Broadway Watch - Jersey Boys
Tue, 8 Nov 2005, 10:09 amWalter Plinge1 post in thread
Broadway Watch - Jersey Boys
Tue, 8 Nov 2005, 10:09 amJersey Boys
Music by Bob Gaudin
Lyrics by Bob Crewe
Book by Marshall Brickman & Rick Elice
Directed by Des McAnuff
Opened 6th November 2005
Extracts from various reviewers:
“This just in: Pigs spotted flying over Manhattan.
“After a year that's seen the jukebox musical crash and burn time and time again, a show has finally come along that makes you think that just maybe there's some value to the concept. Few reviewers have been harder on the genre than I, but when something as respectably crafted as Jersey Boys comes along, I have to admit that some success has been attained.
“It's simply not possible to be angry at the frenetically kinetic and intermittently exciting show that just opened at the recently rechristened August Wilson. In fact, there's even decent, non-guilty enjoyment on hand here, for the first time since Mamma Mia! ushered in the style of show with no real use for a book except to string together pop tunes.”
“…It's a vital, pulsing presentation of the story that takes seriously its subject matter and its responsibilities to its audience, helping the entertaining whole to matter more than the sum of its somewhat disjointed parts.
“McAnuff is the first jukebox musical director to really realize that even audiences held captive by their pop-song preconceptions deserve a show every bit as lively as a completely original show with something to prove. His work here isn't edgy - aside from their mob connections, The Four Seasons were the antithesis of edge - but it is razor sharp, with McAnuff keeping a controlling grip on the fiercely frantic nature he allows the show.”
“… for the most part, Brickman and Elice wisely avoid integrating the songs with the dialogue; pop songs can't truly be character numbers in a book musical. Most are performance pieces that just pepper the action, allowing the story to develop naturally around them… Yet the dramatic buildup to Frankie's breakout solo hit "Can't Take My Eyes Off of You," pegged as a surefire failure by several characters, packs a genuine emotional punch.”
“It's an energizing experience, and a welcome one in the darker days of a year that's been illuminated by too few outstanding Broadway musicals. And, yes, it's all happening at a jukebox show. Ah well - if it's a shame that there are any at all on Broadway, the best we can hope for from now on is that as many possible will provide the same kind of fun and thrills that Jersey Boys so effortlessly exudes.”
Talkin’ Broadway – Matthew Murray
“Yeah, sure. Go see Jersey Boys, subtitled "The Story of Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons." So what if the Des McAnuff production is so slick that you could slip on it and slide to an untimely end? Fuhgeddaboudit! It's got the Four Seasons songs, an astonishing string of melodic and melodramatic celebrations of adolescent emotion that make this show a highly appealing oldies concert. It pushes its broad-shouldered way into the theater as a better example of the currently ubiquitous "jukebox musical" form. Included for the delectation of baby-boomer fans and salivating others are commendable facsimiles of clicks that The Four Seasons released in the '60s and '70s, when supersonic-voiced Frankie Valli was at first just one of the boys and later was top-billed.”
“Despite its flaws, you can't beat this show with a stick. The multitudes of other-side-of-the-Hudson folks who for years have been gloating about having Giants Stadium and New York football teams on Meadowlands territory now have something else to gloat about: They've got Jersey Boys on Broadway, where it could remain for quite some time.”
Theater Mania – David Finkle
“Watch your back, Mamma Mia! A new jukebox musical has arrived on Broadway, and it's as much of a crowd-pleaser as you are. It's also a lot smarter, and it actually tells the story of the group whose music it celebrates--the Four Seasons. Slickly directed by Des McAnuff, Jersey Boys stars a bunch of talented unknowns who are making the most of their big break. They, and the show, are a knockout.
“Brickman and Elice trace the group's complex history so quickly that it's easy to miss some of the details. (I'm still not sure what happened to short-lived band member Hank, for instance.) There isn't time to dwell on the details, though, since Act One alone has 22 numbers. The story is integrated beautifully with the songs, and McAnuff's dynamic staging makes the show as exciting visually as it is musically.
The director's handling of the Four Seasons' breakout hit, "Sherry," is particularly snazzy: The singers start out performing for TV cameras, with the live images projected on large video screens; they then turn to face the audience, and suddenly they're giving a full-throttle concert. It's a showstopper, but the concert continues with high-energy renditions of their next number one hits, "Big Girls Don't Cry" and "Walk Like a Man."…”
“After the witless Beach Boys musical Good Vibrations and the enjoyable but vapid Elvis tuner All Shook Up, a jukebox musical with smart writing comes as a pleasant surprise. Well, it's not entirely surprising since Brickman co-wrote some of Woody Allen's best movies (Annie Hall, Sleeper, Manhattan and Manhattan Murder Mystery) and wrote and directed the forgotten but funny film Simon. Elice has been a creative director at an ad agency, an actor and a consultant at Walt Disney Studio. The writers, along with McAnuff (who first staged Jersey Boys at the La Jolla Playhouse, where he is the artistic director), efficiently and breezily recount the Four Seasons' dramatic up-and-down story…”
“Jersey Boys probably won't earn as many zillions as Mamma Mia! But strong word of mouth should help it run for at least a couple years at the recently renamed August Wilson Theatre. And casting agents should start looking for another short, talented Italian actor with a pretty falsetto, because Jersey Boys ought to be just as popular on the road.”
Broadway.Com – William Stevenson
Next Broadway Musical opening – The Woman in White – 17th November
Music by Bob Gaudin
Lyrics by Bob Crewe
Book by Marshall Brickman & Rick Elice
Directed by Des McAnuff
Opened 6th November 2005
Extracts from various reviewers:
“This just in: Pigs spotted flying over Manhattan.
“After a year that's seen the jukebox musical crash and burn time and time again, a show has finally come along that makes you think that just maybe there's some value to the concept. Few reviewers have been harder on the genre than I, but when something as respectably crafted as Jersey Boys comes along, I have to admit that some success has been attained.
“It's simply not possible to be angry at the frenetically kinetic and intermittently exciting show that just opened at the recently rechristened August Wilson. In fact, there's even decent, non-guilty enjoyment on hand here, for the first time since Mamma Mia! ushered in the style of show with no real use for a book except to string together pop tunes.”
“…It's a vital, pulsing presentation of the story that takes seriously its subject matter and its responsibilities to its audience, helping the entertaining whole to matter more than the sum of its somewhat disjointed parts.
“McAnuff is the first jukebox musical director to really realize that even audiences held captive by their pop-song preconceptions deserve a show every bit as lively as a completely original show with something to prove. His work here isn't edgy - aside from their mob connections, The Four Seasons were the antithesis of edge - but it is razor sharp, with McAnuff keeping a controlling grip on the fiercely frantic nature he allows the show.”
“… for the most part, Brickman and Elice wisely avoid integrating the songs with the dialogue; pop songs can't truly be character numbers in a book musical. Most are performance pieces that just pepper the action, allowing the story to develop naturally around them… Yet the dramatic buildup to Frankie's breakout solo hit "Can't Take My Eyes Off of You," pegged as a surefire failure by several characters, packs a genuine emotional punch.”
“It's an energizing experience, and a welcome one in the darker days of a year that's been illuminated by too few outstanding Broadway musicals. And, yes, it's all happening at a jukebox show. Ah well - if it's a shame that there are any at all on Broadway, the best we can hope for from now on is that as many possible will provide the same kind of fun and thrills that Jersey Boys so effortlessly exudes.”
Talkin’ Broadway – Matthew Murray
“Yeah, sure. Go see Jersey Boys, subtitled "The Story of Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons." So what if the Des McAnuff production is so slick that you could slip on it and slide to an untimely end? Fuhgeddaboudit! It's got the Four Seasons songs, an astonishing string of melodic and melodramatic celebrations of adolescent emotion that make this show a highly appealing oldies concert. It pushes its broad-shouldered way into the theater as a better example of the currently ubiquitous "jukebox musical" form. Included for the delectation of baby-boomer fans and salivating others are commendable facsimiles of clicks that The Four Seasons released in the '60s and '70s, when supersonic-voiced Frankie Valli was at first just one of the boys and later was top-billed.”
“Despite its flaws, you can't beat this show with a stick. The multitudes of other-side-of-the-Hudson folks who for years have been gloating about having Giants Stadium and New York football teams on Meadowlands territory now have something else to gloat about: They've got Jersey Boys on Broadway, where it could remain for quite some time.”
Theater Mania – David Finkle
“Watch your back, Mamma Mia! A new jukebox musical has arrived on Broadway, and it's as much of a crowd-pleaser as you are. It's also a lot smarter, and it actually tells the story of the group whose music it celebrates--the Four Seasons. Slickly directed by Des McAnuff, Jersey Boys stars a bunch of talented unknowns who are making the most of their big break. They, and the show, are a knockout.
“Brickman and Elice trace the group's complex history so quickly that it's easy to miss some of the details. (I'm still not sure what happened to short-lived band member Hank, for instance.) There isn't time to dwell on the details, though, since Act One alone has 22 numbers. The story is integrated beautifully with the songs, and McAnuff's dynamic staging makes the show as exciting visually as it is musically.
The director's handling of the Four Seasons' breakout hit, "Sherry," is particularly snazzy: The singers start out performing for TV cameras, with the live images projected on large video screens; they then turn to face the audience, and suddenly they're giving a full-throttle concert. It's a showstopper, but the concert continues with high-energy renditions of their next number one hits, "Big Girls Don't Cry" and "Walk Like a Man."…”
“After the witless Beach Boys musical Good Vibrations and the enjoyable but vapid Elvis tuner All Shook Up, a jukebox musical with smart writing comes as a pleasant surprise. Well, it's not entirely surprising since Brickman co-wrote some of Woody Allen's best movies (Annie Hall, Sleeper, Manhattan and Manhattan Murder Mystery) and wrote and directed the forgotten but funny film Simon. Elice has been a creative director at an ad agency, an actor and a consultant at Walt Disney Studio. The writers, along with McAnuff (who first staged Jersey Boys at the La Jolla Playhouse, where he is the artistic director), efficiently and breezily recount the Four Seasons' dramatic up-and-down story…”
“Jersey Boys probably won't earn as many zillions as Mamma Mia! But strong word of mouth should help it run for at least a couple years at the recently renamed August Wilson Theatre. And casting agents should start looking for another short, talented Italian actor with a pretty falsetto, because Jersey Boys ought to be just as popular on the road.”
Broadway.Com – William Stevenson
Next Broadway Musical opening – The Woman in White – 17th November