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Oh
What A Night!
Jersey Boys
Sunderland Empire
Until Saturday 19th September 2015
Jersey Boys has been seen by over 22
million people worldwide and is
firmly established as one of London's
longest running and most popular shows. Packed full of great hits such as Big Girls Don’t Cry and Walk Like a Man the show quickly gets a
reaction from the audience.
Darlington-born Matt Corner plays the role of
Frankie Valli in the ongoing UK and Ireland tour of
Tony, Olivier and Grammy Award-winning Best Musical Jersey Boys. He is simply stunning and is perfect for the role. In
particular, his rendition of Can’t Take
My Eyes Off You will live long in the memory.
Supporting Matt are Sam Ferriday as
capable Bob Gaudio and Lewis Griffiths providing the bass notes and laughs as
Nick Massi. Henry Davis completed the line up with the challenging role of band
leader Tommy DeVito. Tommy often had to narrate the story in the first half as
well as sing and Henry performed the role wonderfully.
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Photo:
Helen Maybanks
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The Four Seasons came from challenging
backgrounds in New
Jersey, USA. They were not strangers to prison and between them
they had a long list of petty crimes. Jersey Boys takes the audience through
the early years with its line up and name changes before they settled on the
name after staying at a Four Seasons hotel.
The pace, under Des McAnuff’s direction is
frantic in the first half. The story quickly develops punctuated with the rich
back catalogue of music. Occasionally the story is similar to the The Doors movie as the band appear to
instantly write hits.
It cannot be denied that the songs are a
real backbone of this show and the band under musical director Gareth Weedon
add a solid pulse to the performance. In particular drummer Stuart Roberts
never misses a beat as his drum riser is shunted around the stage.
The lighting design was well planned and
helped the flow of the show. Clever touches include the feed from the cameras
to the big screen during the tv sequences.
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Photo:
Helen Maybanks
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The story includes the high points and low
points of life on the road. This include the frustrations of sharing a room
with someone for 10 years who does not change their underwear and insists on
using every towel in the hotel room. The second half was sublime as the story
reflected the challenges of maintaining a home family and a tour family.
A strong supporting cast performs the many
roles of the other characters as the story develops. In particular Damian
Buhagiar as a young Joe Pesci has comic timing and Mark Heenahan as the man who
can fix it, Gyp DeCarlo, has suitable presence for his role.
But it is those classic tunes and fabulous
performances that create a memorable night’s entertainment. Matt Corner is dynamite as Valli.
This
review was written by Stephen Oliver for the North East Theatre Guide from
Jowheretogo PR (www.jowheretogo.com).
Follow Jo on twitter @jowheretogo, Stephen @panic_c_button or like Jowheretogo
on Facebook www.facebook.com/Jowheretogo
May
be inappropriate for ages 12 and under due to strong language. Jersey Boys
contains authentic New Jersey language.
Read
the North East Theatre Guide Preview: http://nomorepanicbutton.blogspot.co.uk/2015/08/preview-jersey-boys-at-sunderland-empire.html
Tickets:
Tickets available in person at
Sunderland Empire Box Office, by calling 0844 871 3022* or by booking online at
www.ATGtickets.com/Sunderland* plus a
transaction fee applies.
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