OH what a night! The delightful musical based on the seemingly endless catalogue of hits of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons just gets better and better. 

Jersey Boys has made a triumphant return to Mayflower Theatre, enjoying a lengthy standing ovation from pretty much every member of the packed crowd whose only complaint was that the finale didn't go on long enough. 

I've seen the show four or five times in London and Southampton and, like the songs of this enduring band, it seems to get better with age. 

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Unless you're a Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons aficionado, you will have probably forgotten much of the conveyor belt of brilliance they produced like I had. From Working My Way Back To You to Big Girls Don't Cry and from Can't Take My Eyes Off You to December 1963 (Oh What A Night), the songs from the pen of Bob Gaudio and Bob Crewe are here in all their glory. If only the show could have run longer as some of the best numbers had to be truncated as there were just so many of them. 

This is no jukebox musical where the hits from one band are shoehorned into a bizarre story that has no relevance to them whatsoever. Jersey Boys tells the band's own story from growing up on the mean streets of New Jersey to being inducted into the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame.

I loved the additional narration in this latest version of the show where each member of the band addresses the audience directly, giving them a real insight into the prison spells, mob connections and bad debts that blighted the band's soaring success which saw them record one number one after another. 

Daily Echo:

Jersey Boys has tight choreography, incredible musicianship and all-round incredible performances. The undoubted star of the show is Michael Pickering with an incredible vocal range in the lead role. I was never lucky enough to see the original perform live, but if even Frankie Valli was a better singer, I'd be amazed.

It hit all the high notes for me. 

Jersey Boys runs until Saturday July 16.

Tickets from mayflower.org.uk

 

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