleverness and warmth. Despite the fact that there are 33 songs listed, many given in bits and pieces, the signature songs are fully considered and make their prescribed impact.
 An unexpectedly coarse but credible tone is established at the outset as DeVito, with his proclivity for planning and carrying out heists, leads his gullible pals astray and lands him and Massi in the clink. Massi (J. Robert Spencer), who would create the vocal arrangements for the group, sing bass and play bass guitar, is poignantly revealed as the most conflicted regarding his loyalty to the bossy DeVito.
The biggest dramatic moment comes when Massi vents all his pent up anger at the astonished DeVito after years of putting up with his being a slob and a two-timer. Spencer also reveals a melancholy side to Massi and his unhappiness with life on the road and with his role with The Four Seasons ("I’m the Ringo of the band."). He offers a refreshing look at a rock star that was not into drugs and groupies. There is a contained coolness to Daniel Reichard’s portrayal of Gaudio, the gifted songwriter who turns out to be the most level headed and the brains of the group and proves it as he challenges DeVito’s inept and shady wheeling and dealing. But Reichard’s performance is perhaps most notable for the focused intensity that appears to drive Gaudio to success.
Humor is nicely threaded through the narratives. Very funny, indeed, is Gaudio’s explanation of how he came up with the title for one of their biggest hits. While watching an old western on TV, he hears Rhonda Fleming tell John Payne, "Big Girls Don’t Cry." All the songs, beginning with their first big hit "Sherry," and including "Walk Like a Man,""My Eyes Adored You," "Can’t Take My Eyes Off Of You," manages to be or come close to being show-stoppers. Record producer Crewe is relegated to the background despite his real life importance as a musical collaborator with Gaudio, but Gregus gives him an insinuating theatricality.
Although the women in the lives are men never more than peripheral, Jennifer Naimo, Erica Piccininni, and Sara Schmidt make good impressions in multiple roles. Sergio Trujillo’s choreography affectionately recreates the essential body language of the time. Jess Goldstein’s costumes wittily reinvent mid 20th century chic. The Jersey Boys Orchestra supplies the kind of super backup needed for a super show.
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More Jersey Boys Show Information :
Show Description:
Jersey Boys Musical follows four blue collared kids who dream of reaching the dizzy heights of stardom and celebrity. It is a story of sheer determination and hard work from one of American's greatest pop sensations. Jersey Boys is a real life story of a Rock n Roll group, Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons. Their shot to fame from the streets of Newark is brought to the stage with a uniquely 1960's rock n roll sound.
 Having written their own songs and created a uniquely defining sound within their genre, the popular group achieved great success, selling millions of records worldwide. If you don't know who Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons are you will have certainly heard one of their hit songs before. Songs 'Big Girls Don't Cry', 'Can't Take My Eyes Off You' 'Sherry' and 'Oh What a Night' are most recognizable. Jersey Boys Broadway transports the audience back into the bands 1960's heyday incorporating many of these defining sounds throughout the show.
Artists/Show Biography:
Jersey Boys won 2006 Tony Award for Best Musical and is brought to the stage by director Des McAnuff. Such is the enduring status of the band that in 1990 they were inducted into the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame. Their shoot to stardom is courtesy of no less than 16 top 40 hits in the US between 1962 and 1964. With an exceptional record of longevity, the group has had a hit record in the US Billboard chart in each of 5 decades ranging through the 1950's, 60's, 70's, 80's and 90's! One of the most enduring bands, Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons managed to survive a defining period in American music as British bands like the Beatles and Rolling Stones invaded US airwaves from 1964. The band originated with Tommy DeVito (guitar), Nick Massi (bass) and Frankie Valli (vocals) playing in the group The Four Lovers. Things turned for the good when the original three teamed up with Bob Gaudio (keyboards) and producer Bob Crewe and soon produced their 1962 breakthrough hit 'Sherry'. Comparable to California's Beach Boys, Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons reflected much of New York City. They achieved an evocative status among New York's working class while carving out distinctive catchy hooks and rhythms that were to set the foundations of their influential sound.
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Jersey Boys, the Tony Award Winning Broadway Musical, Arrives In Los Angeles :
The Tony Award-winning Broadway musical Jersey Boys has arrived in Los Angeles. Its tour company currently makes its home in the Ahmanson Theater where its run has just been extended through August 31, 2007. Jersey Boys is the latest story about one of the many phenomenally successful singing groups of the sixties. Frankie Valli and the Four Season is the focus of this show, and judging by the response of the audience after each musical number, their music is as popular as ever. But even if you are not a fan of the music, Jersey Boys tells a great classic tale of four men's ascent to fame and fortune in the cutthroat world of the music business, and how they virtually self-destruct just when they seem to be hitting the prime of their careers.
Our first narrator is Tommy DeVito (Deven May). He introduces us to the way things are in Jersey. Either you get locked up, mobbed up or you become a star. Tommy is hovering somewhere between the first and the last options. He makes his bread and butter as a thief but  continues to try and create a great band. The names and gimmicks are always changing, about as often as the members are in and out of jail. But Tommy knows he has stumbled upon something great when he meets the kid that sings like an angel: Frankie Castelluccio (Christopher Kale Jones). Tommy takes Frankie under his wing and sets him up with Nick Massi (Michael Ingersoll), the harmony genius of the band, while Tommy himself is serving yet another six months in the pokey.
By the time Tommy is released again, the group has a new name, Frankie has a stage name Valli, the trio has found a fourth and they are ready to go out and make great music. However, all these preparations are for naught, because the band itself does not have a sound, something to make them different from all the pop quartets out there. That is until Joey Pesci (yes the actor, although played by Courter Simmons), introduces the band to the songwriter of the one hit wonder 'Short Shorts'.
At this point, Bob Gaudio (Erich Bergen) takes over the narrative duties, proclaiming he is immediately enamored by Frankie's falsetto voice and needs to write music for it. He demands off the bat to be a full member of the group, asserting his value and worth even at the tender age of fifteen. The group becomes The Lovers and work as backup singers for uber producer Bob Crewe (John Altieri), the man with the ear for hits. They toil for a year before demanding to be recorded as Crewe promised them. And it is on the eve of recording that Gaudio comes up with the Hit, 'Sherry'. At last, The Four Season was born.
The group distinguished themselves by following up with 'Big Girls Don't Cry' and 'Walk Like a Man.'. While the group was enjoying more success than they had ever known, the foursome remain as different as the seasons themselves. The more their popularity ballooned, the further Tommy secretly fell into debt.
 Act two begins with Nick Massi mentioning that Tommy's debt to gangsters was perhaps the worst but just the beginning of his mismanagement of the group's money. Tommy had tax lends he was ignoring in lieu of apartment for his various girlfriends. Tommy's negligence has put the band in jeopardy because now that The Four Seasons have achieved great wealth and success, his debtors are expecting Tommy's debt to be honored by the group.
The second act is pretty much a one-man show, as Frankie sings his heart out, trying to keep his head above water, professional and privately when relationships with his family goes south. Now the only on-stage performer left of the group, Frankie is saddled with heavy responsibilities, but is never truly abandoned by Bob Gaudio. The comeback of Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons is a shining moment in the show when Frankie finally gets the horns he always wanted. It's one of those great moments that musicals are made for: triumphant and enormous, both emotionally and musically.
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