Jersey Boys
Jersey Boys
Playhouse, Edinburgh
Marianne Gunn
ALMOST as long-awaited as The Lion King or Wicked, this touring musical production of the story of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons finally had its Scottish premiere, with expectations set pretty high.
The opening of the show suffered from some sound issues during a contemporary mash-up of a Bob Gaudio song highlighting the continuing musical relevance of the group, now inducted into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame. As their early career is explored, including colourful run-ins with the law, Stephen Webb and Lewis Griffiths build up a strong audience rapport as Tommy DeVito and Nick Massi, with their macho wisecracking and well-honed arm muscles.
As art imitated life, it isn't until the bigger hits of Sherry, Big Girls Don't Cry and Walk Like a Man (which all appear in quick succession) that Tim Driesen's uncanny talent as Frankie Valli (aka Castelluccio) is revealed. His falsetto is astonishing and the Jersey Boys' dance routines reach their peak with December 1963 (Oh What a Night) before Act One closes on a cliffhanger of crippling debts and possible career suicide.
The pace and energy dip in the second half as the realities of family responsibilities encroach on the success of the band, and Fallen Angel, referring to the death of Valli's daughter, is one of the weaker vocal moments for Driesen. The peak is the multi-million selling single Can't Take My Eyes Off You, with its interesting backstory as a "buy one, get one free" deal with C'mon Marianne (a Gaudio song that hasn't lasted the test of time in the same way).
Supporting characters, such as Joe Pesci and Hank Majewski (played by Damian Buhagiar and Henry Davis respectively) add more New Jersey flavour and New York flair, while Amelia Adams-Pearce has the only fully-formed and functioning female character in Valli's lost love Mary Delgado.
At moments too obviously a touring production of a West End hit, the show benefits from inventive though minimal staging, and the live instrumentation, under the musical direction of Gareth Weedon, is especially vibrant when the brass section joins the Boys on stage.
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