Theater review: CCAE Theatricals’ lavish ‘Jersey Boys’ lives up to original (original) (raw)

There are thousands of local theater fans who still remember the thrill of attending the 2004 world premiere of “Jersey Boys” at La Jolla Playhouse, before it went off to Broadway and won four 2006 Tony Awards, including Best Musical.

Since then, the show has visited San Diego twice on national tours in 2014 and 2017. But it has never been produced independently by a local theater company until now. Talk about pressure.

But CCAE Theatricals — with a three-year track record or producing award-winning, grand-scale musicals and plays — is clearly up to the task. Its regional theater debut production of “Jersey Boys,” which opened Saturday at the California Center for the Arts, Escondido, is lavish, well-directed, superbly cast and well supported by a 10-person orchestra, complete with horn section.

For those unfamiliar with the show, it’s the gritty rags-to-riches-to-rags tale of 1960s/’70s vocal quartet the Four Seasons, which formed in 1956 on the streets of Newark, N.J. The band, led by hoodlum-turned-bandleader Tommy DeVito, struggled until he and bassist/arranger Nick Massi found teen singer Frankie Valli and songwriter/keyboardist Bob Gaudio.

In 1962, the group soared to the top of the charts with first “Sherry,” then “Big Girls Don’t Cry” and “Walk Like a Man.” But at the peak of their fame in 1970, the group split when DeVito was pushed out for financial improprieties and Massi quit. The musical then follows Valli’s resurgence as a solo artist.

Nicholas Alexander as Frankie Valli in CCAE Theatricals production of “Jersey Boys.” (Ken Jacques)

The show, co-written by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice, is one of the best-ever jukebox musicals, thanks its fine script by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice, who divide the show into four sections, each narrated by a different member of the group (who each have different perspectives on the group’s rise and fall).

The actors cast to play the Four Seasons have a great vocal blend and good chemistry. Golden-voiced Nicholas Alexander leads the cast as the ambitious tenor lead singer Frankie Valli; charismatic Anthony Carro is a standout actor as the shady bandleader Tommy DeVito; Taubert Nadalini has the exuberant youthfulness of teen prodigy Bob Gaudio; and Noah Archibald is the likable strong silent type as Nick Massi.

Director T.J. Dawson, with choreographer Dana Solimando, re-create the look and feel of the group’s original performances and dance steps, and also honor the original Broadway staging while bringing his own touch to the story. The show — which runs 2 hours, 45 minutes, with intermission — makes great use of Stephen Gifford’s two-story New Jersey street scene scenic design and the costumes by Adam Ramirez are lush re-creations of the group’s original costumes.

If you’ve never seen “Jersey Boys,” CCAE Theatricals’ staging is a real treat. Highly polished and professional, it does the La Jolla Playhouse original proud.

‘Jersey Boys’

When: 7:30 p.m. Fridays; 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturdays; 2 p.m. Sundays. Plus 10 a.m. Sept. 19 and 7:30 p.m. Sept. 23. Through Oct. 6

Where: CCAE Theatricals at California Center for the Arts, Escondido, 340 N. Escondido Blvd., Escondido

Tickets: 40−40-40−100 (all tickets for 10 a.m. performance on Sept. 19 are $40)

Phone: (442) 304-0505

Online: theatricals.org

A scene from CCAE Theatricals’ production of “Jersey Boys.” (Ken Jacques)

Originally Published: September 16, 2024 at 3:48 p.m.