To many, Frankie Valli and the
Four Seasons provided the soundtrack to more than 3 decades from the 50’s to
the 70’s, but it’s testament to the quality of their music that so many of
their hits are recognised by todays younger listeners, both in their original
form and through covers.
New Jersey Nights is a high
octane, non-stop show which whistles through the catalogue with each of the
four, Joshua Dever, William Hazel,
Duncan Heather & Ricky Rojas sharing the distinctive falsetto rich lead,
ably backed by an equally energetic rock band.
With such a huge list of hits,
the danger was what would have to be left out, rather than what was included; for
true fans there were some abridged versions which may have left them feeling a
little short changed, but there was little time to lament a few missed verses
as the familiar chords of the next mega hit kicked in.
Hits like Walk Like a Man,
Sherry, Oh What a Night, Can’t Take my Eyes Off You, My Eyes Adored You and of
course the title track from the musical Grease kept the audience singing and
dancing throughout the evening. A brief
interlude (no doubt to let the guys rest their throats from hitting the
Valli-esque high notes) had the three backing dancers perform a couple of Phil
Spectre ‘Wall of Sound’ tunes, further adding to the richness of the acoustic
treats on offer.
Whilst this is not the Jersey
Boys approach to retelling the bands’ story, the cast do manage to bring some trivia,
background and no shortage of humour, making this more than just a greatest
hits show. Perhaps most telling was that
even on a snow blighted Tuesday in January, the theatre was well over half full
with every age up and dancing during the medley encore, a great way to start
the new year and guaranteed to have everyone humming tunes on their way home.
