Theatre Review: Jersey Boys at Bristol Hippodome

Summary

Rating: 4 Stars

Running Dates: Tue 10 Jan - Sat 21 Jan 2023

Where to see it: Bristol Hippodrome

Duration: 2hrs 30mins (including interval)

Keywords: Funny, Rock and Roll

A fabulous depiction of Jersey Boys’ journey, from beginning to end. Starting with a flash forward into the band’s popularity, then rewinding to provide the band’s origin.

The costumes, choreography and the set are all captivating and transport you to America, circa 1960s with Tommy DeVito (Dalton Wood) narrating the first half of Act 1. This depicted early days of ‘The Lovers’ etc. and described DeVito and Nick Massi’s (Christopher Short) bad boy image and how Bob Gaudio (Blair Gibson) and Frankie Valli (Ryan Heenan) came to join the band.

The second half of Act 1 was narrated by Gaudio who showed their transformation into ‘Four Seasons’ with a few of their early songs such as Sherry and Big Girls Don’t Cry being performed.

Act 2 opened with Massi narrating from the interval cliffhanger and the breakdown of the original ‘Four Seasons’ and subsequent break off of Valli Gaudio.

Valli takes narration for the last half to show the formation of ‘Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons’ with songs like Bye Bye Baby.

Working My Way Back to You being performed. The show closed with the original four performing at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, where they are now.

Overall, the show was fantastic! The actors embodied the story and the music was perfectly placed within. There were comedic moments which made the show even more enjoyable.

The show is running until 21st January 2023, so get your tickets whilst they’re still available, purchase here.

Standout Quote or Moment: The band’s reunion at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990

See If: You know all of the songs in the show

Last Impression: Fabulous recounting of the band with snippets of their hits.