A Small Mind At The Theatre

It's still early but with Jersey Boys, I have already seen a strong contender for one of my picks of the year. It helps perhaps that I have long been a fan of its subject matter, the incredible Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons. However being a fan is far from a requirement to enjoy this quite incredible show. There is surely not anyone out there that could not garner some amount of joy from songs like Sherry and Walk Like Man . If however there is someone of that persuasion, Jersey Boys also brings a wonderful recreation of the gritty story of the creation of the musical legends that you might love, or if not a theatre production of vast production values.  This all comes together to create quite a spectacle. The early part of the play is told through the eyes of Tommy DeVito, one of a trio with his two brothers. Playing DeVito with a toughness and more than an edge of self imposed superiority is Stephen Webb, and he successfully carries the story along...

THIS REVIEW WAS ORIGINALLY WRITTEN FOR THE PUBLIC REVIEWS. Since its inception on Broadway in 2005 and subsequent tours across the world, the musical Jersey Boys has popularised the music of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons for a very new generation and refreshed it for the old. As an effect of this New Jersey Nights has been born. Cynically this could be regarded as a cheap cash in for those revitalised new and old fans and when first entering the theatre the stage set could suggest that. Comprising of a bland makeshift bar set-up (backboards on wheels portraying the walls, a bar and to the right a table and chairs), it doesn't look particularly inviting. However as the four piece band take their places, initially behind the bar walls and a lone barman fiddles with the vintage radio for a signal, the stage soon becomes alive. First the six dancers take to the stage dancing to a none Frankie Valli song and then the Four Seasons themselves take to the stage. Co...