Jersey Boys Tickets

Following the popularity of West End shows 'Mamma Mia!', 'We Will Rock You' and 'Never Forget', it is little surprise that another jukebox musical, 'Jersey Boys', has experienced the success that it is presently enjoying in it's season at London's Prince Edward Theatre. Telling the story of the chart-topping 1960s band The Four Seasons, 'Jersey Boys' was written by Rick Elice who interviewed band members Frankie Valli, Tommy De Vito and Bob Gaudio in order to piece their history together. The musical has been described as being like a documentary as the same story is told four times, once by each of the band members (the fourth band member, Nick Massi, had his version pieced together from previous interviews he had completed prior to his passing before the musical was written). When the show opened at the August Wilson Theatre on Broadway in November of 2005, no one could have anticipated that it would go on to show in theatres all over the United States before heading across the Atlantic to the UK. The show won four Tony Awards in 2006, including the coveted Tony Award for Best Musical, and the cast recording won the Grammy Award for Best Show Album. The Broadway creative team, headed by director Des McAnuff, followed the production to London and opened to rave reviews in February of 2008.

The history of The Four Seasons is one littered with both success and controversy. Frankie Valli, the lead singer, had tried his hand at a solo career before joining up with Tommy De Vito (guitar and vocals) and forming the band The Four Lovers in 1954. The band had minor hits but none that ever really took off, and it wasn't until 1961, following a change in group members that saw the inclusion of Bob Gaudio (keyboard and vocals) and Nick Massi (bass guitar and vocals), that the band took the name The Four Seasons after a bowling alley in New Jersey. The band quickly released their first single, 'Bermuda'/'Spanish Lace', which earned them enough attention to be signed to Vee Jay Records and begin work on their first smash hit, 'Sherry'. 'Sherry', produced by Bob Crewe, reached the number one position on the Billboard charts and threw The Four Seasons into the spotlight.

Fortunately their combined talents helped them to follow up their first hit single with many more in the next year, such as 'Big Girls Don't Cry' and 'Walk Like A Man', both of which also went to number one. Unfortunately for the four talented Jersey men, the band's label, Vee Jay Records, found itself in financial trouble and eventually filed for bankruptcy in 1963, taking with it the rights to release all the material The Four Seasons had recorded during their time with the label. The band moved to Mercury Records and released further hits, 'Rag Doll', 'Bye Bye Baby (Baby Goodbye)', and 'Big Man in Town' amongst others. 1965 was eventful for the band, with Frankie Valli being arrested for attempting (along with his producer) to leave a hotel without paying, whilst in the same year Nick Massi decided to leave the band. Massi's departure saw The Four Seasons enter into a period of ambiguity, and the band performed and released singles under several different names. The hits continued, with 'Working My Way Back To You' (1966), 'I've Got You Under My Skin' (1966), and 'Will You Love Me Tomorrow' (1968) amongst the singles that did well in the charts. With interest moving towards the Motown performers that soared to stardom in the early 1970s, the band decided to move to Motown Records but with little success. A further change in band members saw a final original single hit number one in 1975 ('December, 1963') before Frankie Valli decided to try once again at having a solo career. By 1976 the success of the group was all but over, though other musical acts have continued to record their songs with great success in the years since.

Although 'Jersey Boys' focuses mainly on the years that Frankie, Bob, Nick and Tommy were united under the title The Four Seasons, the musical includes songs from the entire breadth of the band's career. 'Sherry', 'Can't Take My Eyes Off You', 'Who Loves You', 'Dawn', 'Let's Hang On', and many other hits are featured in the story. At present, the popularity of the show on the London theatre scene has allowed for bookings to be taken up until April of 2009, though it is expected that the season will continue past this date. With a critically acclaimed cast (Ryan Molloy as Frankie, Glenn Carter as Tommy, Stephen Ashfield as Bob and Philip Bulcock as Nick), and the support of the remaining members of the original Four Seasons band, it's no wonder the show has become one of the most popular of the London musicals currently showing.