"Jersey Boys" at the Chanhassen Dinner Theatres

Jersey Boys is my musical theater guilty pleasure, and the exception that proves the rule about jukebox musicals. Meaning, I'm not usually a fan of taking popular hit songs and creating a musical around them; I much prefer new original musical theater. Except for Jersey Boys, which I can't help but love and see nearly every time the Broadway tour came to town (four, although I missed last year's tour). After running for over 11 years, the Tony-winning musical closed on Broadway in 2017, but continued to tour the country for several more years. The reason I love it is not just because of the fantastically catchy music of Rock and Roll Hall of Famers Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, the sharp choreography, and the retro fashions. But also because all of this is put together very smartly in the true story of the group, dealing with the good and the bad of fame and living in the music industry.* Leave it to Chanhassen Dinner Theatre's Artistic Director Michael Brindisi to snap up the rights to the show as soon as it became available for regional productions, making this their second regional premiere this year, after the super fun and heart-warming The Prom (which closed just a week before Jersey Boys began performances). It's great fun to see a different take on this show that I love and am so familiar with. As always, the Chan delivers a top-notch production of this musical that is sure to be a crowd-pleaser (but one with substance) for the next eight months (click here for info and tickets).

Broadway Tour of "Jersey Boys" at the Orpheum Theatre

Jersey Boys is my musical theater guilty pleasure, and the exception that proves the rule about jukebox musicals. Meaning, I'm not usually a fan of taking popular hit songs and creating a musical around them; I much prefer new original musical theater. Except for Jersey Boys, which I can't help but love and see every time it comes to town (four and counting). After running for over 11 years, the Tony-winning musical closed on Broadway last year, but is still touring the country, stopping at Minneapolis' Orpheum Theatre this week. The reason I love it is not just because of the fantastically catchy music of Rock and Roll Hall of Famers Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, the sharp choreography, and the retro fashions. But because all of this is put together very smartly in the true story of the group, dealing with the good and the bad of fame and living in the music industry. If you've seen Jersey Boys at some point in the last 12 years, you know what I'm talking about. If not, it's not too late to check out this smart, funny, and musically delicious jukebox musical that gives you a peek inside some of the best known American pop songs of the last century (click here for more info and tickets).

"Jersey Boys" at the Orpheum Theatre

The jukebox musical Jersey Boys is a crowd-pleaser. The story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons will celebrate 10 years on Broadway this fall and the tour is making its third stop in Minneapolis this week (at least that's how many times I've seen it). At times during last night's opening night, the crowd reacted like this was a Four Seasons tribute concert. But it's so much more than that. This jukebox musical is not just hit after hit strung together with some loose threads we're supposed to accept as a plot. Rather this beloved and familiar music is woven into the true life story of the rise and fall of these Hall of Fame rock-and-rollers. It's like an episode of VH1's Behind the Music, revealing that all was not rosy behind those crisp harmonies and sharp dance moves. Fame and celebrity at a young age rarely lead to a smooth road in life. Any show that featured a string of hits from the '60s would be sure to sell out to a population dominated by baby boomers, but it's the clever book that weaves the hits together and tells a story worth hearing that is responsible for Jersey Boys' critical success and staying power.

Book writers Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice used the title of the group as inspiration for the structure of the musical. The Four Seasons' story is told in four chapters by each of the group's original members. Founder Tommy DeVito narrates the "spring" of the group's life, in which he and his friends are in and out of jail, working with the mob on the streets of New Jersey. He tries several different band arrangements, all centered around the sweet falsetto of young Frankie Valli. Eventually he hits upon a winning combination, adding bass player Nick Massi, songwriter Bob Gaudio, and producer Bob Crewe (Gaudio and Crewe are credited with writing the music and lyrics for the show). "Sherry" is their first number one hit, and the group's fame skyrockets as Bob Gaudio takes over the narration in the "summer" chapter. More hits, television appearances, adoring fans - their dream has come true. But things begin to "fall" apart as tensions within the group rise and Tommy's large debt is revealed. In the second act Nick takes us through this stage of the journey that leaves only Frankie and Bob left in the group. Finally, Frankie narrates the group's poignant final chapter, "winter," that sees much loss but eventual reconciliation as the group reunites for their 1990 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction. It's a roller coaster ride through fame, success, and their aftermath.

The Four Seasons had dozens of hit songs in the '60s, and many of them are included in the musical. "Big Girls Don't Cry," "Walk Like a Man," " My Eyes Adored You," " Beggin'," and "Can't Take My Eyes Off of You" to name just a few. With a few exceptions, the songs are not sung in that musical theater "I'm breaking out in song in the middle of a conversation and singing my thoughts and feelings" sort of way, but rather within the context of a concert, rehearsal, or recording session, so that it falls more towards the "play with music" end of the Cherry and Spoon music-theater spectrum.* This musical isn't structured in the typical scene-song-applause kind of way; the music is woven organically into the story, and sometimes we just hear snippets of songs interspersed with narration. The audience isn't given a chance to applaud at the end of every song, so when the first big number came towards the end of the first act, as the boys sang "Sherry" and paused after that final note, the audience burst into enthusiastic applause we'd been holding in for the first part of the show.

Keith Hines, Hayden Milanes, Drew Seeley,
and Matthew Dailey (photo by Jeremy Daniel)

This touring cast is quite awesome; the four leads are sharp and funny and sound fantastic delivering that trademark Four Seasons sounds. Hayden Milanes takes Frankie from a naive kid to a weary man at the end of his career, who never stops working on the dream. And that voice! Frankie Valli's distinctive voice is hard to imitate, and Hayden doesn't just do that, but brings his own smooth sound (he shares the role with alternate Miguel Jarquin-Moreland, who performs one of the two shows on Saturdays and Sundays, because no human voice should be asked to accomplish this feat twice a day!). Matthew Dailey is a lovable rogue as Tommy, imbuing the role with enough charm that we overlook Tommy's shortcomings. Keith Hines's Nick is the strong silent type, with a deep voice and distinctive way of clipping his words when he does speak. Drew Seeley has a sweet voice (singing my favorite song "Cry For Me") and innocent charm as the young Bob, who matures over the course of the show into the brains behind the group.

The entire ensemble is fantastic, playing multiple roles (and sometimes instruments). It's worth noting that only three women (Jaycie Dotin, Marlana Dunn, and Leslie Rochette) play all of the women in boys' lives, and they had a lot of women in their lives - wives, lovers, daughters, singers. You'd think there were a dozen women in the cast as these three don a new personality with every new wig and fabulous '60s outfit, making each a full character in a limited amount of time. Last but not least is Barry Anderson as Bob Crewe, stealing scenes as the flamboyant (in a somewhat restrained '60s sort of way) producer.

Hayden Milanes, Drew Seeley, Matthew Dailey,
and Keith Hines (photo by Jeremy Daniel)

Of course these great songs wouldn't amount to much without a band behind them, and this Jersey Boys has a great one. Some of the band members are seen on stage throughout the show, particularly Mark Papazian on drums, who must get dizzy as he's wheeled on and off stage in different configurations. The horn section has their moment too, but after the curtain call is when the band really gets to rock out as they all come out on stage and play the audience out. They are some fierce musicians, and it's a shame most of them are hidden backstage somewhere for most of the show.

The story takes place in a variety of locations represented on a mostly sparse two-level set. For their TV appearances, we're watching the guys sing into the camera on the side of the stage while the video is projected on a screen at the back of the stage. The configuration then shifts so that they're singing out from the stage, as we willingly play the role of the audience. The entire thing is really smartly structured. Another nice touch are pop art illustrations on the video screen that are used sparingly to convey scene or tone.

Jersey Boys is a delightfully fun and entertaining night at the theater due to familiar great songs sharply delivered by the cast and band. But it's more than that - it's a human story told through music, which is what musical theater is about, jukebox** or no (continuing through this weekend only at the Orpheum Theatre in downtown Minneapolis).


*The Cherry and Spoon Music-Theater Spectrum (TM pending): in a musical, characters sing in character, expressing their emotions and moving the plot forward. In a play with music, the music takes place in context, with characters singing in a way that would make sense in real life, and don't sing as the character. If you take the music out of a play with music, it still makes sense, although some of the impact is lost. If you take the music out of a musical, the story no longer makes sense.
**I'm looking forward to seeing what sounds like another well-done jukebox musical, Beautiful, featuring the music and life story of Four Seasons contemporary Carole King, at the Orpheum next season.


This article also appears on Broadway World Minneapolis.

March Musical Madness!

Apparently there's some sort of sports tournament this month that's making everyone want to rank things in the form of brackets. I don't really get it, but when I saw this floating around the internet, I couldn't resist. 64 musicals are entered into this bracket, with many many one-on-one comparisons resulting in one musical theater winner. (Click on the bracket above to enlarge it.)

My method for filling this out was not to pick the "better" or "best" musical, because who am I to judge that? And with such diversity, from Oklahoma! to Book of Mormon, many comparisons are like apples to oranges. Instead, I chose the musicals that I enjoy the most, or that have meant the most to me, or that I see as important in musical theater history. I'm sure there are as many different results as there are people who fill this out. If this looks like fun to you, you can get a blank bracket here and fill it out yourself.

A few notes on some of the comparisons:

• Of the 64 musicals listed, there are 12 I have not seen on stage or screen (marked with a question mark). In those cases I chose the musical I have seen. I concede that those are uninformed decisions, and I may change my mind if and when I see those remaining 12.
• Anyone who knows me will not be surprised that RENT ended up as my ultimate winner. I'm not saying that RENT is the best musical ever written, but it's the one that's meant the most to me in my life, and continues to mean the most to me. When I first saw RENT on the Tonys in 1996 (where it won four awards, including best musical, book, and score), and then live on stage in 1997, I was fresh out of college, living on my own for the first time, going to grad school, with no car (literally "riding my bike midday past the three piece suits"), and it really struck a chord with me. I've seen it 13 times total, could sing the entire soundtrack, and will go see it any opportunity I get.
• Sound of Music ranked pretty high for me for mostly sentimental reasons. I've loved the movie since I was a kid, it was one of the two musicals for which I played in the pit orchestra in high school, and I studied abroad in Salzburg for a semester in college. Watching the movie is very nostalgic for me on many levels. But still, it lost out to...
• Wicked, which is one of those rare musicals that is both a huge success (it's been playing on Broadway for nine years and counting) and is actually really good. It's probably my favorite soundtrack to sing along with in my car.
• West Side Story is another of my favorite musical movies, but the reason it went all the way to the final battle is because of its place in musical theater history. Firstly, it's a collaboration of four giants in the music-theater-dance world - Stephen Sondheim (lyrics), Leonard Berstein (music), Jerome Robbins (choreography), and Arthur Laurents (director). The choreography is iconic and the music has become part of our popular culture. That's the reason it took out Book of Mormon (really unfair of Broadway.com to put them head to head in the first round), Next to Normal (which I think is one of the best musicals written in this century), and ...
• Hair. I love Hair, for itself and for its place in musical theater history. It's the first Broadway musical that reflected what was actually happening in the world right outside the theater. It may seem pretty safe today, but they were burning draft cards on stage in 1968, not to mention the drug use, nudity, and interracial relationships (shortly after the landmark Supreme Court case Loving v. Virginia). And it's another one where the music crossed over from the musical theater world into pop culture.
• For someone who often complains about jukebox musicals, Jersey Boys ranked pretty high on my bracket. Partly it's because of lack of competition, but I also think it's the exception that proves the rule. The clever book tells the story of the real musicians and their rise to and fall from fame, instead of some silly made up story to fit awkwardly into the songs.

I could go on and on, but it's Survivor night, so I'll leave it at that. Please comment below if you agree or disagree about a particular match-up!

2014 Update:
Of the 12 musicals I hadn't seen last year, I have seen one of them since - Phantom of the Opera. And I would still rank Oklahoma above it. Although after seeing a magical production of The Music Man by Ten Thousand Things recently, I would rank it above Oklahoma.

2015 Update:
Of the 11 musicals I hadn't seen last year, I have seen two of them since - Oliver! and Pippin. (And I plan to see two more this year - Damn Yankees at the Ordway and Carousel at Bloomington Civic Theatre.) As much as I loved Pippin, no way I'm ranking it above Hair. Oliver! vs. Billy Elliot is a bit tougher, I might have to say Oliver! because of the many familiar songs. In fact I may have to rethink that whole section in light of BCT's delightful production of Guys and Dolls last year. This bracket might look a little different if I filled it out today.

2016 Update:
Here it is, March again, and my CBS soaps are preempted. Must mean it's time to update this bracket. As I mentioned last year, I have checked off two more of those original unknown twelve, Damn Yankees and Carousel. And even though I enjoyed them both, I've still got to give it to The Full Monty (so fun!) and Company (probably my favorite Sondheim). The bracket is still available (although I wish they'd update it with new entries - hello Hamilton!) if you want to play along!

"Jersey Boys" at the Orpheum Theatre

The Tony award-winning musical Jersey Boys is what is called a jukebox musical* - a musical that's constructed around already existing popular songs and doesn't feature new music written expressly for the stage.  But unlike most jukebox musicals which feature a fictional story created to fit into and around the songs, often resulting in a convoluted or predictable story (e.g., Mamma Mia, Rock of Ages), Jersey Boys chronicles the true story of the 1960s American rock and roll band the Four Seasons.  Instead of forcing the story to fit the songs, the story takes center stage while the songs illustrate where the boys are in their career.  The book (by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice) is really well constructed and clever.  Each member of the original Four Seasons takes a turn narrating the show, giving their unique perspective on the rise and fall of the band, and how the constant touring and heightened fame took a tole on their personal lives.  As one of the boys says, "you sell 100 million records, see how you handle it."

The early life of the Four Seasons is told by Tommy DeVito, who (in his view) was responsible for getting the group together and managing the gigs and tours.  And he never lets the other guys forget it, which causes some tension as the years go on.  He's a smooth and cool charmer, and a bit of a bad boy (women, gambling, etc.).  Matt Bailey as Tommy has great charisma and a strong stage presence; I had a hard time taking my eyes off of him when he was on stage, no matter what else was going on.  When Tommy left the band in the second act and Matt left the stage, I felt his absence and anxiously awaited his return.

The next chapter of the story is told by Bob Gaudio, the young songwriter whose addition to the group spurred their early success, penning such hits as "Sherry," "Big Girls Don't Cry," and "Walk Like A Man."  The night I saw the show there was an understudy in the role.  I usually don't mind seeing an understudy (unless I know the usual actor), in fact it's sometimes fun to see an understudy give an all-out performance in one of their few opportunities to play the role.  Kevin Worley gave that kind of a performance; it felt like he had been out there every night with the other guys.  He sings my favorite song in the show, "Cry for Me," which is the first Four Seasons hit featured in the show; it's a show-stopper and a preview of what's to come.

In the second act, Nick Massi, the bassist and arranger, takes over the narration.  Nick is played by Steve Gouveia, who's been with the show since its pre-Broadway run in San Diego, which is evident in his comfort with the role.  Things start to go wrong with the group as the tensions build and the fame and expectations increase.  Tommy is forced to leave the group after his huge gambling debts are found out, and Nick chooses to walk away.  The final chapter is told by the most well-know member of the group, Frankie Valli, the man with the golden falsetto.  I saw an understudy in this role too; John Michael Dias is scheduled for a couple performances a week.  I imagine singing this show eight times a week is rough on the voice, so they have a regular understudy.  Again, he was great, growing from the naive 16-year-old kid whom Tommy takes under his wing, to the seasoned performer who keeps the group going when everyone else has left (in fact Frankie Valli is still touring today).  The show ends with the group's induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990, and the band is happily reunited for a final song ("Who Loves You") and a short postscript from each of the boys about what they're doing now.

As I mentioned earlier, the reason this show is successful (I mean that in artistic terms, since the songs alone would probably make it a commercial success, as countless jukebox musicals have proven*), is because of the way the show is constructed, including book, direction, and sets.  Singing under the streetlight effortlessly transforms into singing in the studio or a club.  One of my favorite devices is when the Four Seasons appear on the TV shows Ed Sullivan and American Bandstand.  You see the guys from the side, performing to the cameras, while on the screen behind them you see what it looks like on TV (I wonder how many versions of this they had to film with the various combinations of understudies).  Then they turn to face the audience like they're performing at a concert, and we the Jersey Boys audience play the role of the audience at a Four Seasons concert.  The screens also at times showcase fun 60s-era cartoons which add to the period feeling of the show, not to mention the fabulous Mad Men-esque wardrobe!

This is my second time seeing the show on tour, and I've been listening to and loving the soundtrack for the last three years ago.  The music is infectious, the cast is great (four strong leads plus a talented ensemble playing a huge number of roles), the well-told story is dramatic and funny and interesting.  And there's just something appealing about watching four men in matching well-tailored suits, singing great songs and performing smart choreography.  Jersey Boys is playing through May 8 at the Orpheum Theatre; there might be a few seats left if you hurry.


Continue reading if you're interested in a philosophical discussion of the state of musical theater today.  If not, thanks for reading this far!


*Last week I attended a "Broadway Confidential" talk (sponsored by Hennepin Theatre Trust) about the rise of the jukebox musical.  While I didn't enjoy it as much as the previous talk about HAIR! (I may be slightly biased because that's one of my favorite musicals and I find the historical and political implications fascinating), it was an interesting discussion.  Lori Maxwell, a local music director and director, talked about all the wonderful reasons that the jukebox musical is so successful (less risky, built in audience, makes a lot of money, etc.).  I tend to think of those reasons as negatives; to me they sound like consumerism, not art.  In some ways I think jukebox musicals are a cop-out - an easy way for Broadway producers to ensure a return on their investment and not take a risk on something new and innovative, which may or may not succeed.  These days most original musicals (Spring Awakening, Next to Normal (coming soon to the Ordway, go see it!), Scottsboro Boys, Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson) have to show a success Off-Broadway before producers will take a chance on them on a Broadway stage.  While something featuring the music of the Shirelles (Baby It's You) or pop hits (Priscilla Queen of the Desert) is guaranteed to sell tickets to people looking for nostalgia.  I think the audience has to take some responsibility too; both Scottsboro Boys and Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson ended their runs early last year, partly because of lack of ticket sales.  Whether on network TV or Broadway, producers are no longer willing to let an audience build slowly, insisting on instant success or pulling the plug.  There's plenty of new, original, innovative musical theater around (just in the last month I've seen two brilliantly inventive original musical pieces right here in Minnesota: The Age of Wordsworth and Heaven - which I think could and should play on Broadway), it's just that less and less of it can be seen on Broadway.  Jersey Boys is the exception that proves the rule - a jukebox musical that feels authentic and original, despite not featuring any original music.

I believe in the art form that is musical theater; there are no limits to the stories it can tell and the things it can do.  That's why I try to support original musical theater wherever I can find it!