The Four Seasons story has been told countless times, but when Jersey Boys hits the stage at Wales Millennium Centre, it feels like the first time all over again.
The touring production rolled into Cardiff this week and by the time the curtain came down, the audience was on its feet. That kind of reaction does not happen by accident.
For anyone unfamiliar with the show, Jersey Boys tells the real life story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, the working class kids from New Jersey who clawed their way out of tough neighbourhoods to become one of the biggest acts in pop history. Hits like Sherry, Big Girls Don’t Cry and Can’t Take My Eyes Off You are woven through the production, but it is the story behind the songs that gives the show its real punch.
What makes Jersey Boys stand out from your typical jukebox musical is that it never pretends life was glamorous. There is mob money, broken friendships, family tragedy and the kind of pressure that comes with sudden fame. The show does not shy away from any of it, and that honesty is exactly what keeps the audience gripped between the big musical numbers.
The performances at WMC were outstanding across the board. The actor taking on the role of Frankie Valli has to pull off those famous falsetto notes night after night, and Cardiff got a performance that made it look effortless. The chemistry between the four leads felt genuine, which matters enormously in a show that lives or dies on whether you believe these men actually grew up together and went through hell together.
The staging is sharp and clever without being flashy for the sake of it. The set moves quickly, keeping the pace up and stopping the story from dragging through the earlier scenes. The lighting work during the big concert sequences genuinely captures that feeling of watching a band at the height of their powers.
Wales Millennium Centre is one of the best venues in the UK for this kind of production. The acoustics do the music real justice, and when the full band kicks in during the second act, you feel it in your chest. Cardiff audiences tend to be warm and generous, and this crowd gave the cast everything they deserved.
Jersey Boys has been running in various forms since it first opened on Broadway back in 2005. The fact that it still lands this well with a modern audience says everything about the strength of the material. The Four Seasons catalogue is genuinely brilliant, but the show earns its standing ovations through storytelling, not just nostalgia.
If you have not seen Jersey Boys before, Cardiff is a brilliant place to catch it. If you have seen it before, this production is well worth a second visit. Nights like this are exactly what Wales Millennium Centre does best.