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Sunday August 1, 2010

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Jersey Boys

Posted by: Loretta Ryan | 7 July, 2009 - 12:59 PM
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JERSEY BOYS  BLOG  - LORETTA RYAN

Look at the images here

“OH WHAT A NIGHT” .. and it certainly was...

I am still buzzing from the opening night of the JERSEY BOYS in Melbourne.

The story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons is a warts and all look at the blue collar boys from the wrong side of the tracks who became one of the biggest pop sensations to come out of America.

While most of us remember their music, not many of us know the true story behind the band – how they got together and what eventually tore them apart.

FRANKIE  VALLI,  TOMMY DeVITO , NICK MASSI, and BOB GAUDIO were far from the clean cut lads the public saw. They grew up on the tough streets of Newark, New Jersey and had several brushes with the law. In fact De Vito and Massi spent time behind bars.

The Mafia helped their early career – a unsavoury link that would ultimately lead to their break up..

The JERSEY BOYS  had me sitting on the edge of my seat, not just because of the music but also the intriguing story.

I was lucky enough to meet BOB GAUDIO at the opening night – an amazing man who wrote his first hit at 15 “ Who Wears Short Shorts”  for the Royal Teens.

He went on to become the founding member of the Four Seasons and the principal songwriter and later produced for the likes of Neil Diamond, Frank Sinatra, Diana Ross and Michael Jackson.

It was GAUDIO who first noticed the uniqueness of a young FRANKIE VALLI’s voice and said after eight bars he knew he needed to write for that voice, the result was the hit Sherry, which GAUDIO penned off the cuff in just 15 minutes..!

Obviously the casting of FRANKIE VALLI for the JERSEY BOYS production was going to be tough. Where do you find a singer who can recreate the VALLI sound. He also had to be, well, short !

I must say I was wondering if the performer chosen could live up to the task . He does more than that. Watching BOBBY FOX is like seeing and hearing the real FRANKIE VALLI on stage..

Absolutely brilliant, and with the superb backing from  SCOTT JOHNSON( DE VITO), GLASTON TOFT (MASSI ) and STEPHEN MAHY ( GAUDIO), it’s like a step back in time to those hey days of the 50s and 60s ..

The JERSEY BOYS – the story of Franki Valli and the Four Seasons is showing at MELBOURNE’S charming PRINCESS theatre. It’s certainly worth the flight!

Blog comments Your Say

  • nice couple and has great look i like it

    Sara Jhon Tuesday 3 November, 2009 - 12:56 AM

  • As many of Musicals lovers I LOVE Jersey Boys! It is my favourite ever... Last year I’ve been in NY & I tried to get my ticket …guess what everything was sold out that show how great the show is. Anyhow I end up getting it from a site through Horizontickets.com. Next week I’m going to visit my sister and I just got some pretty good tix from the same place
    http://www.horizontickets.com/theater/tickets-jersey-boys/
    So I'll be analyzing as well as enjoying the show.

    Sarah Monday 26 October, 2009 - 8:10 PM

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