“Jersey Boys”

***** Over the years, we have been privileged to see many productions of “Jersey Boys”, the story of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons. The Broadway In Chicago productions have always been on one of the larger theater stages of Chicago. Even the CBIC a/k/a The Schubert Theatre was a fairly large venue when compared to Chicago’s Mercury Theater, where we just witnessed a stylized, intimate version of this musical tale. Under the direction of Brenda Didier and L. Walter Stearns, and styled choreography by Christopher Chase Carter, this version was one to beat the band.

The cast is superb and while it is small in numbers it is quite high in talent and the voices that we heard were more than amazing. As I said earlier, having seen this play before, I have seen ( and heard) a great number of voices bring this amazing vocal group to life, and Chicago, guess what? The four men who take the stage at The Mercury are as good as it gets. Adrian Aguilar is back on the stage in Chicago and I for one am glad to see that he returned to play Tommy Devito, the Jersey Boy who made it all happen. Jason Michael Evans is a terrific Nick Massi, Andrew MacNaughton, a brilliant Bob Gaudio and Michael Metcalf an incredible portrayal of Frankie Valli. These four men are amazing and I feel that they are an equal to any others we have seen in these roles. The Mercury should be proud that they have assembled local talent to bring this show the Chicago flavor of Jersey.

With a book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice and music by Bob Gaudio and lyrics by Bob Crewe this is a story about some guys who wanted to sing and we get to take the life trip with them, watching their highs and lows, their happiness and sadness and everything in between. It has taken a long time for Stearns and company to get this production on the Mercury stage, but they have done it and no matter how many times you may have seen the play in the past, you ain’t seen nothing yet! There is something special about seeing it on an intimate stage and being very close to the stage. There is no orchestra pit, but rather the musicians are on the stage, second level behind a curtain. Under the direction of  Eugene Dizon and Linda Madonia ( who was also the conductor and played the keyboards) they are flawless and never overpower the amazing voices onstage.

The set (Bob Knuth) is fairly simple allowing the scenes to move quickly. The lighting (Denise Karzcewski) and sound (Stefanie M. Senior) are perfect and the projections (G. “Max” Maxin IV) are powerful additions. Hats off to Lonnae Hickman for the props and the wigs are done to perfection by Kevin Barthal.

I am a true believer in the importance of the ensemble. In a musical, while we have the major players, often it is the minor roles that help convey the story and make it  clear for the viewer. This ensemble is “top notch” and they should be congratulated for their ability to play a multitude of characters and do so quickly and with style. Congrats to: Grant Alexander ( his Joe Pesci is terrific), Hannah Efsits,  Adam Fane ( His Bob Crewe was a dynamic portrayal), Dan Gold, Carl Herzog, Eric A. Lewis, Maya McQueen, Jason Richards, Haley Jane Schafer and Kayla Shipman. Great work!!

If you have never seen “Jersey Boys”, now is your chance! Do not miss this brilliant production. If you have seen the play, you will see it in a different light with this intimate production that will give you an eveing of great music and take you back to a time that was in my opinion, a better world to live in.

Songs like “Silhouettes”, “Earth Angel”, “My Mothers Eyes”, “Sherry”, “Walk Like A Man”, “Big Girls Don’t Cry”, “Rag Doll” and so many more will fill you with memories of your youth and growing up with these songs. When you hear the quartet do their “Who Loves You” with horns, a tear will fall from your eyes, FOR SURE!

“Jersey Boys” will continue Thru – July 28th with performances as follows: