Lewis Kennedy Archives - North West End UK

13Oct

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Jersey Boys – Edinburgh Playhouse

There is something reassuringly familiar about Jersey Boys. This is my third encounter with the musical in approximately six years, suggesting that, rather like a distant relative, it comes calling every three years whether invited or not. But familiarity can be a double-edged sword, particularly when a show has been around for twenty years and its extraordinary catalogue of songs is already deeply embedded in our collective musical consciousness. This latest touring production, directed by Des McAnuff, takes a little longer than expected to find its feet. The first act is, dare I say it, rather pedestrian at times, despite the considerable musical talent on display. But what initially threatens to become a fairly conventional musical biography transforms in the second half into so...

29Sep

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Jersey Boys – Hull New Theatre

Having seen the musical Jersey Boys several times now, both as a reviewer as well as a paying theatregoer, this recent production at the Hull New Theatre shows just why the story of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons is still filling theatres, 20 years after it was first staged. The group’s music needs no introduction - hit followed hit with the likes of Sherry, Big Girls Don’t Cry, Walk Like a Man, My Eyes Adored You, Beggin’, Rag Doll and many more. And on Monday night in Hull, we in the full-ish theatre were treated to all these songs with plenty of their other hits thrown in. Classed as a “musical biography”, we were not only treated to the most wonderful music and singing, but also to the story of where it all began - in Noo Joisey, oh sorry, got carried away there, I mean Ne...

9Sep

By Katie LeicesterNo Comments

North West

Jersey Boys – Palace Theatre

There is something reassuring about walking into a theatre knowing that within minutes an audience will be singing along to songs they have known for decades. Yet Jersey Boys offers far more than a nostalgic trip through a greatest-hits collection. Twenty years after it first opened on Broadway, the musical continues to demonstrate why the story behind Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons is every bit as compelling as the music they created. At the Palace Theatre in Manchester, the 20th-anniversary gala performance delivers the familiar songs alongside the less glamorous side of life in the spotlight. This isn’t a story where success simply arrives and everything falls neatly into place. It is about four young men chasing a dream, the relationships that suffer along the way, financial pro...

23Jul

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Jersey Boys – Bradford Alhambra

Back in fifties New Jersey there were three ways out of poverty – the army, getting mobbed up or become a pop star. Frankie Valli and his three mates formed The Four Seasons to take what they thought would be the easy option. But as well as massive hits like Sherry and Big Girls Don’t Cry, this surprisingly gritty tale of the perils of rags to riches pop stardom is not without its mob connection. Street hustler Tommy Devito is also a musician and discovers a vocal winning lottery ticket in Frankie Valli’s distinctive falsetto. Throw in the genius of songwriter Bob Gaudio and you have the Four Seasons who become the best selling boy band of all time with a string of hits. But like all successful bands they are brought down to earth thanks to internecine rivalries, ego and ...