Tony Tuesday: JERSEY BOYS
Presented in a documentary-style format dramatising the formation, success and eventual break-up of the 1960’s group The Four Seasons, Jersey Boys is a jukebox musical which ran on Broadway from 2005-2017, officially opening on 6 November 2005.
With music by Bob Gaudio, lyrics by Bob Crewe and a book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice, the musical is structured as four “seasons” each narrated by a different member of the band telling their story from their own perspective.
When writing the script, Brickman and Elice used material from interviews with surviving members of the group. They were also contacted by family members of the late mob boss Gyp DeCarlo (who played a major role in their story) to ensure that he would be portrayed respectfully.
Original cast members included John Lloyd Young (Frankie Valli), Christian Hoff (Tommy DeVito), Daniel Reichard (Bob Gaudio) and J. Robert Spencer (Nick Massi).
The production premiered (in an out-of-town try-out) at the La Jolla Playhouse at University of California, San Diego on 5 October 2004, running until 16 January 2005.
An original cast recording was released in November 2005, winning the 2007 Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album and including songs such as ‘Big Girls Don’t Cry’, ‘Sherry’, ‘December 1963 (Oh What A Night)’, ‘My Eyes Adored You’, ‘Stay’, ‘Can’t Take My Eyes Off You’, ‘Walk Like A Man’, ‘Who Loves You’, ‘Working My Way Back To You’ and ‘Rag Doll’.
Since opening on Broadway, it has been on two North American national tours and three national tours of the UK and Ireland (2014, 2017 and 2021). Productions have also taken place in London’s West End (2008 and 2021), Las Vegas, Chicago, Toronto, Melbourne and other Australian cities, Singapore, South Africa, The Netherlands, Japan, Dubai and China.
It successfully won four Tony Awards and two Drama Desk Awards in 2006 in America and a Laurence Olivier Award in 2009 in the UK.
A film adaptation of the musical, directed by Clint Eastwood, was released in 2014 starring John Lloyd Young reprising his role as Frankie Valli.
There are currently productions of Jersey Boys running in the West End at The Trafalgar Theatre, a UK Tour as well as a US Tour and on Broadway.
FACTS:
Music: Bob Gaudio
Lyrics: Bob Crewe
Book: Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice
Theatre: August Wilson Theatre, Broadway
Run: 4 October 2005 – 15 January 2017
TONYS:
2006 (WON) Best Musical, Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical Performance (John Lloyd Young), Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical (Christian Hoff) and Best Lighting Design of a Musical (Howell Binkley).
(NOMINATED) Best Book of a Musical (Rick Elice and Marshall Brickman), Best Direction of a Musical (Des McAnuff), Best Orchestrations (Steve Orich) and Best Scenic Design of a Musical (Klara Zieglerova).
DRAMA DESK AWARD:
2006 (WON) Outstanding Actor in a Musical (John Lloyd Young) and Outstanding Sound Design (Steve Canyon Kennedy).
(NOMINATED) Outstanding Musical, Outstanding Book of a Musical (Rick Elise and Marshall Brickman), Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical (Christian Hoff and Daniel Reichard), Outstanding Choreography (Serjio Trujillo) and Outstanding Director of a Musical (Des McAnuff).
GRAMMY AWARD:
2007 (WON) Best Musical Show Album.
LAURENCE OLIVIER AWARD:
2009 (WON) Best New Musical.
(NOMINATED) Best Actor in a Musical (Ryan Molloy), Best Theatre Choreographer (Serjio Trujillo), Best Director (Des McAnuff) and Best Sound Design (Steve Canyon Kennedy).
Jersey Boys – 2021 West End Trailer: