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<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal
align=center><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">The ‘Jersey Boys’
returns without missing a downbeat<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns =
"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal
align=center><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal
align=center><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Bob
Abelman<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal
align=center><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal
align=center><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">News-Herald,
Chagrin Valley Times, Solon Times,<o:p></o:p></SPAN></I></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal
align=center><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">The
Morning Journal, Geauga Times Courier<o:p></o:p></SPAN></I></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal
align=center><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Member,
American Theatre Critics Association <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal
align=center><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></I></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal
align=center><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">This
review will appear in the <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">News-Herald
</I></SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">7/1/11</SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal
align=center><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">The most obvious
indicator that the Tony Award-winning </SPAN><I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Jersey
Boys</SPAN></I><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">
is worthy of that honor is the unusual applause it generates.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">So effective is the
illusion of experiencing the actual, 1960’s version of The Four Seasons—the New
Jersey-based boy band that dominated the airwaves with its distinctive
three-octave doo-wop harmonies—that each musical number is met by two waves of
ovation.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">The first is the
polite appreciation given to any good theatrical performance.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Just as the applause tapers, however, a
second wave organically ascends—a louder, longer and more raucous aftershock—as
if the audience is paying homage to the Rock and Roll Hall of Famers themselves
and not the actors playing them.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">It could be heard
during the show’s first visit to PlayhouseSquare three years ago and it can be
heard now, during the show’s return engagement.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">This isn’t just the
response of an older generation reclaiming its birthright. And it isn’t just
that inner-teen bursting through decades of adulthood-induced hibernation for
one last hurrah in the safe company of like-minded peers. <SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>This is the result of a carefully
orchestrated, well honed piece of musical theater that taps and masterfully
replicates that birthright, jolts that inner-teen awake and to the forefront,
and then pushes all the right buttons at all the right times. <SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">This sweet
manipulation starts before the house lights go down, with the sound of that
slow, pulsating drum beat that drives the music that defined The Four Seasons’
sound.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>That beat exists in their
cache of Top-10 hits… none of which are heard until well into the first
act.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The audience is given a taste
to stimulate the senses, and no more.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>The Four Seasons
performed standards created by other artists long before hitting their
stride.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Consequently, the show’s
narrative builds a dramatic tension in anticipation of that first hit song being
performed.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The tension, and the
emotional release that occurs upon hearing “Sherry,” is beautifully maneuvered
by director Des McAnuff, who won a Tony Award for bringing the rock opera <I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">The Who's Tommy</I> to Broadway in
1993.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The guy knows how to rouse a
crowd into a good lather.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">What really wins over
the audience is that all the music is integrated into an intriguing,
warts-and-all bio-narrative of the band’s rags to riches to rags to riches
story, as told from the often contradictory perspectives of each of the four
band members.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The narrative,
written by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice, is fluid, fast-paced, and often
very funny.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Of course, all
jukebox musicals are only as good as the popular music that drives them.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Thirty-four songs—including most the
band’s most popular hits—are performed, in part or in their entirety, with live
instrumentation and phenomenal backup orchestration under the direction of Ron
Melrose.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Presented as nightclub
acts, studio recording sessions, TV performances and in concert, the distinctive
Four Season’s sound—from front man Frankie Valli’s falsetto lead vocals to the
group’s melodic harmonies—is resurrected in our presence.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>The show’s most powerful
impression is made by the actors portraying the Four Seasons.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Joseph Leo Bwarie as Frankie Valli, Matt
Bailey as the group's bad-boy organizer Tommy DeVito, Quinn VanAntwerps as
songwriter Bob Gaudio, and Steve Gouveia as bass player Nick Massi are
personable, completely engaging and thoroughly
convincing.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>Both the phenomenal
Bwarie and Gouveia return from the 2008 engagement, although all four performers
have appeared in other <EM>Jersey Boy</EM> productions.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Their experience shows, for they capture
the spirit and street smarts of each band member without resorting to
impersonations. Their Jersey accents are dead-on as well.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The boys are backed up by a very
talented and highly versatile ensemble cast.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">The show’s production
values also play with the audience’s emotions, and do so from the get-go.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Upon entering the State Theatre, an open
stage reveals nothing but a two-story track of scaffolding.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>When the house lights fade, this barren
stage explodes with non-stop action.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>Set pieces fly on and off the stage, controlled by stealth
technology.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The top-shelf lighting,
sound, costuming and use of large screen projections make for a fast-paced,
technically seamless, highly entertaining production.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">The real Frankie
Valli, now 77 years old, and a quartet of <SPAN class=bodytext1><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt"><FONT
color=#030303>backup singers born decades after the Four Seasons broke up, will
be </FONT></SPAN></SPAN>coming to the Cleveland in December.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Frankly, </SPAN><I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Jersey
Boys</SPAN></I><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #232323; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">
</SPAN></I><FONT color=#030303><SPAN class=bodytext1><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">will be a hard act to
follow.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></SPAN></SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Jersey
Boys</SPAN></I><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #232323; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">
</SPAN></I><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">continues through
July 17 at PlayhouseSquare’s State Theatre.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>For tickets, which range from $35 to
$130, visit <A href=""><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><FONT
color=#0000ff>www.playhousesquare.com</FONT></SPAN></A><I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">.<o:p></o:p></I></SPAN></P></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>