Jersey Boys at The National Theatre-Washington, DC

Jersey Boys at The National Theatre-Washington, DC
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Whether you love musicals or don't-I ask you to please give Jersey Boys a chance.

I'm Beggin....

You see, Jersey Boys isn't your typical juke-box musical. Jersey Boys is the story of Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons: how they came together, how they split up, and how they were able to move past betrayal, death, and divorce to achieve world-wide fame.

On April 6th, opening night of the DC portion of their national Broadway tour, my husband and I headed into the city to see Jersey Boys at the National Theatre. The theatre was buzzing with excitement as the opening announcement asked us to quiet our phones. I was familiar with the story as I had seen the Jersey Boys movie. The film, while entertaining, was a bit dark; the play, however, is much more upbeat and lively.

The show is colorful, bright, and fun. Even in the sad or tense moments the play's humor keeps everything light. The cast perform numerous costume, wig, and set changes seamlessly. In fact the transitions were one of the most impressive components of the production. The choreography, New Jersey accents (and Italian hand talking) is beautifully mastered (yeah, I'm tawkin' to you). Each member of The Four Seasons narrate a different 'season' of the play-taking us through the highs and lows of trying to break into the music industry and navigate their way through stardom. Everyone in the cast is talented but the three standouts for me were Aaron De Jesus (Frankie Valli), Drew Seeley (Bob Gaudio), and Barry Anderson (Bob Crewe). Each of these actors really made the characters their own.

It was fun watching the audience either remember or realize how many hits The Four Seasons had over the span of their career. All of their classic songs are interwoven into the script and help to further the dramatic action of the plot. Songs like Sherry, Big Girls Don't Cry, Walk Like a Man, Ragdoll, You're Just to Good to Be True, Beggin, and Oh What a Night all work their way into the play, and although they provided fun moments of nostalgia for the audience what was truly interesting was seeing what these songs meant in the personal lives of each member of the band.

This production Jersey Boys is just to good to be true...oh what a night I had!

The 2nd National Tour of Jersey Boys is currently performing at the National Theatre in Washington, DC until April 24th. For tickets click here.

Use the code: CHERRY to save 25% on tickets!

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To see the rest of the tour dates click here.

Note: I highly suggesting leaving the kids at home for this show as there is a bit of language.

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