Jersey Boys

Broadway, The West End, The Gold Coast - that’s not a combination you’ll see mentioned very often. The GC is a great holiday destination, but it’s not noted as a cultural Mecca and locals (there are more than 600,000 of us) either have to travel for an hour to Brisbane – where the train stops right outside QPAC – or rely on the many enthusiastic Community Theatre productions locally.

Legend House International is hoping to change that perception with its full-scale professional, all Queensland production of Jersey Boys which opened last night (Jan 6^th). Their plan is to mount productions in Queensland and then take them south, thus reversing the normal order of theatrical touring in Australia. Judging by their debut production here, they deserve to succeed.

As everyone (unless you’ve been quarantining in a cave) knows, Jersey Boys is the story of The Four Seasons and the group’s remarkable lead singer, Frankie Valli. I think I owned every Four Seasons album ever made when I was in my teens/early twenties, so I know the sound backwards, forwards, and inside out. Believe me when I say that I have never heard as closer sound to the original than I did last night. The vocals were absolute awe-inspiring. Close your eyes and you’ll be taken back more than fifty years to the originals – it’s astounding. Robert Clark is responsible for the vocal direction - as well as being producer and Musical Director (he’s a glutton for punishment) and he really deserves a medal for re-creating “the sound” so authentically.

The casting of the Four Seasons themselves is spot on. Thomas Armstrong-Robley is charismatic as the bombastic Tommy DeVito and owns the stage whenever he appears. He has a great voice and also directs the production very competently. That said, we all know how difficult it is to wear two hats at the one time and there are a few emotional beats that are missed along the way. The first night audience never seemed fully engaged except during the musical numbers, and we all know that Musical Theatre is about far more than just the music. He’s certainly a talent to watch and I hope his appeal as a performer isn’t lost entirely to the world of directing.

Bryn Jenke is simply stunning vocally as Frankie Valli – he has the tremolo, the slightly flattened intonation on the top notes, the range and the sustainability, and ease and flexibility in all of the renowned (and somewhat hokey) group moves. Small wonder he won a best actor award for this very role in a Community Theatre production of this show last year. But Community Theatre is not mainstage. Bryn can sing the bejesus out of this role (and any other I suspect) so now the emphasis has to be on the acting side, making us believe in Frankie as a human being and connecting emotionally. His adversarial scenes with Tommy, fuelled by anger, are great, but to truly love Frankie we must see the vulnerability.

Jack Saunders is a sheer delight as Bob Gaudio - the writer of the music for all those hits. He’s endearing and open and possesses a natural confidence on stage. He is incredibly young still, and I’ll be watching his ascent in the next few years. Elliot Baker may have had more acting experience or perhaps the role of Nick Massi is more developed in the libretto. Whatever the case, he brings a world-weary cynicism to Nick which is based in truth and totally credible from his very first line.

Backing up the Four Seasons themselves is a strong supporting cast. Isabella Cappelli is a force to be reckoned with. She has both presence and talent in Spades. As Mary Delgado, Frankie’s wife, she makes her mark in spite of the part being underwritten and is clearly a triple threat we will see a lot more of in the future. Dale Shearman sits comfortably in the role of Bob Crewe and impresses whenever he gets the chance, and Adrian Carr - as Gyp Decarlo (and others) – well, what can I say? He could upstage with just an expression, but he doesn’t. He’s a versatile actor of astonishing depth and with a great voice (the best Tevye I have ever seen…and I’ve seen Topol and Hayes Gordon) and a true professional. How lucky this production is to have him.

The show itself has problems within the book, which is dark, compared to the sunshine in the music. The first act plods along (for at least 20 minutes too long) in a linear narrative and the show doesn’t explode until The Four Seasons themselves come together and work symbiotic magic. But that’s not the fault of this production. Marshall Brickman is to blame. Having said that, more pace in Act One and making the most of the emotional beats to set up the joy of act two could go partway to balancing the two halves.

Finally, if you want to know what co-producers do in their spare time - well they act as Musical Director for a very excellent band and, after the cast has left the stage, Robert Clark (with just a touch of leftover Christmas Ham) gives an endearing performance strutting his stuff on the bandstand. It was sheer delight. And by that time we were all bopping in our seats to those classic and timeless songs.

2021 saw the excellent Matt Ward production of Mamma Mia! at Star Casino and now 2022 kicks off with Jersey Boys. Let’s hope this year cements these great beginnings and the Star becomes THE venue for Queensland born productions.

Coral Drouyn