Jersey Boys

Okay, you can stop right here if you are at all adverse to cheesy goodness. Go do something else. But I have to sing it out.

I saw JERSEY BOYS. Friday night. Got the last seat in the house.

Friends, it was something else.

First of all, THE FOUR SEASONS were around when I was born. Gulp. My Uncle Gene had their records and played them all the time. (Note: My mother thinks Uncle Gene is gay. Even though he was a janitor and he was married to Aunt Lois and had four daughters and an illegitimate granddaughter and illegitimate great granddaughter and his lesbian daughter became a prison guard. No matter, he introduced me to WALK LIKE A MAN in Peekskill, NY in the early 1960’s.)

So, seeing this show was a bit like experiencing a time machine. Could that be what the producers wanted? No way. Was that why there was so much gray hair in the audience?

BEATLEMANIA!

All marketing ploys aside (and this thing is ploying), the damn thing works. Industrial stage set. Things move all around. Vignettes are quick cut. The VH1 type story of a rise to fortune, to losing fortune (but not so bad, this is a musical) and then rising to a level of survivorship, well, we’ve all heard/seen these stories before. But the execution in this case is quite wonderful. At times, they only deliver little pieces of songs and then move on. My favorite, of course, is the cheesiest song of them all, that seventies hit, WHO LOVES YOU. “Who loves you pretty baby, who’s gonna help you through the night. Who loves you pretty mamma, who’s always there to make it right. Who loves you. Who’s gonna love you love you love you...”

To wrap this up, what I have to say in my Broadway way is John Lloyd Young as the midget crooner, Frankie Valli, is unreal. Truly. The guy can really sing like a Bee-Gee on helium. It is ear blowing and quite joy making. He acts so well, too. Honestly, worth seeing the show to hear this guy.

Or you could just buy the old records. But I think this show is better than the records. And I think Uncle Gene is gay, too, but only because he came onto me a few years ago. Not really, but sort of.