Jersey Boys and the Continuing Success of Musical Theatre
The love of musical theatre can be traced back to ancient Greece during the 5th century BCE. Musical theatre has come along way since then with the beginning of modern Western musicals emerging during the 19th century with musicals such as A Trip to Chinatown (1891), Robin Hood (1891) and El Capitan (1896).Â
This love people have for the theatre has only grown from there with the success of musicals including Les Misérables (1985), The Phantom of the Opera (1986) and Mamma Mia! (1999) as well as newer hits such as Next to Normal (2009), Hamilton (2015) and Jersey Boys (2006).
Jersey Boys is a jukebox musical which shows the dramatised journey of The Four Seasons from their early days of being a band struggling to make it is the music industry, their eventual success and their personal lives.
It is structured in four âseasonsâ with each one being narrated by another member of the band who proceeds to tell the audience their perspective on the history and the music. Â
The musical incorporates some of The Four Seasons greatest hits including âBig Girls Donât Cryâ, âSherryâ, âDecember, 1963 (Oh, What A Night)â and âCanât Take My Eyes Off Youâ as it depicts the lives of the members.
The cast of the current Melbourne production consists of Ryan Gonzalez, Cameron MacDonald, Thomas McGuane and Glaston Toft as Frankie Valli, Tommy DeVito, Bob Gaudio and Nick Massi respectively.
This fantastic musical will be running from the 1st of March until the 14th of April 2019 at The Regent Theatre in Melbourne.
The performance was fantastic. It was extremely well acted, all of the cast members had wonderful voices and sang all of the songs beautifully, each met with a round of applause.
The theatre was full of energy as people danced in their seats, quietly sang to themselves and laughed at the jokes before giving a standing ovation at the end.
Everybody in the audience seemed to love the show as the show has received so excellent reviews.
Instagram user Lilithia says that she is âglad to be attendingâ the show as she has enjoyed it on previous occasions.
Instagram user Meoliney says that she had a wonderful time and she âhad to really refrain from singing out loud.â
Many people have recommended watching Jersey Boys to others and have stated that the would watch it again.
Sinead Wood says that she thoroughly enjoyed the show and says others should watch it as well. Â
â[I] had a fantastic time at @JerseyBoysOz tonight with the family⊠highly recommend watching!â
Twitter user Oscar Peng says that he âloved the show [and that he] would definitely go back.â
Musical theatre is still a very popular form of entertainment. This is evident as people keep attending shows. Â
A musical doesnât need to contain social commentary or really famous actors and actresses to be a popular talking point.
Jersey Boys is not a musical that touches on big and important issues like other musicals such as Rent (1996), Hairspray (2002) and Dear Evan Hansen (2015), do, however, it is still successful.
It does not discuss social issues like mental illness or racism and it might not be the biggest or most popular musical of all time but it still manages to bring a large number of people together to sing and enjoy some great music.
Byline:
Aleisha Wood is a second year media and communications student at La Trobe University. You can follow her on Twitter @aleisha__wood
Hyperlinks:
Banner Image: https://jerseyboys.com.au/wp-content/themes/JerseyBoysTour/img/base/masthead.jpg
Jersey Boys Oz Twitter: https://twitter.com/JerseyBoysOz
Lilithia: https://www.instagram.com/p/BwOSf21h2ib/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Meoliney: https://www.instagram.com/p/BwMlmAhgNwL/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Oscar Peng: https://twitter.com/oscarpeng11/status/1114409045350158336
Sinead Wood: https://twitter.com/SineadWood3/status/1116718462510874624
YouTube Video: https://youtu.be/lX9ayq46Br4