by Lisa Jarisch

I lied. I do confess it, and I beg forgiveness in the name of famed Broadway critic Walter Kerr, and perhaps with the indulgence of Saint Genesius, the patron saint of theater. My last review predicted that Godspell would be the stellar highlight of the Mac-Haydn Theatre‘s 2023 season, the show whose quality in every area could not and would not be surpassed, the show which could not be deposed from its throne as THE watershed production of 2023. I was wrong. Without taking anything away from Trey Compton’s brilliant, edgy, electrifying production of Godspell, director John Saunder’s presentation of Jersey Boys at the very least shares those commendations and accolades in equal measure. Kindly set up a 2^nd throne for a show that left me, the self-admitted Queen of Overreach in Written and Uttered Word, absolutely speechless. And for anyone who knows me and my tendency to loquacity, this is the highest form of praise I can offer.

If you headed to the Mac expecting a concert of Frankie Valley and Four Seasons music, you weren’t wrong. If you headed to the Mac anticipating a full-scale musical with plot, musical numbers, character development, and drama, you weren’t wrong either. Nor will you be disappointed with this evening of purely perfect, brilliantly delivered musical theater. In Jersey Boys, Saunders has created another of his signature directorial triumphs, with a full-blooded, full-scale humdinger of a show, a good old-fashioned jukebox musical perfectly“seasoned” with incredible vocals and riveting performances, made all the more impressive and impactful because it is not “too good to be true” but actually true. This is the story, the ‘How it came to be” tale, of four guys from the Garden State who created the iconic sound arguably the most associated with Sixties music, that pesky British intrusion by those four Liverpool lads notwithstanding.

Saunders has created a veritable musical masterpiece directing the show created as a Rockumentary by original Four Seasons member Bob Gaudio. Unlike Mamma Mia, where ABBA songs are “cut into” an independent storyline, the songs in Jersey Boys ARE the story and they TELL the story,through a kind of biographical musical slide show. Each original member of the iconic, legendary Four Seasons quartet—Bob Gaudio, Tommy DeVito, Nick Massi, and Franki Valli– narrates a season of the group’s climb to fame and fortune, offering his version, or perspective, of the group’s history and his place in,and contribution to,their phenomenal success. The result is an unforgettable portrait painted in song and words. The lives, loves, losses, loyalties, and legacies of four guys from the Garden State unfold in almost perpetual motion, peppered with ‘authentic’ New Jersey language—beware the F word !–, bursting with in-depth characterization, and most of all vocally overflowing with virtually the entire Four Seasons body of work in a two hour extravaganza.

Although interspersed with many a non-musical moment of dialogue and action which flesh out, and indeed drive the action, the success of Jersey Boys ultimately depends entirely on the strength of the vocals. And what vocals these are! The Mac has assembled a veritable holy grail of performers to enact the title roles, and I have to confess I may have spent a good portion of the performance with my mouth gaping open, slack-jawed, in absolute awe of the perfection of sound coming from the golden throats of Conor Fallon, Andrew Burton Kelley, John Hannigan, Andrew Maguire. More on that “score”, so to speak, coming up.

But before the music, before the songs, before the creation of arguably the hottest, most successful Sixties band ever, are the real-life characters of the piece. The non-vocal performances of Fallon, Kelley, and Hannigan, each narrating their part of the story, are incomparable. Each embraces and truly personifies the character they represent, bringing a depth and veracity and sincerity to their roles that is essential to a fully-realized production.

Fresh from his triumphant performance as Jesus in the stunning production of Godspell, Conor Fallon is an incredibly vivid and convincing Tommy DeVito, self-proclaimed “brains of the operation”, the slick,sly, self-absorbed, mob-connected punk kid Jersey boy who swaggers on stage, full of Jersey accent and attitude, and narrates the “Spring” of the group’s birth. Taking full credit for recruiting a young Frankie Castelluccio into the group he is constantly-renaming,rebranding and reimagining, DeVito is the bad boy of the group, landing in prison more often than not, and maintaining close and dependent ties with the Jersey mob boss Gyp DeCarlo. Fallon is the very model of a Jersey bad boy, dropping F bombs as easily as DeVito drops the thousands of dollars into gambling debt which will eventually be his undoing. He projects an almost menacing physical presence when the situation calls for it, but he oh so deftly and smoothly swings into suave singer mode at a moment’s notice. When he’s not joining Valli and Nick Massi in song in their latest pre-Four Seasons incarnation, Devito’s Spring season includes a stint in prison for a parole violation, introducing Valli to his first wife Mary Delgado, and eventually meeting Bob Gaudio through the auspices of Joe Pesci….yes, THAT Joe Pesci, of Good Fellas and My Cousin Vinny fame. Fallon handles his role with finesse and power, one more star turn for Fallon to add to his repertoire.

Enter Andrew Burton Kelley as Bob Gaudio, already an established songwriter with the hit “Short Shorts, who agrees to spend “Summer” with Four-guys-in-search-of-their-sound in exchange for equal partnership and the retention of his songwriting rights. Intense and intent on achieving the greatness and success he senses are just a matter of time and timing, Gaudio works to develop the signature sound and look that will eventually come to be forever associated with the original Four Seasons. With Sherry, Big Girls Don’t Cry, and Walk Like a Man, Gaudio’s song-writing skills thrust the group into the spotlight they’ve been chasing through bars, state fairs,hotel lounges,and seamy nightclubs. Kelley gets his star turn when Nick Massi “rewards” him for the group’s burgeoning success with a woman who, shall we say, initiates him into the joys of manhood heretofore unexperienced. Kelley’s offering of “December ,1963(Oh, What a Night )” joyously commemorates such a momentous occasion, Kelley performing the number with great verve and not just a bit of manly pride.

Sadly, as Summer wanes, so do the relationships among the Jersey Boys and their lives, as DeVito’s gambling debts are out of control, Valli’s marriage has disintegrated, and hidden grudges and resentments are about to take their toll.Inevitably,Summer gives way to Fall, as John Hannigan brings great sensitivity and depth to probably the quietest, most introverted member of the group Nick Massi, whose narration fills in some gaps “conveniently” omitted from Tommy DeVito’s version of events. “Some things are getting left out,” he notes, including the group being jailed in Ohio for DeVito’s failure to pay a hotel bill, as the group musically accosts him as the “Big Man in Town.” Massi’s disillusionment at discovering decisions are being made without his knowledge, and DeVito’s escalating gambling debts which have spiralled out of control fuel his irritation; Hannigan’s portrayal perfectly captures Massi’s building frustration and rage with how things are going, or not going. Massi ultimately decides to quit the group, despite their musical plea to “Stay.”

And now, as for Frankie Valli….Nothing can diminish the quality and caliber of performances Fallon, Kelley, Hannigan, and remainder of the supporting cast and company bring to Jersey Boys, but without a doubt Andrew Maguire steals the show… in his Mac-Haydn debut, no less. As Frankie Valli, Maguire is nothing short of phenomenal, with a voice born to the role, hitting those iconic high falsetto notes with absolute purity and assurance. There is not one song, one vocal moment, one note out of tune or place over the two hour performance. Maguire clearly embraces Frankie Valli to his very core, both in the vocals and his dramatic performance. With his Winter narration, Maguire brings the seasonal tale to its end, so to speak, as the Winter of the quartet’s, and Valli’s personal, Discontent, descends upon the Jersey Boys. Nick Massi has left the group for a stable homelife, Tommy DeVito has been banished to Las Vegas, despite Gaudio and Valli having assumed his mammoth gambling debt, and overdue tax payments. That commitment weighs heavily on their shoulders and performance, as they struggle to create a new identity after the loss of Massi and DeVito. On the homefront, Valli’s daughter Francine has run away, and disassociated herself from her father, and Valli’s latest girlfriend Lorraine dumps him with little more than a “Bye, Bye Baby.” Adding new members to maintain a quartet, Gaudio and Valli eventually regenerate themselves, reaching a compromise that launches a solo career for Valli, but also keeping the group on the charts with hits of their own. Maguire delivering Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You, in its entirety, is more than a full-throated, vintage, classic homage to Frankie Valli—it is the epitome of the “Solo Valli Years,” encapsulating Valli’s essence to perfection. He brought the house down with applause surely as long and as loud as Valli himself garnered when he first debuted this signature piece. In my 20+ years enjoying the Mac’s offerings, I have observed many a standing ovation, but the lengthy, thunderous S.O. offered up to Maguire at the Opening Evening performance may be the most well-deserved in recent memory. His performance is a tour de force not soon to be forgotten, or likely surpassed.

To ultimately wrap up the Rockumentary of the legendary group, the finale presents the 1990 induction of the group into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, as the original Jersey Boys reunite, on stage, and resume their individual narration describing their then present-day situations. Want to know where they ended up? See the show, but know that at least for Valli, the early days were the best because “all there was,was the music. That was the best.” The same truly can be said for every minute of this production.
Throughout the show, in addition to their narrative duties, Fallon, Kelley and Hannigan offer their fabulous individual vocals to the more than two dozen Four Season classics that drive the show’s storyline forward at almost breakneck speed. Effortlessly breaking into song at the drop of a note, they vocalize and harmonize to perfection, mesmerizing the audience with their replication of the Four Seasons’ signature sound in every number. Each and every song is nothing less than stunning in its perfect capture of the classic Four Seasons sound.

Non-musical moments are as riveting and strong as the vocals which frame the entire production, and the performances of the company in various supporting roles leave indelible impressions. Of particular note is Gabe Belyeu as record producer and songwriter Bob Crewe, who during the Summer of the group’s essentially “befriends” the undiscovered “boy band,” helping them create an identity, brand themselves and who declares “ We’re going to make an experience” with the release of “Sherry”, which launches the group toward its apex. Belyeu can always be counted to embrace whatever role he undertakes. His performances are unfailingly filled with the sheer joy of being given the opportunity to perform, to portray a character and make it his own. He plays Bob Crewe with his usual aplomb, flouncing and charging about the stage and making the most of his moments on stage. Jacob Atkins plays Joey…AKA Joe Pesci …with an endearing hyperactive enthusiasm perfect for the character, and Kevin Weldon turns in a marvelous but all-too-brief appearance as New Jersey mob boss Gyp DeCarlo, a real life head of the the New Jersey crime syndicate “back in the day” Weldon is Marlin Brando’s Godfather without the mouth marbles– realistic, hilarious and eminently believable.

Obviously, the Jersey Boys themselves are the focus and center of the piece, but in this production, the limited number of performers from the distaff side cannot be ignored. The females more than hold their own. In fact their characters are vital to the telling of the tale with accuracy, in the documentary style in which it unfolds. As tough, brassy, bossy Jersey girl Mary Delgado, Valli’s first wife, and mother of the child whose death will eventually shatter his world, Rachel Pantazis creates powerful moments in her scenes with Maguire’s Valli. Her duet with Maguire of “My eyes adored you” musically mourns the demise of Valli’s and Mary’s marriage, and is filled with all the pain, regret, sorrow, and anger that comes from a shattered mariage. Maguire and Pantazis make magic together with this number. In a sensitively played role, Bella DePaola is the seemingly soft around the edges, but hard in the middle, Lorraine, Valli’s lady friend until the “winter” of his journey.

Various combinations of the cast add complexity and depth to the story, both in dramatic vignettes and an assortment of vocal numbers. As usual, Saunders extracts the very best from every member of his cast, who give every ounce of their considerable talents in support of the production.

Once again, Andrew Gmoser’s lighting is ideal, featuring increasingly strident, bright and intense spotlighting that –literally—reflects the quartet’s rising higher and higher on the charts. The atmosphere of the multiple clubs, state fairs, hotel lounges and other assorted venues is captured perfectly, giving each rapidly-changing scene and moment its own identity

Claire Mezzetta’s costume work is stunningly effective, particularly in her use of suit jackets, which the quartet change into with incredible rapidity. Each set of jackets gives a personal stamp of identity to the song being performed, with many a costume change executed flawlessly on-stage with never a moment’s pause in the action. No easy task, given the virtual perpetual motion taking place during every number. Kudos to choreographer Ashley DeLane Burger for her success in choreographing and coordinating the perfectly synchronized movements of legs and hands that came to be associated with the Four Seasons. A simple set design by Alivia Cross frames the action with its multiple-venue and stage look, old-fashioned microphones, and walls plastered with posters, tickets, handbills, group photos and publicity still and representing the long road from rags to riches traveled by the Jersey boys themselves.

This 2023 season at the Mac has been nothing short of spectacular. Jersey Boys keeps that going with a production that throbs, pulses and explodes with perfection in very note, every word, and every move. As one of my companions noted as the extended standing ovation opening night applause died away, “If you don’t use ‘Oh, what a night’ as your lead, you are missing the boat,” or words to that effect. He uttered them during the thunderous curtain call. I may not have taken his advice for the lead, but Jersey Boys is truly a show for any and all four seasons, and most definitely NOT not to be missed during its extended 3 week-run. Oh what a night indeed !

Jersey Boys Book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice. Music by Bob Gadio. Lyrics by Bob Crewe. Cast: Andew Maguire (Franki Valli). Andrew Burton Kelley (Bob Gaudio). Conor Fallon (Tommy DeVito) John Hannigan (Nick Massi). Gabe Belyeu (Bob Crewe, Nick DeVito and Others).Taye Martin (Hal Miller and Others).Kevin Weldon (DeCarlo and Others).Jacob Atkins (Joe Pesci and Others/Frankie Alternate).Matthew Harper Stevenson (Norm Waxman and Others). Stephanie Prestage (Francine Valli and Others). Cydney Gleckner (Swing).Rachel Pantazis (Mary Delgado and Others).Arthur Beutel (Hank Majewski and Others).Anthony Velez (Swing/Joe Pesci Alternate).Bella DePaola (Lorraine and Others). Directed by John Saunders.Music Director Eric Shorey. Assistant Music Director Alessandra Alcala.Choreographer Ashley DeLane Burger. Set Designer Alivia Cross. Lighting Designer Andrew Gmoser. Costume Designer Claire Mezzetta.Sound Designer Sean McGinley.Props Designer Adriana Ayala. Hair and Makeup Designer Emily Allen

Jersey Boys runs August 17-September 3, 2023, at the Mac-Haydn Theatre, 1925 State Route 203, Chatham, NY 12037. Call 518-392-9292 for tickets. Run time is 2 hours and 30 minutes, including intermission. http://www.machaydntheatre.org/