On October 6, 2005 I attended a preview performance of Jersey Boys, it was so much more than I ever expected it to be. I was afraid I might witness four singers doing an imitation of the Four Seasons. That was NOT the case. John Lloyd Young, Daniel Reichard, Christian Hoff and J. Robert Spencer sang from their hearts and made every song their own performance. Fine voices in perfect harmony. Just a side comment, could Daniel Reichard have looked any more like Bob Gaudio than a blood relative, especially around the eyes?

The main focus of the story, as shown by the songs, is roughly from the mid '50s to the latter '60s. Wait until you see how the songs from the mid '70s are used to help tell this story.

I "lost it", emotionally, during "My Eyes Adored You" and "Fallen Angel." I will never be able to listen to those two songs in the same way again.

One of the most surprising performances in the show was the way the group did "Cry For Me." It was fresh and quite striking. We Seasons fans of long standing know it as a Frankie Valli solo. The public at large does not know this song at all. I think "Cry For Me", as performed in the play, would make an excellent candidate for radio play to promote Jersey Boys and show that it's not just a re-hash of known songs (like other similar shows that have closed), but a real show with a real story.

One final comment, there were 13 actors listed in the Playbill. Nine of them were listed as playing a particular character "and others." It gave the impression of a "cast of thousands." Very effective, especially Jennifer Naimo, Erica Piccininni and Sara Schmidt playing virtually all the women, and there were many! I hope many of you get to see Jersey Boys, I wish all of you could. Maybe one day there will be a DVD. Some shows have come out, like Cats, Victor/Victoria and a couple of others. I will make an extra effort to make the trip from Chicago to experience “Jersey Boys” again. WOW!

Jack Adrian 10/18/05