Jersey Boys 🎤

#PRInvite #Gifted | The Jersey Boys are back in town this week as the 20th anniversary touring production arrives in the Granite City.

Star rating: ★★★

Twenty years since first taking to the stage and redefining the biopic musical, Jersey Boys returns to Aberdeen this week for its anniversary tour. Presented as a dramatic documentary recounting the turbulent history of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons, the show depicts the gritty formation of the group, their explosive rise to global fame, and their subsequent painful breakup. Opening to roaring success on Broadway in 2005, and enjoying constant productions ever since, Jersey Boys is currently touring across America and the UK for its vicennial milestone, last night capturing the hearts of its Aberdeen audience.

Co-writer Rick Elice famously explained that while he “knew all about The Beatles and the Stones - all about those groups”, he somehow, despite knowing all the songs of The Four Seasons, didn’t know anything about what happened to them. Out of that curiosity, Jersey Boys was born. Dramatising how each of the four members met, carved out their signature sound, and found success amidst chaos surrounding them, the narrative pulls no punches. Murder scams, debt collection, loan sharks and tragic drug overdoses are woven into the storyline, compensating for the lack of press attention on the band at the time and offering audiences an intimate look into the band’s complex personal lives. The idea is simple: you know the songs, but you’re unlikely to know their story. And their story, and how it is presented, that’s far from simple.

Rewriting the blueprint for a jukebox musical, Jersey Boys was pretty revolutionary at its time of inception. When it debuted, Mamma Mia! had also recently opened, catering primarily to a female audience. Jersey Boys and The Four Seasons had the potential to encourage an entirely different theatregoing audience: the fans of the band were men, and there wasn’t much of a male audience on Broadway except for those who accompanied their wives to see musical theatre. From 2005 to 2026, that dynamic remained consistent, and it was great to hear and see a different demographic enjoying the show last night.

Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice’s clever book structures the script into four distinct acts: Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. Each member of the band is also assigned a season to guide the audience and this means that the show doesn’t rely on a singular narrator. 

Tommy DeVito frames the origin story, Bob Gaudio illustrates the group’s newfound artistic flare and financial rise, Nick Massi explores the group’s burnout and the show later concludes with Frankie Valli’s personal tragedy and reflection. It creates an unreliable narrator technique: effectively demonstrating how the four headstrong men could coexist within the same group, but each remembering history vastly different to the other. Whilst technically, this is creative and enhances the story, there are definitely moments where you may find yourself confused. I think I’d have appreciated each character’s arc further if I had known this before watching it for the first time.

At the time of its premiere, biographical storytelling was a staple of cinema, but rare on stage. This documentary-style, ‘behind-the-scenes’ approach offered a refreshing alternative to traditional musical theatre tropes where characters burst into song. Jersey Boys most likely laid the groundwork for ensuing jukebox musicals such as Beautiful and The Drifters Girl, where the music of the artist is strictly diegetic. This means that the catalogue of songs is mostly contextualised in recording studios, bars and performances - allowing the hit songs to take to the stage without gimmick, and appeal to audiences who prefer realism. 

The soundtrack contains a parade of hits, including icons like ‘Sherry’, ‘Big Girls Don’t Cry’ and ‘Walk Like a Man’. Because the most recognisable chart-toppers are packed into a rapid cluster toward the end of Act 1 to mark the band’s string of consecutive number ones, the show’s opening suffers with a slow start. It is an unfortunate symptom of strictly contextualising the music: as the characters struggle to find their identity, the production itself takes time to fully establish its footing. Act 2 carries fewer musical numbers overall, but still packs in ‘Beggin’ and ‘Bye Bye Baby’.

Contrasting with the sharp, iconic red suits of The Four Seasons, the overall aesthetic of the production feels particularly dated in 2026. While it is understandable why the show continues to tour with its original industrial scenic and staging design - preserving the show’s authentic mid-century roots without compromising its visual identity - it leaves the physical presentation feeling stuck in the 2000s. Arguably, refreshing the roots of the production would lose the authenticity, but inevitably, the show is tired.And whilst Jersey Boys might do well in ushering in a predominantly male demographic, it does little to keep intrigue alive for other audiences. From the show, to the graphic design and the marketing, everything feels a little uninspired.

The scenery is by Klara Zieglerova which ties together an industrial design with video wall projections by Michael Clark which bring much needed colour to an otherwise grey stage. At times, the show utilises a camera feed of the band and juxtaposes camera footage with archived panning shots of real audiences listening to the band which created a poignant moment.

The performance was headlined by alternate Ellis Kirk as Frankie Valli who stepped into the role for Luke Baker. This was the second time I have seen Kirk perform, having caught him in Back To The Future in the West End - it was a treat to see him tackle such a vocally demanding role. He delivered a grounded, soulful performance, tackling Valli’s signature falsetto with precision and ease.

Kirk was backed by a superb core quartet. Carlo Boumouglbay brought swagger as Tommy DeVito, Lewis Kennedy as Nick Massi and Toby Miles as the brilliant Bob Gaudio. Together, all Four Seasons were engaging, executing slick choreography by Sergio Trujillo, whilst providing stellar vocals and harmonies throughout - supervised by Ron Melrose.

The touring company size remains small with no ensemble, featuring Aiden Carson, Artemis Chrisoulakis, Sydnie Hocknell, Michael Levi, Olivia Mitchell, Jarryd Nurden, Oliver Tester, Damien Winchester and Fed Zanni.

The cast are rounded out by Swings Scott Goncalves, Melissa Potts, Zach Sorrow and Dance Captain Josua Spencer-Pepper.

For Aberdeen theatregoers looking for a night of nostalgia, Jersey Boys remains an undeniably hit-filled celebration of grit, harmony and musical legacy. This anniversary production tries to prove that a great story paired with timeless music never goes out of style.

Credits

Instagram links: @theatregramuk, @aberdeenperformingarts, @jerseyboysuk

Review by Joel Simpson cc: theatregram@gmail.com

Production photos supplied by Aberdeen Performing Arts