Written By Mary Damiano
Originally published on artburstmiami.com.
“Jersey Boys” has finally arrived at Actors’ Playhouse in a lively production sure to have audiences on their feet, mouthing the words, and surreptitiously singing along.
In case you’ve been living under a musical theater rock for the past 21 years, “Jersey Boys” is a jukebox musical about the chart-topping quartet the Four Seasons – from their hardscrabble beginnings in New Jersey in the 1950s to their induction in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990. The musical debuted on Broadway in 2005 and spent the next 12 years there, in addition to touring the world.
At the Actors’ Playhouse opening night, artistic director David Arisco and director of the production said in his curtain speech that he’d been waiting since 2005 to get the rights for “Jersey Boys.” It was worth the wait.
The structure of the show is that each of the original members of the Four Seasons – Frankie Valli, Tommy DeVito, Nick Massi, and Bob Gaudio – tell their versions of the story of the group. With a few exceptions, the Four Seasons’ songs are used chronologically to portray the group’s rise to super stardom.
The story begins in the 1950s with Tommy DeVito (Nathan Cockroft), and the various incarnations of his early bands with his friend, Nick Massi (Domenic Servidio).
Tommy meets Frankie Valli, (Joshua Charles Skurnik) a young teen with the voice – and falsetto – of an angel and brings him into the group. They flounder under a constantly changing band name and revolving door of musicians in that fourth slot, until a friend of Tommy’s named Joey (Tony Lawrence Clements) introduces the band to Bob Gaudio (Quinn Corcoran). Gaudio is a songwriter, keyboardist, and singer who’s already had a hit song with another band. He joins the group, the Four Seasons are born, and suddenly the sky is the limit.
“Jersey Boys” focuses on the music and hits, including “Sherry,” “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” and “Walk Like a Man,” but doesn’t shy away from the darker side of those happy years, which includes financial mismanagement, infighting, personal loss, and the eventual replacement of some of the original members. And while there is drama and plenty at stake, “Jersey Boys” always returns to the resilience of Valli – the man is in his 90s and still touring – and the longevity of the music.
The actors capture the sound and harmonies of the actual Four Seasons, and many of the musical numbers are staged so the audience feels they’re at one of the band’s concerts in the 1960s.
The four leads are the only cast members who play a single character; everyone else has multiple roles.
Michael Scott Ross brings plenty of humor to his main role as Bob Crewe, the astrology-loving, flamboyant songwriter and producer for the Four Seasons. Seth Trucks excels as Gyp, the mobster friend to the band, as well as other characters throughout the show. And in a sea of male characters, Elaine Cotter delivers a standout performance as Mary Delgado, Frankie Valli’s first wife.
Cockroft nails the Jersey attitude needed to play DeVito, and he’s a fine singer, too, as he demonstrates on “Earth Angel” early in the show. If there’s a villain in “Jersey Boys,” it’s DeVito, and Cockroft leans into that, but also imbues his character with an invincibility and affability that makes his behavior believable and forgivable.
Corcoran plays Gaudio, one of the lynchpins to the band’s success, with an otherness that fits the show and character. While Gaudio was a team player, his Jersey upbringing was suburban, unlike Tommy, Nick, and Frankie, and that has an impact on his perspective. Corcoran plays Gaudio with refinement and warmth, and performs the classic 1975 hit, “December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night)” to perfection.
Servidio is spot on as Nick Massi, a man of few words, although when he does let loose, it’s fabulous. Servidio’s big spotlight scene is when impeccably groomed, fastidious Nick finally vents to the rest of the group about what it’s like to share a hotel room with Tommy, a thoughtless, disgusting slob. It’s a very funny scene, made all the more comical by Servidio’s explosive delivery.
Skurnik is a Jersey boy (from Bergen, N.J.) in real life and does a fine job portraying fellow native Frankie Valli. Although Skurnik’s voice has a nasal quality that comes through on some songs, his interpretation succeeds on most of the Four Seasons songs as well as Frankie Valli’s solo hits. He’s particularly great in portraying the evolution of a singer’s voice – as a very young Frankie he sounds like Mickey Mouse – and Skurnik’s voice in the show matures as his character ages.
Brandon M. Newton’s interpretation of the “Jersey Boys” scenic design of two metal staircases on each side of the stage flanking a narrow runway overhead is the perfect frame for all of the locations in the show. Ellis Tillman’s costumes are fun and evoke their period setting, especially in the free-wheeling 1960s. Eric Nelson’s lighting design gives the show a real-life concert vibe. Reidar Sorensen’s sound is crisp, clear, and does not overpower the performers.
A special shout-out to the excellent nine-piece live band, who perform onstage, behind the set and performers. They do a lot of the heavy lifting in “Jersey Boys,” and perform each song beautifully.
There’s a reason “Jersey Boys” spent 12 years on Broadway and has played to packed houses throughout the world. It’s fun and it’s nostalgia at its best.
Whether you’ve seen the show before or it’s your first time with the “Jersey Boys,” the Actors’ Playhouse production is a great way to experience the music of the Four Seasons — a part of the soundtrack of our lives.
WHAT: “Jersey Boys”
WHERE: Actors’ Playhouse at The Miracle Theatre, 280 Miracle Mile, Coral Gables
WHEN: 8 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday; 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday through Sunday, Feb. 23.
COST: $50, $60, and $70, weekdays; $65, $75, and $85, weekends.
