Jersey Boys is a jukebox musical with a book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice. It is presented in a documentary-style format that dramatizes the formation, success and breakup of the 1960s rock 'n' roll group the Four Seasons. The musical is structured as four "seasons", each narrated by a different member of the band who gives his own perspective on its history and music. Songs include "Big Girls Don't Cry", "Sherry", "December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night)", "My Eyes Adored You", "Stay", "Can't Take My Eyes Off You", "Walk Like A Man", "Who Loves You", "Working My Way Back to You" and "Rag Doll".
The musical premiered at the La Jolla Playhouse in 2004 and ran on Broadway from 2005 to 2017. Since its debut it has been on two North American national tours and two national tours of the UK and Ireland. The show has been produced in London's West End, Amstetten, Las Vegas, Chicago, Toronto, Melbourne and other Australian cities, Singapore, South Africa, the Netherlands, Japan, Dubai, and China. Jersey Boys won four 2006 Tony Awards, including Best Musical, and the 2009 Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Musical.
The musical spawned a film adaptation in 2014.
Development In the early 2000s, Bob Gaudio, an original Four Seasons member, sought to make a musical from the band's discography; he noted in a 2008 interview that he was inspired by the success of Smokey Joe's Cafe and Mamma Mia! into believing that a rock-and-roll musical with existing songs could work. Frankie Valli, in 2024, recalled that he and Gaudio had conceived the idea of a Four Seasons life story production as early as the mid-1990s but that the only offers they received were for television movies that they felt would not do the band justice. The Four Seasons' touring production, by then featuring Valli as the sole remaining original member, was in bad financial shape; Valli, already considering retirement, recognized that an adaptation of the band's story had the potential to introduce the Seasons to an audience that had no familiarity with them.
Gaudio hired book writers Rick Elice and Marshall Brickman, who had difficulty finding a willing director until Michael David of Dodger Theatricals recommended them to Des McAnuff. Brickman suggested creating a show about the band's history, instead of repurposing their songs for an independent story the way ABBA did with Mamma Mia!; Gaudio liked the idea, noting that although biopics were a common format in film, such a story format was still relatively rare on stage and that, to his knowledge, none had been tried at the time. Brickman was drawn to the project because "it's a classic American story. It's rags to riches, and back to rags." McAnuff was initially lukewarm to the project and did not like the idea of naming the project after a Four Seasons song, fearing it would look like a cash grab instead of a legitimate artistic work; Gaudio came up with the title on a plane ride, reasoning that the band members were all just a bunch of Jersey boys, and the name stuck.
Little was known to the public about the Four Seasons' history before the musical, because magazines of the era did not write much about them. In their research, Brickman and Elice were surprised to find that the members had prison records, which might have prevented their music from being played if it had been publicized when they were active. According to Gaudio, "Back then, things were a little clean-cut, don't forget, so the idea of our story getting out was horrifying to us." Other bands of the time projected street-tough images, but The Four Seasons cleaned themselves up to be palatable to mainstream listeners.
Brickman and Elice also used material from interviews with surviving Four Seasons members Gaudio, Valli and Tommy DeVito. Nick Massi was aware of Gaudio's plans to make a musical in the last months of his life and enthusiastically approved of the project, but died in December 2000 before he could contribute any interviews.Candeliere, Patti. In Memory of Nick Massi: Music/Bio. Retrieved May 29, 2023. While the Four Seasons as a group made headlines, as individuals they did not receive much press, as groups like the Beatles dominated the media. Brickman noted that each member had his own perspective on what happened during their tenure as a group. Of the three surviving members, they approached DeVito last, who told them: "Don't listen to those guys. I'll tell you what really happened." Elice said that getting DeVito's version was a "eureka moment" and the contradiction in their stories was incorporated in the musical for a Rashomon effect. Family members of the late mob boss Gyp DeCarlo also contacted the writers to ensure that he would be portrayed respectfully.
Gaudio was part of the initial development team, but was not involved in the creative process during tryouts, and met the cast only after the show had premiered. He, Valli, and DeVito decided to step back from the show's creative process because they lacked objectivity, leaving it to Brickman, Elice, and McAnuff to take the story to the stage. But Gaudio and Valli still had the right to end the show if they did not like it; they ultimately recommended some minor changes (mainly to respect the personality rights of still-living people who were portrayed).
Productions
Jersey Boys premiered at the La Jolla Playhouse at University of California, San Diego, in an out-of-town tryout on October 5, 2004, and ran through January 16, 2005.Simonson, Robert and Hernandez, Ernio.Playbill News: "Seasons in the Sun: Jersey Boys Opens on Broadway Nov. 6" Playbill, November 6, 2005 Christian Hoff, David Norona, Daniel Reichard and J. Robert Spencer played The Four Seasons. At the end of the tryout, Norona, who originated the role of Frankie Valli, was replaced by John Lloyd Young, who originally had auditioned for the role of Tommy DeVito.
Broadway The musical began previews on Broadway on October 4, 2005, and officially opened on November 6, 2005, at the August Wilson Theatre. The cast starred Young as Valli, Hoff as DeVito, Reichard as Gaudio, and Spencer as Massi. The musical was directed by Des McAnuff, at the time the artistic director at La Jolla Playhouse, with choreography by Sergio Trujillo. The Broadway production had 38 previews. It reached its 4093rd performance on September 22, 2015, making it the 12th-longest-running show on Broadway. Notable cast replacements include Andy Karl and Richard H. Blake as DeVito; Sebastian Arcelus and Drew Gehling as Gaudio; and Micheal Longoria, who originated the role of Joe Pesci, and Ryan Molloy, who originated the role in the West End production, both as Valli. The Broadway production closed on January 15, 2017, after 4,642 performances, with Mark Ballas as the final Valli.
Off-Broadway Only months after closing on Broadway, it was announced that the musical would reopen off-Broadway, following the example of shows such as Avenue Q. It opened November 22, 2017, at New World Stages.McPhee, Ryan. " 'Jersey Boys' Will Return to the New York Stage" Playbill, August 10, 2017 The production featured the same script and score as the Broadway production, but four fewer cast members, a smaller theater, and lower ticket prices. Dodger Theatricals produced the off-Broadway Jersey Boys, and handled the show's Broadway and touring productions. Olivia Valli, Frankie's granddaughter, joined this production playing Mary Delgado. On March 12, 2020, production was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic; it remained suspended until November 2021. The musical reopened on November 15, 2021, and announced on April 22 that it would close on May 22, 2022.
U.S. tour The musical's first U.S. tour began on December 10, 2006, at the Curran Theatre in San Francisco, and went to 38 cities. The cast starred Christopher Kale Jones as Valli, Deven May as DeVito, Erich Bergen as Gaudio, and Micheal Ingersoll as Massi. Jersey Boys played at the Forrest Theatre in Philadelphia, where it broke the box office record eight times before moving on to a return engagement in Boston."Jersey Boys Actor Hujabre Injured in Philadelphia Run; Set to Return 12/7 broadwayworld.com, December 6, 2010
In May 2007, while the first national tour continued (with Steve Gouveia from the original Broadway cast as Massi), a second company debuted at the Curran and ended as an open-ended run at Chicago's Bank of America Theatre, beginning on October 5, 2007. The Chicago cast appeared on stage in the 2007 Emmy Awards in a tribute to HBO's The Sopranos. A special holiday return engagement played at the Curran Theatre from November 20 to December 30, 2007, starring Rick Faugno as Valli, Andrew Rannells as Gaudio, Bryan McElroy as DeVito, and Jeff Leibow as Massi. Most of this cast became the original cast in the Las Vegas production, which debuted at The Palazzo Hotel on May 3, 2008,SHNews shnsf.com in the newly built Jersey Boys Theatre. The show temporarily closed on January 1, 2012, and reopened on March 6, 2012, at Paris Las Vegas. On June 7, 2016, it was announced that the Las Vegas production would end on September 18, 2016.
In late 2014, a touring production performed in several U.S. cities, including Denver in December.
Another production toured 19 U.S. cities from March 2016 to March 2017.
An off-strip Las Vegas revival opened in 2024 at The Orleans Hotel and Casino. The first preview performance was January 26, 2024 and the production opened on February 22, 2024. The cast featured Joey Barreiro and Jared Chinnock alternating the role of Frankie Valli, Kit Treece as Bob Gaudio, Tyler Matthew Burk as Tommy DeVito and Jonathan Cable as Nick Massi. The production played 24 previews and 116 performances and closed on July 7, 2024.
A "20th Anniversary" tour will kick off on September 8, 2026 at the Landmark Theatre in Syracuse, New York, before touring onto major cities across the U.S. and Canada, including Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, San Francisco and more. The cast for the tour will star Coby Oram and Andrew Martin McGuire will alternate the role of Frankie Valli, Peyton Schoenhofer as Bob Gaudio, Harry Sperduto as Tommy DeVito and Owen McCredie as Nick Massi.
West End The musical made its West End debut at London's Prince Edward Theatre in February 2008. The creative team were the same as for the Broadway production. Principal cast were Ryan Molloy as Frankie Valli, Stephen Ashfield as Bob Gaudio, Glenn Carter as Tommy DeVito, Philip Bulcock as Nick Massi, Stuart Milligan as DeCarlo and Tom Lorcan as Donnie/Knuckles.Shenton, Mark; Nathan, John. " 'Jersey Boys' Arrives in London Feb. 28 at the Prince Edward" Playbill, February 28, 2008 The production won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Musical. Molloy performed the lead role for six years, making him the "longest-running star in a West End musical" and "longest-serving Frankie Valli". The production moved to the Piccadilly Theatre on March 15, 2014, the same day that John Lloyd Young assumed the role of Frankie Valli. The production closed after nine years on March 26, 2017.
In October 2020, it was announced that Jersey Boys would return to the West End at the Trafalgar Theatre in April 2021. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom the production was postponed, with previews finally beginning 28 July and opening night set for 10 August 2021. A new cast was also announced with Luke Suri taking the role of Frankie Valli. The musical lasted until January 4, 2024.Mayo, Douglas. "Jersey Boys the musical is extending its run at the Trafalgar Theatre London until January 2024" (Nov. 28, 2022).
UK tour