Book: Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice
Music: Bob Gaudio
Lyrics: Bob Crewe
Director: Des McAnuff
One of the longest-running and best-loved jukebox musicals in London is playing with a new cast littered with West End debuts and is as brilliant and buoyant as ever.
For those unfamiliar, this is the story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, from the very start, beneath a streetlamp in New Jersey through to their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990. However, while on stage they appeared in perfect harmony, off it their lives were as discordant as it gets.
As Frankie, Luke Suri is excellent and gets better as the show progresses. He brings with him an energy akin to a young Michael Crawford and vocally he’s impressive, handling the Valli vocals well throughout, particularly in the bigger numbers. Declan Egan as Bob Gaudio is similarly good performing with generous sincerity and flawless clarity.
If Frankie and Bob are the Spring and Summer of the group, Nick and Tommy are Autumn and Winter respectively. They bring the darkness to the show, the New Jersey grounding that gives the show its authenticity. We begin the show with Tommy, played by Peter Nash, as our guide through the early years, with Nick as the other constant throughout, played by Karl James Wilson. The pair of them give commanding yet thoughtful performances.
The wider ensemble is excellent, most of them multi-rolling and doing so seamlessly. So too are the band, on stage for much of the show, in the middle of the action. The design and staging are simple, but pitched appropriately – this isn’t a show that needs anything else, it’s about the material and the music, and the design supports that. From the costumes to the lighting, everything is sympathetic and fitting.
The Jersey Boys has been playing in the Trafalgar Theatre since 2021 after it was sympathetically restored to its original heritage 1930s design. Complete with its original balcony, which was carefully stored away during the venue’s studio space years, it’s now back in all its glory. It’s an intimate and cosy venue which is perfect for a show like this.
For a show that’s been in the West End for over a decade, it shows little sign of abating. Its brief hiatus in 2017 has done nothing to quell the audience’s enthusiasm for the show and the songs. The music and the story speak for themselves; class is permanent.
Booking until January 2024
The Reviews Hub Score
Oh, What a Night!
