“I didn’t realize these Frankie Valli people were all a bunch of gangsters,” my friend Allison said on Friday night, echoing my thoughts exactly.
Maybe we’d been living under a rock all our lives, or we were just born past the time of knowing that a real-life Joe Pesci (literally) introduced the fourth member of the Four Seasons to what was then a trio, but boy, did we feel stupid.
Looking around the audience, it was easy to see why we didn’t quite remember the story of the origin and ultimate disbandment of The Four Seasons the way everyone else did: we weren’t alive then, and the rest of the audience had been. I like to think, though, that coming in blind made us enjoy the experience that much more.
The winner of multiple Tony Awards (including Best Musical 2006), Jersey Boys has been seen worldwide by approximately 13 million people. It’s no wonder it’s a hit: far from a standard jukebox musical, Jersey Boys brings a real plot to the table – one in which older audience members feel personally invested, and in which younger audience members feel emotionally invested.
But it’s really the music that gets you.
Continuing our exploration into naivette, Allison and I commented to each other, “I had no idea all those songs were from The Four Seasons.”
“Sherry,” “Walk Like a Man,” “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” “December 1963 (Oh What A Night),” and so many more – the hits just keep rolling, and you’re constantly surprised to find that yes, indeed, even THAT one was a Four Seasons tune. It’s hard not to clap your hands and sing along to the tunes you didn’t even know you knew (although, please don’t – that’s way freaking annoying), and you really leave ready to go home, blast some oldies, and Wikipedia Joe Pesci… because, I mean, who knew?
If you haven’t seen this incredible show yet, Atlanta, now is your chance to get your hot patooties to the Fox before the show leaves on June 10th. Learn more at JerseyBoysInfo.com/Tour, and tell ‘em I sent ya!
