Twelve months into an epic 18-month tour of the UK and Ireland, Jersey Boys splashes down at Edinburgh Playhouse. The lines are smooth as silk, the choreography is on point, hair is perfect, music is tight and the vocals – well… they are simply fantastic, and from the look of the packed audience, dancing, singing and whooping by the finale there is no denying this slick production is a hit.
Having previously seen this musical 3 years ago, my expectations of being slightly bored by what I recalled as a somewhat formulaic juke box musical were quickly blown away by the sheer energy of this new cast with superlative acting and by the imaginative and brilliant staging. The two-storey scaffold set looked simple but with imaginative modelling and brilliant choreography the actors moved around and over it with grace and perfect timing, recreating set pieces from the lives of the actors with total believability.
The multi award-winning show follows the journey of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, from a book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice and features dozens of hits that you don’t think you know until you hear them – 36 in total.
Its hard to think of a musical that works the book into the music so well, and one other unexpected delight was the humour. From wise-guy one liners to comic set pieces, director Des McAnuff squeezes every last bit of laughter from the receptive audience.
Dalton Wood as Tommy DeVito narrates most of the first half with effortless swagger and confidence, like a young Ray Liotta he oozes charm. We see him rise from the hard streets of 50’s New Jersey, the wise guy with the impressive connections. Unfortunately, most of those connections are criminal and it is only his love of music which saves him from complete criminality. Enter the diminutive Ryan Heenan as Frankie Valli, the small kid with the incredible voice. As soon as DeVito hears him sing he sees dollar signs and quickly takes him under his wing as his ‘little brother’, and creates a group called The Four Lovers, with Frankie as the lead singer.
We hear some dud numbers like ‘I Go Ape’, with questionable lyrics, choreography and featuring gorilla masked base player. The actor audience leaves one by one. So, we see that having a fantastic lead singer is not enough.
Fortunately, the missing ingredient is not far away in the form of song writer Bob Gaudio, played impressively by Blair Gibson and his joining the group with the number ‘Cry for me’, which he starts and the other members joining in is a highlight of the first half.
Once Bob joins and they change their name to The Four Seasons, Bob Gaudio’s real skill for song writing flourishes and the hits start flowing with ‘Sherry’, Big Girls Don’t Cry’ and Walk Like a Man’, giving The Four Seasons three quick number ones in a row.
And the rest, as they say, is history. But certainly makes for very entertaining viewing.
This show is a ramp that just keeps going up, with later numbers like ‘Can’t Take My Eyes Off You’ and ‘Working My Way Back To You’ being stand outs in the second half.
On a technical note, to finish, I have to say, this was a real return to form for The Playhouse, which has at times over recent years been criticized for its poor acoustic and sound platform. There was nothing poor here, just brilliant, crystal, perfect sound and the remarkable enacted voice of Frankie Valli that sent chills down the spine.
Running time – 2hrs 45 mins including 15min interval.
Playing until 4th February 2023, https://www.atgtickets.com/venues/edinburgh-playhouse/
Reviewer: Greg Holstead
Reviewed: 25th January 2023
North West End UK Rating: ★★★★★