“Jersey Boys” Draws Crowds

Jersey Boys is a thrilling Broadway musical about how the Four Seasons, a talented quartet made up of a crook, a writer, a teen, and a friend, came to be.

The crook in this story was Tommy DeVito, who was the first member and the one who started the whole group. DeVito was often in and out of jail due to various crimes, including robbery and drug dealing. He and his friend and brother, Nick DeVito, were singing at a club where they picked up Frankie Castelluccio, who later changed his name to Frankie Valli. With Valli’s beautiful tenor voice, and a new member and song writer, Bob Gaudio, the group was able to create their first hit, “Sherry.” Although the life of fame seems glamorous and exciting, Jersey Boys takes you behind the scenes of this early 1960’s rock/pop band to reveal the obstacles that the Four Seasons faced. The greed that came with the group’s fame led to alcohol, which led to debts, gambling, and disputes among the group members. As the years went on, some of the members of the Four Seasons left to go back to their families. DeVito left and led a low profile because of all the money he owed people. Frankie Valli, the youngest of the group, continued his career and eventually was able to pay off the money that DeVito had so carelessly spent.

The end of the play is where it all comes together. The Four Seasons, played by J. Robert Spencer, John Lloyd Young, Daniel Reichard, and Christian Hoff, perform “Who Loves You.” They then give a brief summary of what each member ended up doing for the rest of his life. The singing and music was spectacular, although I prefer Wicked’s storyline above Jersey Boys. Therefore, I give it a well-deserved rating of four out of five stars.