When you’ve written enough hit songs to score a musical 40 years later, you know you have left your mark on history. Jersey Boys is the story of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons. Spanning four decades the just under 3 hour musical shows fans how the group was formed, how the group fell apart and the story behind some of their hit songs.
Living close to Chicago I love to head downtown once or twice a year for a musical through Broadway in Chicago. I was shocked at how quick the tickets started to go for Jersey Boys so I picked up a pair the day they went on sale for the Cadillac Palace in downtown Chicago. Jersey Boys is one of my favorite musicals and is one that I’ve wanted to share it with my husband. Happy Birthday 🙂
I saw this show about 6 years ago with my mom when it came to Chicago in 2011. Not knowing much about the background of the show I remember being surprised at how many of the songs I knew. Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons is not a “group” that I necessarily would say I listened to on a regular basis.
The show opens in Jersey as Tommy discovers the “voice of an angel” Frankie. We see as the Four Lovers become the Four Seasons and ultimately turn into Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons after a falling out with Nick & Tommy. The audience see them fall in love and lose family members close to them.
While the show is close to three hours long, it is amazing how many songs they cram in. There are a lot of medley type songs where you hear three or four different hits in a row but still feel like you’ve kept up the whole way.
Throughout Jersey boys you will truly laugh, cry (or want to cry) & want to get up and dance to songs you love. Two days later I’m still dancing around singing Oh What a Night.
The show is currently traveling around the US and is only in Chicago for the rest of this week. If you have the chance to pick up a pair of tickets I HIGHLY recommend checking this one out. Chances are if you enjoy musicals you will enjoy this one. Just a note, this is NOT a show to take kids to. There is a lot of language and lots of other references throughout the entire show.
After the show ended we decided to continue to enjoy some time down town and picked up some Sushi at Sunda, a restaurant about a half mile away from the theater. It was a nice day to walk and we actually walked down there twice, once to make sure they still existed before we got our hopes up before the show and then again after the show to actually eat.
They had some awesome choices and while we felt a little under dressed it was an amazing feast.
I wish I could remember all three of the different rolls we ate, but I must say that if you are in downtown Chicago the Red Dragon was the best of the three.
It was a successful and fun day in downtown Chicago. Now I’m going to listen to the Jersey Boys cd
What’s your favorite song by the Four Seasons? Favorite Broadway show?