I
consider myself a young (at 70) male who loves sports, food, wine and travel. Although my musical taste is very 1950/60. Growing up in New York
City I spent time at the Brill Building which was the Holy Grail for
the music business. I met many of the pioneers of Rock & Roll
including Dick Clark, Connie Francis, Neil Sedaka, The Supremes, and
The Coasters. Pat Boone was a classmate of mine at Columbia
University and I almost went into business with Steve Lawrence &
Eydie Gorme. My father’s friend was Elvis Presley’s musical conductor
and I got to hang out with the King in Las Vegas.
Even
though I can not carry a tune that has not stopped me from memorizing
hundreds of Doo Wop songs. I cried when WCBS FM dropped their Rock
& Roll format. That said, I was thrilled when I was invited to the
third night performance of Jersey Boys, The Story of Frankie Valli
(Castelluccio) & The Four Seasons.
The
audience went wild as hit after hit was performed by a superb cast.
John Lloyd Young made his Broadway debut singing in the same falsetto
voice as Frankie Valli. Composer Bob Gaudio has been Frankie Valli’s
partner all these years based solely on a handshake. He wrote his first
hit “Who Wears Short Shorts” at age 15. As one of the founding members
of the Four Seasons and the bands principal songwriter he, along with
lyricist Bob Crew, penned such hits as “Sherry,” “Big Girls Don’t
Cry,” “Walk like a Man,” “Candy Girl,” and "Ronnie.” For Frankie Valli as a
solo act they wrote & produced “Can’t Take My Eyes Off Of You,” the
20th Century fifth most played song. The
Four Seasons sold over 175 million records worldwide before they were thirty.
Why
did this show succeed when the recent Beach Boys, Elvis & John
Lennon shows fail? Start with a story of the success and failures of
the group growing up in blue-collar New Jersey in the 1960’s. Throw in
a “Sopranos” character or two; a failed marriage, gambling, jail time, a
family tragedy and you have more than just hit songs to keep the
audience enthralled. And, the four cast members even sound like the
original Four Seasons.
The audience loved it. The Social Security and Medicare crowd swayed and sang
along moving their bodies (a bit slowly) to the music. The standing
ovation at the end was genuine and earned. Call your friends and beg
borrow or steal tickets to Jersey Boys. It beats an hour backup at the
Lincoln Tunnel.
Jersey Boys- August Wilson Theatre (formerly Virginia) - 245 West 52nd Street