How did four blue-collar kids become one of the greatest successes in pop music history? Find out at Broadway's runaway smash-hit, Jersey Boys. The Tony Award-winning Best Musical of the 2006 takes you up the charts, across the country and behind the music of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons.
As Clive Barnes in the New York Post says, 'It's just too good to be true.' Discover the secret of a 40-year friendship: four blue-collar kids working their way from the streets of Newark to the heights of stardom. And experience electrifying performances of the golden greats that took these guys all the way to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: 'Sherry,' 'Big Girls Don't Cry,' 'Can't Take My Eyes Off You,' 'Dawn,' 'My Eyes Adored You,' and more. The New York Times says, 'The crowd goes wild!'
Now a Major Motion Picture! Jersey Boys is directed by Des McAnuff, with book by Marshall Brickman & Rick Elice , music by Bob Gaudio and lyrics by Bob Crewe.
Why does 'Jersey Boys' succeed - and it does, exuberantly - when most jukebox musicals have been a pain in the Broadway butt? For starters, the creators of the show about Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons don't just love this blue-collar DNA-pop music from the '60s. Authors Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice, director Des McAnuff and choreographer Sergio Trujillo obviously also understand why they love these dopey romantic lyrics with the simple song structures, the gorgeous harmonic blends and the immaculate yet easygoing doo-wop beat.
Not a jukebox musical stuffed with golden oldies so much as a compelling bio-musical, 'Jersey Boys' gets plenty of mileage from can't-get-em-outta-your-head classics like 'Big Girls Don't Cry' while legitimately employing the music for dramatic purposes. Fluently scripted by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice, this classic rags-to-riches story is narrated in turn by each member of the 4 Seasons, beginning with Belleville wise guy Tommy DeVito, who organized the group between his visits to the slammer in the late 1950s. Energetically weaving story, songs, visuals and exciting performances into a can't-stop-the-music tidal wave, director Des McAnuff stages a compelling rush of events that pauses only occasionally to savor the beauty of certain songs. Live video is spliced with vintage film of '60s crowds reacting to the band or pop art-style cartoons that comment upon various moments.
| 2004 | San Diego, CA (Regional) |
Regional Premiere San Diego, CA (Regional) |
| 2005 | Broadway |
Original Broadway Production Broadway |
| 2006 | US Tour |
1st National Tour US Tour |
| 2007 | Chicago |
Chicago Production Chicago |
| 2008 | West End |
Original London Production West End |
| 2008 | Las Vegas |
Las Vegas Production Las Vegas |
| 2008 | Toronto |
Toronto Production Toronto |
| 2021 | West End |
West End |
| 2021 | West End |
West End |
| 2021 | West End |
West End |
| 2021 | West End |
London Production West End |
| 2021 | Off-Broadway |
Off-Broadway Revival Off-Broadway |
| 2021 | US Tour |
U.S. Tour US Tour |
| 2024 | US Tour |
US Tour US Tour |
| Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Production of a Musical | 0 |
| 2006 | The Hewes Awards | Lighting Design | Howell Binkley |
| 2006 | Theatre World Awards | Performance | John Lloyd Young |
| 2006 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical | Christian Hoff |
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