SALT LAKE CITY – Pioneer Theatre Company opens its 2024-2025 season with an energetic production of Jersey Boys. The Broadway musical with book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice, music by Bob Gaudio and lyrics by Bob Crewe is based on the lives and music of the original members of the Four Seasons musical sensation of the 1960s.
Show closes September 28, 2024.
Patrons are taken back a few decades when entering the historic Roy W. and Elizabeth E. Simmons Pioneer Memorial Theatre as the lobby is filled with songs of the 1960s, played by a skilled pianist. Upon taking my seat I noted the proscenium stage with scenic design by Jo Winiarski that is adorned with New Jersey turnpike exit signs and a view of the Jersey City skyline spread across a drop upstage as a live orchestra warms up in the pit below.
Director and Choreographer Karen Azenberg’s director’s note is concise to the point of scarcity—she discusses the director’s role and her desire to make PTC’s production fresh and for this particular moment. I like to read the Director’s Note to get a sense of what a director is trying to say before going into the production. Azenberg’s note however left me not knowing what to expect beyond the general premise and my own familiarity with the Four Season’s hits, limited to exposure as a child to the music of my mother’s young adulthood. The upside of this is that I got to experience the show without any real preconceptions.
The cast of Jersey Boys at Pioneer Theatre Company.
The story Brickman and Elice have created is surprisingly well-structured. I’ve seen other musicals centered around a particular artist’s music that are weak on plot. The writers have interwoven the music in such a way that every song seems to support and move the plot forward—and there are a lot of songs. However the songs don’t pull you out of the story, nor do they drag down the momentum of the show. Quite the opposite in fact. Each song seems to arise directly out of the plot, enriching and enhancing the moment, and then walks you back into the throughline seamlessly. Jersey Boys is a love letter to the music—none of the 34 musical numbers feels too long or indulgent. In fact, at nearly every turn I found myself wanting just a little bit more—this is the sweet spot for keeping an audience engaged in both the music and the story it supports. This show is definitely not a concert repackaged as a musical—though it does at moments feel like you’re at a concert, it never wavers from the story it is trying to tell. This is the genius of the script.
Much like the music, Azenberg’s skillful directing seamlessly and effortlessly allows the show to move in and out of scenes and songs with the new scenery coalescing around the given narrator as a new scene takes the stage and one evolves into the next. As such, the show doesn’t drag. It has an energy of text, music and movement that is visually engaging and well- paced from curtain to curtain.
Azenberg’s choreography is similarly well done. It is at turns both simple and complex and is evocative of the era and the group, yet polished and turned up just the right amount for a bit of that Broadway feel. The “Sherry” sequence, the moment the production moves from exposition into the Four Seasons as the public knew them, is an excellent example of how Azenberg’s choreography dovetails with the writers’ and musicians’ genius and the actors’ skill to drive the action of the show into the next and most famous era of the group. Similarly, “My Eyes Adore You” and “Fallen Angel” weave in and through two dark moments in Frankie Valli’s personal life with heartbreaking emotion.
The production is technically sound. The costuming by Brenda Van Der Wiel progresses adeptly from the 1950s through the 1970s and is visually captivating, with particularly notable details in the 1950s segment in the early part of the show. The finale with the cast all in white, from the go-go dresses to the sequined jackets is visually stunning. Winiarski’s set is both rich and simple with flat flies covering and exposing in turn, the depth of the stage, focusing attention when and where it is needed. Although there are a few set pieces that do more to crowd the space than enhance the production, such as a large bed rolled out a couple of times for little payoff, and the foot-powered cars (which are a bit silly in their Flintstone-esque operation), they get the job done. For the most part the set pieces are well utilized and versatile and move in and out of the space with ease, including the large rolling bandstand which provides useful levels and visual interest in multiple scenes. The lighting design by Christina Watanabe supports the needs of the production without trying to steal the show. However, Watanabe inserts a glorious moment of disco-ball magic that bathes the entire house during “I Need You Baby” that made me want to get up and dance.
The cast is extremely talented. Dialects, coached by Sarah Shippobotham are quite strong throughout despite a few moments that could have benefited from greater enunciation. Nonetheless, the casting choices for this production are excellent. All fifteen actors and vocalists infuse the show with energy and skill.
Tommy DeVito, played by Adam Enrique Hollick, comes out of the gate strong, setting up the audience carefully and clearly for the story they are about to tell. Frankie Valli, played astoundingly well by Trevor James who builds his character’s arc from young, inexperienced kid to front man of the famous quartet with superb skill. James is able to not only capture the development of Valli’s character from immaturity to mature complexity, but his exceptional vocal ability portrays the development of the singer’s voice along the same arc. Bob Gaudio, played by Daxton Bloomquist and Nick Massi played by Brent Thiessen create distinct characters making up the other half of the famous quartet. Each of these four actors interact with the exemplary script to build their characters and tell their story distinctly and masterfully. The humanity, good and bad of each icon are put on display in a way that allows audience to engage and care about them despite their human failings.
All in all PTC’s Jersey Boys is an exciting and moving piece of theatre. Whether you grew up listening to Frankie Valli or are newly initiated, this production does not disappoint.
