I'm not usually a big fan of "juke box musicals." Juke Box Musicals use the music of a band or a singer and shoe horn a story into a group of their songs. It tends to be painful and a huge stretch of the imagination. For reference see "Movin' Out" - HUGE fan of Billy Joel, HUGE disappointment of a musical.
For this reason, I wasn't overly excited about Jersey Boys. I assumed it would be just like Movin' Out. The story of the Four Seasons through their own music. And I just wasn't feeling it. Though, as it turns out, I was wrong. Jersey Boys is a juke box musical but they flipped the script a bit. Their story is mostly spoken. The only time you really hear their music is when the band is singing it on stages or in recording studios. It's actually pretty well done.
I will admit, the first half dragged a bit. There was a lot of music and not much action. However, after intermission, they really pulled it together. The actors playing the 4 Seasons, were sensational! Franki Valli is known for having the highest of high voices, and I was shocked they were able to find someone with that voice to play the part. He and the other 3 sang beautifully, and if they wanted, they could totally tour together - perhaps in a 4 Season tribute band...
Anyway, the show really won me over in the end. The big 11:00 number was "Who Loves You Pretty Baby? with the whole cast on stage, which was particularly great. Then to make me love them even more, they encored to "Oh What a Night..." my all time favorite! Such a fun song and such a great cast! All in a all, a fabulous night at the theatre.
PS - If you're ever in Baltimore and plan to see a show at the Hippodrome and you're over the height of 5 feet, be prepared for a very uncomfortable evening...I'm pretty sure the theatre was built by builders that forgot people have legs.
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