Review: The Boys are Back

The Actors’ Playhouse production of Jersey Boys hits all the high notes

By Tina Wingate

One of the areas where The Actor’s Playhouse at Miracle Theatre shines is with Broadway musicals, the ones you always wanted to see – and maybe did and you want to see again. Musicals like Mama Mia! and Memphis and On Your Feet! They bring these to life with a level of production value and professionalism that astonishes for a regional theater company. Jersey Boys is one of those musicals.

For those of you unfamiliar with Franki Valli and the Four Seasons, they were an American band born in Newark, New Jersey who turned their street acapella sound into a hit making machine in the 1960s and 1970s. Their singles from the 1960s include Sherry, Big Girls Don’t Cry, Walk Like a Man, Stay, Rag Doll, and Let’s Hang On, among many others. In the 1970s Franki was the only one left from the original lineup, but his iconic falsetto voice continued to propel him and the new band, with hits like My Eyes Adored You, C’mon Marianne, and Who Loves You. They were the Bebop American street pop alternative to the British Invasion and the American rockers.

Left to right, Domenic Servidio (Nick Massi), Quinn Corcoran (Bob Gaudio), Charles Skurnik (Frankie Valli), Nathan Cockroft (Tommy Devito)

The new production of Jersey Boys at the Miracle Theatre brings the pop culture of the ‘60s and ‘70s roaring back to life, with a cast of talented singers, musicians and actors. Lead actor Joshua Charles Skurnik, starring as Frankie Valli, was born to play the part. He has, in fact, made something of a career playing Mr. Valli, in a half dozen different productions, from New York to the Maine State Music Theater. And for good reason: his vocal range is nothing less than extraordinary. It must have required a massive talent search to find a singer that could sound so remarkably like Franki Valli.

The performance goes well beyond the music, however, or perhaps beneath the music, following the narrative of the band from its early days under the leadership of founding member Tommy Devito to its final evolution with Franki as the sole survivor and keeper of the flame. It also reveals the importance of band member Bob Gaudio, who wrote all the hit songs that eventually sold more than 100 million records worldwide.

The story is not all happy tunes, however, and there are some rough turns along the way (which we will not reveal). But there is also a fair smattering of comic relief throughout – like when Franki worries about going solo (“But will they like me by myself?” he asks Gaudio, who replies, “What makes you think they like you now?”), or when a then-retired Devito tells the audience, “I spend my days playing golf… and doing a little money laundering.” There is also comic relief from the character who plays Joe Pesci, who actually promoted the band before becoming an actor.

And then there are the songs. Some are performed by other cast members – like when the girl actors sing “My Boy Friend’s Back” – but most are snippets sung by a few band members or concert-level productions with everyone on deck. While live musicians perform behind a translucent curtain, adding authentic energy to the music, the boys from the band – played by Skurnik (Valli), Nathan Cockroft (Tommy Devito), Quinn Corcoran (Bob Gaudio) and Domenic Servidio (Nick Massi) – knock it out of the park. If nothing else, seeing Jersey Boys is like attending a live concert of the Four Seasons, a musical blast from the past.

Jersey Boys
Actor’s Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre
280 Miracle Mile
Through Feb. 23, Wed.-Sat. 8 pm, Sun. 2 pm
Tickets $50 to $100. Box Office: 305.444.9293
Actorsplayhouse.org