JERSEY BOYS | STAGE REVIEW
Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff Bay, Fri 24 July
I’m a Four Seasons fan – I once took the single The Night to a party and played it on a loop – so I was excited to see the West End phenomenon Jersey Boys performed at the Wales Millennium Centre. The rags to riches story of ‘the most popular rock band before the Beatles’, unfolds in four ‘seasons’ each narrated by a different band member.
Spring – narrated by Tommy Devito – was rather cool. Stephen Webb gave a mob-worthy performance as the founder of the band (The Romans, The Topics, The Lovers…) but with his thick Jersey accent the dialogue was hard to follow. I began to wonder if the show would live up to its hype.
Summer brought singer and song writing genius Bob Gaudio (Sam Ferriday) to the forefront and things began to warm up, dialogue was clearer and we got to hear some Seasons songs at last, though I had to remind myself that this was not a musical per se.
By Autumn, my initial reservations had subsided ,the Four Seasons had established themselves as a touring band and the party was in full swing with hits such as Rag Doll, Walk Like A Man and Bye Bye Baby (yes, the Bay City Rollers hit). Yet all was not rosy in the Jersey camp and Nick Massi’s narration (an understated performance by Lewis Griffiths) reflected the unrest.
Winter – narrated by the master of falsetto Frankie Valli (played by Tim Driesen) became a celebration. The Audience were rocking in their seats but, as the hits rose, the band was on the downward slide that lead to their eventual demise.
Jersey Boys, adapted for the stage by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice, is entertaining, touching and surprising (the squeaky clean boys from the backstreets ,were not as ‘innocent’ as their image suggested). The performances were impressive. The songs were superb. To coin a phrase from December, 1963 (Oh, What A Night): As I recall, it ended much too soon.
words LYNDA NASH photos HELEN MAYBANKS
Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff Bay, until Sat 1 Aug. Tickets: £17.50-£48 / £53.50-£57.50 premium seats. Info: 029 2063 6464 / www.wmc.org.uk