Few musicals get heads nodding and toes tapping like Jersey Boys. The Broadway smash hit chronicles the story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, a singing troupe that rose to fame in the ’60s, known for their shiny suits, slicked-back hair and smooth crooning.
Hit songs like ‘Big Girls Don’t Cry,’ ‘Walk Like a Man’ and – one of the greatest love songs of all time – ‘Can’t Take My Eyes Off You’ propelled the group to the top of the charts and sold hundreds of millions of records worldwide. The Tony Award-winning musical Jersey Boys, which debuts in Beijing this month, tells their story.
It begins in Newark, New Jersey, a rough area where, as character Tommy DeVito tells the audience, there are only three ways to break out of poverty: enrolling in the military, joining the mob or… singing.
Frankie Valli was a talented Newark resident with an ear for music, but it wasn’t until he met songwriter Bob Gaudio that he found the ‘Four Seasons sound.’ Matt Blaker, the West End-trained actor who plays Gaudio, says the scene where are four singers come together is “a raw and brilliant moment for the four of us.”
“In the show, you’ll witness Frankie’s whole life story, as you can see him grow up from a 16-year-old boy to a 67-year-old man,” says Luke Street, who plays Valli. “I’m only 24, so this has been an enjoyable challenge for me to portray his development as a person.”
Hailing from a small town in the southwest of England, Street says that he discovered his love for music before moving to London to pursue a career in the performance arts, just like the four ‘Jersey Boys’ did in Newark.
The Four Seasons’ story may be less relatable to those in China. But the songs get heads nodding and toes tapping in any language.
Sat Dec 30- Sat Jan 13, 7.30pm (weekend matinees, 2.30pm); RMB199-1,299; Beijing Tianqiao Performing Arts Center, see event listing.
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