@ His Majesty’s Theatre, Aberdeen, until Sat 14 Mar 2015 and
@ Theatre Royal, Glasgow, Tue 8 Dec 2015 – Sun 3 Jan 2016
“Is this like being in a fucking time machine or what?”
Jersey Boys has arrived in Aberdeen, and it does indeed feel like a journey back to a time where men walked like men, Liberace was ‘flamboyant’ and the only way out of the neighbourhood was through prison, the army or superstardom.
For the members of the Four Seasons, the road to fame and fortune was far from smooth, and the struggles of their early days of touring are explored with honesty and humour.
The hits are all here, and placed alongside real events manage to achieve a deeper meaning. After a slightly slow start, the energy builds and builds, deftly pacing the well-known hits and making good use of live on-stage musicians. The four stars are pitch perfect. Tim Driesen in particular recreates Frankie Valli’s unique voice with apparent effortlessness, and the show has the uniquely thrilling sense of dramatic irony that comes with true life stories. One sequence in particular, in which Bob Gaudio (Sam Ferriday) fights valiantly to have his new song played on the radio, ends with a cry of “play the fucking song already!” to knowing laughter from the audience.
A simple set is well-used and events such as the death of Valli’s daughter are treated with sensitivity and respect. Stephen Webb brings personality and conviction to the swaggering Tommy DeVito and Lewis Griffiths provides class and comic relief as Nick ‘the Ringo of the group’ Massi.
Jersey Boys is fantastically performed and slick, seamless scene changes add to an already tightly choreographed show. Whether or not you are familiar with the catalogue of the Four Seasons it is a highly entertaining, amusing and triumphant show.