Jersey Boys Toronto

“Sherrrrrr errrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr errrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrryyyyyyyyyy bab-yay-bee… Sherry Baby”…. If you haven’t guessed, Bub and I (along with FIL and SMIL) went to see Jersey Boys this past Saturday in The City. It was a really cute musical following the story of Frankie Valli (“and that’s Valli with an I because Y’s are bullshit”) and the Four Seasons. We really enjoyed it and seriously didn’t realize how many Four Seasons songs I actually knew.

I’ve seen a lot of musicals, including On Broadway, Off Broadway and Off Off Broadway productions, and I can’t call Jersey Boys a favorite, but it was still very enjoyable and I would recommend seeing it if it’s somewhere near you.

I think I’m in lurve with the actor who played Tommy DeVito, Daniel Robert Sullivan. Clearly, his jersey accent was for the show, but there was something about his attitude and charisma that I couldn’t take my eyes off of, and I’ve been thinking about him since. To be truthful, he’s not bad to look at either. I’d like to see him in a different role so I can tell if his charisma was through the character (Tommy) or the actor (Daniel).

We saw an alternate for Frankie Valli, actor Aaron MacKenzie, who did a fantastic job. I didn’t know there were enough people in the world who could sing in the range of Frankie Valli, to have several productions of the show running around the world. This guy hit it though, and sounded just like him. Since I didn’t know the lead and because Aaron did such a great job, I didn’t mind seeing an alternate at all. In fact, for whatever reason, Bub and I seem to end up with an alternate or an understudy I most productions that we see. We saw the Sound of Music in August and we saw Maria’s understudy (she was great- apparently better than the lead) and the last time we saw the Phantom of the Opera (my all-time favorite) the lead for Christine Daae got sick at the beginning of the production and the understudy stepped in mid-way through the show (again- after you got used to the sudden change, she did a great job). I’ve never been disappointed seeing an alternate.

All in all, the staging was very cute and well done, the use of the songs was great and the cast was incredibly talented. I give it 4/5 stars and, although I wouldn’t rush to see it again, I’m so happy that I go to go and would recommend that everyone who enjoys theatre to take and afternoon and go see it.

photos : jerseyboystoronto.com