Set to the beautiful backdrop of the city’s first snowfall, the Fisher Theatre in downtown Detroit, Michigan eloquently glistened as it welcomed to its stage the hit Broadway musical “Jersey Boys – The Story of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons”. Making its Motown premiere, the Tony, Grammy and Olivier Award Winning Best Musical could not have found a more suitable temporary home for its national tour. With the original Hitsville U.S.A. building located hauntingly nearby, the collective sounds of The Four Tops, The Supremes and The Temptations seemed to still somehow resonate through the slight chill in the evening air.

Dressed in classy red vests the boys perform "Sherry"

Scored brilliantly by Bob Gaudio along with lyricist Bob Crewe, the documentary-style musical follows the rags-to-riches tale of how four New Jersey youths propelled themselves through a relentless music industry. This Italian-American quartet from Newark known as The Four Seasons, surprisingly overcame life’s misfortunes and released a slew of #1 songs in the early 60’s to become one of the greatest pop music sensations in history. Noted as being one of the few acts unblemished by the powerful British Invasion of 1964, the group catapulted to stardom as a result of a hand-shake musical agreement between Gaudio and Valli.

A "Jersey-style" contract

Opening on Broadway’s August Wilson Theatre to critical acclaim in November of 2005, “Jersey Boys” continues to break house records as it “doo-wops” its way through North America supporting its US National tour. With six other current productions running in New York, London, Chicago, Las Vegas, Toronto and Melbourne, “Jersey Boys” finally made its way to Detroit.  Alan Lichtenstein, executive director of Broadway in Detroit, the company which brought the musical to the Fisher Theatre, originally anticipated the show’s arrival two years prior. Its producers, however, felt it would unfavourably compete with “The Lion King” which was also currently running through the holiday season.

In the studio

“Jersey Boys” was passionate in its deliverance as its four key characters easily related to the Baby Boomer Generation in attendance. Matt Bailey convincingly captured the essence of founding Four Seasons member Tommy DeVito as his brawny, rebellious spirit dominated the stage. Occasionally comical, his love for women and gambling eventually lead him to the bitter hands of the mob who forced his departure from the group as the remaining members struggled to pay down his acquired debt. 

The Angels accompany The Four seasons on the road

Joseph Leo Bwarie portrayed the often shy and unsure Frankie Valli whose high tenor voice charmed a nation. His failed relationship attempts did not diminish his quest to chase ‘the song’, as his unmistakeable falsetto gripped the attention of gifted songwriter/ keyboardist Bob Gaudio, movingly played by Josh Franklin. With their bond now permanently sealed, an enraged and resentful DeVito continued down his road to nearly bankrupting the band.

Bwarie's emotional rendition of "Can't Take My Eyes Off You"

Original cast member Steve Gouveia supplied the low baritone voice of Nick Massi who began singing pop songs under a street lamp alongside Valli and DeVito. Coining himself as the “Ringo” of the group, Massi was responsible for shaping the vocal arrangements which set The Four Seasons’ style of harmony apart from other pop groups of their era. Strikingly impressive was Gouveia’s ability to perform intricate bass lines while singing harmony and moving to highly synchronized and complicated choreography.

"My Eyes Adored You" was Valli's first #1 hit as a solo artist

The show was energetic and fast-paced. We were captivated throughout Spring, Summer, Winter and Fall; the four acts which allowed a brief intermission at its midpoint. The audience was delighted as they witnessed the birth of the group’s classics “Big Girls Don’t Cry”, “Walk Like A Man”, “Sherry” and the unforgettable “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You”. This was by far the highlight of the evening. To not only hear, but to understand the creation of a soundtrack for a generation was every fans dream. Dazzling the crowd further was the band’s cleverly re-enacted performance on The Ed Sullivan Show where live video scenes hovered alongside actual footage from their historic appearance in 1962. With the show’s finale of the band’s induction into The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, the four original members ultimately reunited and independently reflected on their cavalcade of life events which lead them through their rise to stardom. “You ask four guys, you get four different answers”, the musical beckons. 

The finale

With appearances through to January 23, 2010, “Jersey Boys” will no doubt continue to break box office records in the Metro Detroit area. With the beautiful Fisher Theatre and all its splendour “Oh, What a Night” you’ll have indeed!

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