Steadstyle Chicago
October 2007 Theatre Review by Richard Eisenhardt
Broadway tickets including Wicked tickets and Jersey Boys tickets are available at TickCo.com!
Jersey Boys
Critical Evaluation: **** out of ****
Michael Ingersoll, Jarrod Spector, Drew Gehling and Jeremy Kushnier star in the musical "Jersey Boys," presented by Broadway in Chicago at the LaSalle Bank Theatre. Photos by Joan Marcus.
The 2006 Tony Award winner "Jersey Boys" has opened in Chicago and it's everything one might expect it to be. "Jersey Boys" is the musical biography of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. The cast is exceptional and all are of a star caliber that includes Jarrod Spector as Frankie Valli, Drew Gehling as Bob Gaudio, Jeremy Kushnier as Tommy DeVito and Chicagoan Michael Ingersoll as Nick Massi. Ingersoll is a strong actor and singer as the quiet guy in the group, and he explodes in the second act explaining his troubles as a touring musician who wants to relax to home life.
The show offers audiences such hits as "Can't Take My Eyes Off of You," "Big Girls Don't Cry," "Rag Doll" and "Walk Like a Man." But "Jersey Boys" is not just a showcase of the songs made famous by the Four Seasons but is based on fact. The group sold over 175 million records and invented their own style. The boys are blue collar, and the show rarely leaps over the cliches of a gut and glamour story. The second act relates to the group breaking up. The book is by Marshall Brickman, Rick Elice and Bob Gaudio, and Bob Crewe wrote the music and lyrics.
The show is under the direction of two-time Tony Award winner Des McAnuff, and Sergio Trujillo is the choreographer. In addition to the four leads, McAnuff has put together a strong cast of fifteen actors who play various roles and move the evening along. The ensemble includes Lyndsey Cole, John Michael Coppola, Jenny Lee Ramos and Ryan Quinn West. Chicagoan Jonathan Weir has the role of Gyp DeCarlo, a mobbed up New Jersey gangster who helps launch the Four Seasons' careers. He also has the roles of a judge, bowling alley owner, record producer and priest. "Jersey Boys" is one terrific evening of theatre and deserves a long and prosperous run. The running time is about two hours and 15 minutes with intermission, but it all comes to an end too soon. Tickets range from $30 to $95. Call (312) 902-1400 or purchase them at the box office. Visit Broadway in Chicago for further information.
"Jersey Boys" is borrowing a question from their own infamous lyric, “Oh, won’t you stay just a little bit longer?” and answering for Chicago with a resounding YES. Broadway In Chicago and the producers of "Jersey Boys" are thrilled to announce that in response to overwhelming demand and critical acclaim, the record-breaking "Jersey Boys" will be staying for a lot longer by taking up residence in the Downtown Theatre District and calling Chicago home. "Jersey Boys" will continue performances for as long as the public demands at the LaSalle Bank Theatre, 18 West Monroe Street in Chicago.
"Jersey Boys," the story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, premiered in Chicago initially as a limited engagement in October 2007. After opening to rave reviews, adding additional performance weeks and setting four new box office records, "Jersey Boys" is proud to stay as Chicago’s own resident company. Tickets are currently available for performances through July 13, 2008. Producer Michael David said: "On behalf of 'Jersey Boys', its entire cast and crew — once potential carpet-baggers turned happy, new residents — I want to express our profound appreciation for the overwhelming welcome we have received here, and for the consequent happiness at being able to now truly plant ourselves in Chicago at the LaSalle Bank Theatre for a long time to come." “Chicago is one of those towns that make you want to go apartment hunting. Yea! It’s cold but the people are hot. Who loves you, Chicago? We do!” declares Bob Gaudio, principal songwriter and original member of The Four Seasons and composer of "Jersey Boys".
About Richard Eisenhardt
Richard
Eisenhardt is a lifelong Chicago theatre fan whose theatregoing
experience traces over half a century. Richard fell in love
with live performances at the age of five when his parents took him
to the Ice Follies, Ringing Brothers Circus and a revue featuring
Olsen and Johnson. His first major Broadway musical was at the
age of fifteen when his parents took him to see "South
Pacific" with Janet Blair and Richard Eastham at the old Shubert
(now LaSalle Bank) Theatre. When the Chicago Theatre, State
Lake Theatre, United Artist and Oriental Theatre ran movies and stage
shows, he went on a regular basis. He also purchased season
tickets for shows at the Blackstone, Shubert, Harris, Selwyn, Great
Northern and Erlanger, where the Theatre Guild and later Nederlander
organization booked major Broadway tours prior to Broadway in Chicago
taking over the market.
Before regional theatre, Chicago had its share of summer stock and dinner theatres and Richard had season tickets for all of them, including Drury Lane South at 95th and Western. In 1976 he attended a production of "Dillinger" at Victory Gardens Theatre when they staged shows at Club Metro. The play was written by William J. Norris and starred William Peterson. The show got decent reviews, but on a Friday night that Richard purchased a ticket, there were no more than 20 people in the audience. Richard felt it was necessary to make people aware of regional theatre in Chicago and decided to put together a homemade publication called "Theatre 76." Every year the date changed and it gave free publicity to theatres throughout Chicago and the suburbs from 1976 through 1995. Richard's reviews have appeared in Streetwise for fourteen years and also Our Village Publications. Steadstyle Chicago is happy to welcome reviews from this devoted theatre fan. Richard says "There is nothing like live theatre - long may it live."