DIRECTED BY DES McANUFFPLAYING DETROIT’S MUSIC HALL DECEMBER 12-18, 2021
By: Diana Brang-Scott
JERSEY BOYS is the story of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons: Frankie Valli, Bob Gaudio, Tommy DeVito and Nick Massi. It is the story of how a group of four blue-collar kids from the wrong side of the tracks in New Jersey became one of the biggest American pop music sensations of all time. They wrote their own songs, invented their own unique sound and sold 175 million records worldwide – and they did it all before they were thirty years old. Their harmonies were perfect on stage, but off stage it was a very different story. This musical features Four Seasons’ hits as “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” “Sherry,” “Walk Like A Man,” “Oh, What A Night” and “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You.” In fact, there are 33 songs in the show, including 5 #1 hits, and 11 songs that made Billboard’s top ten! The Four Seasons and Frankie Valli had so many hit songs that 19 of them didn’t make it into the show and are listed in the playbill as “The Ones That Got Away” (including 4 top ten hits).
JERSEY BOYS is directed by Tony Award®-winner Des McAnuff, with book by Academy Award®-winner Marshall Brickman & Rick Elice, music by Bob Gaudio (founding member of The Four Seasons), lyrics by Bob Crewe (writer/producer for The Four Seasons) and choreography by Sergio Trujillo.
JERSEY BOYS is headed back to Detroit December 12th -18th and if you are a music fan you don’t want to miss this show. Jon Hacker from Cincinnati Ohio will be playing the role of Frankie Valli the youngest of the Four Seasons and who had a voice with a three-octave range and an unstoppable falsetto reach. Jon started with Jersey Boys back in 2016 and has been doing a duration of the show both on and off Broadway ever since. I asked Jon what it was like to play a real-life living music legend on stage? Jon laughed and said, “Its daunting to play a real-life living legend.” He continued and said, “I have had the opportunity to meet Frankie several times over the years and he is such a gracious person. We just try to do it justice and help tell their story and pay tribute to them.”
The Four Seasons were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990, I asked Jon if he has had the chance to view their exhibit? He said, “Yes, I have been there a few times, and actually the last time we played Cleveland back in 2019 we went to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and got to see all of their displays and the original sheet music for ‘Sherry’ that Bob Gaudio wrote. It was all pretty amazing to see the impact these guys had on music history.”
The JERSEY BOYS design and production team comprises Klara Zieglerova (Scenic Design), Jess Goldstein (Costume Design), Howell Binkley (winner of the 2006 Tony Award® for his Lighting Design of JERSEY BOYS) The audience is going to be dazzled by this shows sets, costumes, and lighting. There are a total of 196 costumes in the show, Frankie Valli alone has 12 quick changes and 15 outfits.
This show has so many famous songs, I asked Jon which one his favorite was and why? He said, “At the end of the show we do a song called ‘Rag Doll’. It’s the part of the show where the Four Seasons are coming back together after they had gone their separate ways, its such a beautiful song.” He went on to say, “This is my favorite song now because we have all been apart during the pandemic and coming together again means more now than it ever did before. It makes this song even more special. It wasn’t my favorite song before the pandemic but coming back and doing the show again this song now has so much more meaning to me.”
JERSEY BOYS is such an incredible spectacle and an amazing concert, what do you think the audience will be talking about on the drive home Jon? He laughed and said, “I hope they are humming along to ‘Sherry’. I had an old professor tell me once that if the audience isn’t humming the tunes when they come out of the show, then you didn’t do your job right.” He went on to say, “I also hope they are relating it to their own lives and maybe it will bring people together, even kindle old friendships. Because the message in this story is family. Family is everything, relationships, marriage, friendships, connecting us to each other.”
So, get the gang back together and come out and see Jon and the entire cast of JERSEY BOYS because it will be “Oh, What A Night!”
JERSEY BOYS, will be appearing December 12-18, 2021 at Music Hall, located at 350 Madison Avenue, in Detroit. Tickets for JERSEY BOYS can be purchased online at ticketmaster.com, by phone at 800-982-2787, and in person at the Fisher Theatre Box Office.
For more information on JERSEY BOYS, go to www.JerseyBoysInfo.com or www.BroadwayInDetroit.com.
