The 20th Anniversary Tour of Jersey Boys. Photo by Jeremy Daniel.
It’s been 20 years since Jersey Boys first hit the Broadway stage, so what is it about the show that continues to pull people in two decades later? For some, it’s the crowd-pleasing, timeless songs while for others, it’s the story of four blue-collar kids who formed the iconic, red-suited group that went on to become one of the most successful boy bands in the history of pop music. Go behind the music and inside the story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons when the Tony Award®-winning Jersey Boys comes to Walton Arts Center for five performances Nov. 27-29.
They were just four guys from Jersey, until they sang their very first note. They had a sound nobody had ever heard ... and the radio just couldn’t get enough of. But while their harmonies were perfect on stage, off stage it was a very different story – a story that has made them an international sensation all over again. The show features all their hits including “Sherry,” “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” “Oh What a Night,” “Walk Like a Man,” “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You,” “Beggin’” and “Working My Way Back To You.”
For co-writer Rick Elice, part of the show’s success is the fact that the story of The Four Seasons was largely unknown before the show hit the stage. He and his fellow co-writer Marshall Brickman ended up meeting with Valli and fellow member Bob Gaudio to find out more about the group’s story.
The 20th Anniversary Tour of Jersey Boys. Photo by Jeremy Daniel.
“Frankie and Bob were talking about how their lives were spent navigating between the shark-infested waters of the Jersey Mafia, which I thought was something that only existed on television until I met them,” Elice explains. “What appealed to me instantly about these guys was that the four of them and everything they went through was being handed to us as the basis of not just a true story, but a good story. And not just a good story, but an untold story.”
The writers decided that Jersey Boys wouldn’t be just one person’s story but rather told from four different perspectives representing each of the four members and their individual experiences. The show itself would be divided into ‘four seasons’, matching the name of the band.
The 20th Anniversary Tour of Jersey Boys. Photo by Jeremy Daniel.
In late 2003, when director Des McAnuff was looking for a show to plug in the gap of the 2004 schedule, he reached out to Elice. While most musicals can take years to develop and get to the stage, the writers found themselves creating Jersey Boys in just mere months. The show had its official opening night in October of 2004.
Elice says that while Jersey Boys tells the story of a particular band, “it’s hard not to be touched by those eternal issues of wanting to belong and wanting to find home. I’m nothing like the guys, but I recognize what happens to them and what they go through,” he says. “And I think that’s because I’ve gone through my version of that. And I think a lot of people feel that way.”
Listen to the Original Broadway Cast Recording of Jersey Boys here!
Show Dates and Times:
Friday, Nov. 27 at 7:30 pm
Saturday, Nov. 28 at 2 and 7:30 pm
Sunday, Nov. 29 at 2 and 7 pm
From the streets of New Jersey to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, this is the musical that’s “too good to be true” (New York Post). Don’t miss the chance to make your night in Jersey one to remember by adding a hands-on cocktail class. For just $51.75, you’ll learn to make two specialty cocktails from our mixologists before one of the shows!
Cocktail Classes:
Friday, Nov. 27 at 6 pm
Saturday, Nov. 28 at 6 pm