Jersey Boys
Regent Theatre
Thursday, May 4
Dunedin's Regent Theatre is currently home for a week to Musical Theatre Dunedin’s season of internationally acclaimed musical Jersey Boys. Based on the real-life story of the 1960s group, the show is a cavalcade of history of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons, presented by the very best of local performers and musicians, with production and choreography from Stephen Robertson, and Stuart Walker directing a 10-piece band.
It’s a very demanding show and the vocal stamina and energy of all the cast, especially the four leads, was outstanding, as the lives of four boys from Jersey was chronologically recorded through the years, with prison sentences, bad debts and emotional highs and lows of their private lives.
I found the pace dragged somewhat for the first 15 minutes, through no fault of the production — that is the way the storyline unfolds, written in condensed historical cameos with song fragments. But everything fast forwarded from the moment The Four Seasons were formed and Sherry, Big Girls Don’t Cry and Walk Like a Man played out.
Frankie Valli (Max Beal), Bob Gaudio (Ben Thomas), Tommy DeVito (Greg MacLeod) and Nick Massi (Justin Wilson) achieved a great enactment, with fantastic likeness to the 1960s pop idols. Beal was amazing, creating a uniquely rich unwavering falsetto, and as with all the cast, maintained a distinctive harsh American accent.
A very workable set filled the stage with metal prison-like staircases taking action to a gantry, colourful projection highlighting changing scenes and slick prop-changing achieved by dancers and supporting cast.
Colourful authentic costuming sparkled where required. In supporting roles are Jack Archibald, Ben Hayward, Peter Hocking, Ben Johnson, Steve Jones, Hayley Lyndom, Charlotte McKay, Sophie Whibley and an ensemble of five. The production manager is Heidi Hayward.
Jersey Boys is known as a difficult show to produce, but Music Theatre Dunedin excelled in every way as they brought the pop world of yesteryear to the Regent.
Review by Elizabeth Bouman
