{"id":84998,"date":"2025-02-20T10:58:28","date_gmt":"2025-02-20T18:58:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/hi-lo\/?p=84998"},"modified":"2025-02-20T15:15:59","modified_gmt":"2025-02-20T23:15:59","slug":"theater-review-jersey-boys-blasts-into-musical-theatre-west","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/hi-lo\/art\/theater-review-jersey-boys-blasts-into-musical-theatre-west","title":{"rendered":"Theater review: \u2018Jersey Boys\u2019 blasts into Musical Theatre West"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Welcome to Theater News, a regular column by longtime reviewer Anita W. Harris. Look for it most Thursdays. Or sign up<\/a> for our Eat See Do newsletter to get it in your inbox.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Based on the true story of the 1950s and \u201960s boy band the Four Seasons, \u201cJersey Boys\u201d is rocking and rolling Musical Theatre West\u2019s stage at the Carpenter Performing Arts Center through March 2.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With a confident New Jersey accent, Tommy DeVito (Anthony Carro) introduces us to the story of how he assembled a rock-n-roll band as a teen with his brother and their friend Nick Massi (Grant Hodges), hustling gigs between petty thefts and jail stints.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This corner of New Jersey turns out to have been a hotbed of latent Italian-American talent, producing not only legendary crooner Frankie Valli (Nicholas Alexander), then known as Frankie Castelluccio \u2014 whom DeVito soon recruits for his angelic voice \u2014 but also future actor Joe Pesci (Donovan Mendelovitz), who then worked in a bowling alley.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n Link<\/a>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Pesci introduces Tommy to prolific composer Bob Gaudio (Taubert Nadalini), who had created the hit song \u201cShort Shorts\u201d when he was only 15, becoming the band\u2019s next recruit. It isn\u2019t too long before they score big \u2014 with hits like \u201cSherry,\u201d \u201cBig Girls Don\u2019t Cry,\u201d \u201cWalk Like a Man\u201d and \u201cDecember \u201863\u201d \u2014 but not before changing their name multiple times and escaping a murder scam with the help of a mob boss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The boys\u2019 colorful journey continues with the help of velvety smooth producer Bob Crewe (a well-cast Skyler Gaines), leading to fame, women and, of course, money \u2014 which eventually becomes a source of tension as Tommy\u2019s gambling habits are revealed to be worse than anyone knew.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Along the way, well-timed humor and rollicking music infuse this production, dynamically directed by TJ Dawson with lively pacing from start to finish and seamless transitions between scenes, aided by robust lighting (designed by Jean-Yves Tessier) and a double-story set (scenic design by Stephen Gifford) that adds depth to the stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The boys\u2019 various matching suits (costumes designed by Adam Ramirez) only make their synchronized choreography (by Dana Solimando) more appealing as they perform the many numbers, both for us and stage audiences in cocktail lounges, on television and, eventually, stadiums.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And the actors\u2019 enthusiasm as they perform is infectious. Carro is especially fun to watch as DeVito, whether he\u2019s talking a good game or singing, and Nadalini maintains a wholesome charm throughout as the talented Gaudio. Alexander makes an excellent Valli, not only for his vocals but while poignantly narrating the toll being on the road takes on his marriage and, later, his daughter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The rest of the cast is also energetic in delivering their multiple roles as family members, venue patrons, accountants, detectives and other singing groups performing Gaudio\u2019s songs. Shoutouts to Michael Ray Fisher for his turns as a French rap star and Ohio police officer and Dominic Pace for his stage presence as mafioso Gyp DeCarlo and a priest who later consoles Valli.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The only aspect that mars this production is sound design (Alena Milos), which includes microphones with reverb or echoing even when the actors are just talking rather than singing. It works when there\u2019s music but not so much when it\u2019s just dialogue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Women also get somewhat short shrift in this play, collectively portrayed as sexually aggressive and liable to wrap men around their pinkies if given the chance. A party scene with prostitutes that leads Gaudio to write \u201cDecember \u201963 [Oh What a Night]\u201d might be considered rape if the genders were reversed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The only substantial female role is Valli\u2019s wife Mary, believably portrayed by Marlana Dunn, who avoids being shrill when conveying Mary\u2019s many worries. Mary also gets to sing part of Valli\u2019s \u201cMy Eyes Adored You\u201d lamentation after their break-up, sharing in his feelings. Unfortunately, we never get to hear Valli\u2019s daughter\u2019s voice, which he notes a couple of times is better than his own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But this musical is called \u201cJersey Boys<\/i>\u201d after all, and that is exactly what its story unabashedly and joyfully portrays. I found myself dancing down the aisle after its well-deserved standing ovation, trying to recreate the exuberant steps of these performers, who fully embody the legends they portray in a production that does their music justice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Musical Theatre West\u2019s \u201cJersey Boys\u201d<\/i> continues through March 2 at the Carpenter Performing Arts Center, 6200 E. Atherton St., with shows Thursday, Feb. 20 at 7:30 p.m., Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m., and Sundays at 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. Tickets start at $28 and can be purchased by calling the box office at 562-856-1999 or visiting <\/i>Musical.org<\/i><\/a>. Run time is 2 hours and 45 minutes, including intermission.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“I found myself dancing down the aisle after its well-deserved standing ovation,” reviewer Anita W. Harris writes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":207,"featured_media":85001,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","inline_featured_image":false,"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":"","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_":"","_author_alias":"","cap-aim":"","cap-description":"","cap-display_name":"","cap-first_name":"","cap-jabber":"","cap-last_name":"","cap-linked_account":"","cap-newspack_employer":"","cap-newspack_job_title":"","cap-newspack_phone_number":"","cap-newspack_role":"","cap-user_email":"","cap-user_login":"","cap-website":"","cap-yahooim":"","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_email_html":"","newspack_email_type":"","newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_hide_page_title":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_show_share_buttons":"","newspack_sponsor_byline_prefix":"","newspack_sponsor_disclaimer_override":"","newspack_sponsor_flag_override":"","newspack_sponsor_only_direct":"","newspack_sponsor_url":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[32337],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"coauthors":[32310],"class_list":["post-84998","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-art","tag-theater-news","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84998","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/207"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=84998"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84998\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":85012,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84998\/revisions\/85012"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/85001"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=84998"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=84998"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=84998"},{"taxonomy":"newspack_spnsrs_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newspack_spnsrs_tax?post=84998"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=84998"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}