By Jessica Dionne for Curtains Up (@maccajess)
Oh, what a night! Whether it was the first time you were seeing Jersey Boys or the tenth time, it was next to impossible not to fall in love with the story of how four young boys from Jersey used their voices to create an unbelievable sound, rose to fame and became one of the greatest musical acts of all time.
From the opening musical number – a French version of the massive hit ‘December 1963’ – the audience was hooked. In the beginning, the story is told by Tommy DeVito, the self-proclaimed founder and leader of the group. As the story goes along, DeVito is joined by the characters of Frankie Castelluccio (who ultimately changes his name to Valli with an ‘I’ because Italian’s need to end names in a vowel), Nick Massey, and finally, the last piece of the puzzle, the ‘genius’, Bob Gaudio, to form the Four Seasons as we came to know and love.
Breaking free from the old neighbourhood and struggling to find their identity on more occasions that you can count were just the tip of the iceberg; when the Four Seasons finally exploded onto the stage and reached the height of their popularity with songs like ‘Sherry’, ‘Big Girls Don’t Cry’ and ‘Walk Like A Man’, the audience went along for the ride, and when their inevitable downfall ensued, the audience was still right there with them.
The songs and the heavy Jersey accents were infectious and the audience couldn’t get enough – myself included – and although I have seen the show before, this will definitely not be the last. Of course very little can compare to seeing Frankie Valli live (which I can proudly cross off my bucket list) but Hayden Milanes captured the essence of the Frankie Valli and could’ve given him a run for his money. Highlights of the show for me will always include ‘Can’t Take My Eyes Off Of You’, the simultaneous stomping of feet during ‘Walk Like a Man’ and a well-timed Liberace joke.
Opening night jitters for both the cast and the production team may have been responsible for a few noticeable accent variations and late lighting cues, but once the music took over it was virtually impossible to resist being sucked in.
I tip my hat to Evenko for bringing this wonderful production to Montreal. If you haven’t seen this masterpiece, do yourself a favour and enrich your life by treating your ears and your soul to one of the greatest musical stories every told. You won’t regret it; my hand to God.
Jersey Boys runs January 6th– 11th (matinees available on both Saturday the 10th and Sunday the 11th) at Place des Arts. For tickets, visit evenko.ca.
