Jersey Boys is a Tony, Olivier and Grammy Award-winning musical, based on the career of The Four Seasons and it hit the stage at Birmingham's Alexandra Theatre this week.
In various guises, Jersey Boys has won no less than 55 major awards worldwide, including the Olivier Award for Best New Musical. Alongside this tour, the show has been seen on Broadway and in the West End as well as Las Vegas, a US National Tour and in the Netherlands.
This must be the 7th or 8th time I've seen the show, but the story never seems to get old. In fact, whether it's through TV appearances, West End runs or just sheer curiosity, the show has played in the minds of so many people across the world since it debuted that you have a certain perception of what you're about to see when you take your seat.
Sitting down in an auditorium with an industrial-esque, steel-look set was poles apart from the traditional red-velvet clad quartet we normally see in promo shots - however the reason behind that soon became apparent. Jersey Boys is the remarkable true story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons and their rise to stardom from the wrong side of the tracks.
These four boys from New Jersey became one of the most successful bands in pop history, were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and sold 175 million records worldwide...all before they turned 30! The show is packed with their hits, including Sherry, 'Walk Like A Man', 'December, 1963 (Oh What a Night)', 'Big Girls Don’t Cry' and 'Working My Way Back to You'.
In fact, Jersey Boys is undoubtedly a jukebox musical - and doesn't shy away from that.
Luke Baker lead the cast as Frankie Valli; the man with the astoundingly strong falsetto voice. In some ways, whilst I'm sure it's a great privilege to play such an icon, there must also be a sense of trepidation. Valli has such a recognisable tone to his voice that to mimic it is no mean feat - but one in which Baker excelled. He took the character by the proverbial horns and smashed the performance straight out the park.
Baker was more than ably assisted by the three other Seasons too; Toby Miles plays Bob Gaudio alongside Lewis Kennedy as Nick Massi and Carlo Boumouglaby as Tommy DeVito. All of them are individually brilliant, but when they come together on some of the biggest songs of all time - they're like no other.
It can be daunting when you're replicating the original artists in a jukebox show and, in so many cases, that replication can turn into distinctly average imitation. To combat that, a number of musicals substitute the original musicians with alternate characters who mimic the life of the well known stars which works fine and covers up the odd misdemeanour - think The Bodyguard.
The thing is, you can't take such iconic music as the songs on show in this production and use stand-in's.
Spoiler. You can't!
Jersey Boys runs at The Alexandra Theatre until Saturday 21st November 2026. For more information, or to get your tickets, head to atgtickets.com/birmingham.
