It’s just too good to be true, but it is! Jersey Boys: The Story of Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons at Toby’s Dinner Theatre in Columbia is terrific fun. I couldn’t take my eyes off the four leads—Nicky Kaider (as Frankie Valli), Patrick Gover (as Tommy DeVito), Ben Clark (as Bob Gaudio), and Benjamin Campion (as Nick Massi).
When these four were on the stage together performing such classics as “Cry for Me,” “Sherry,” “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” and “My Eyes Adored You” the stage lit up. To be even more specific, the on-stage chemistry between the four actors lit up the entire theater in the round.
Jersey Boys tells the story of an era, from the tough streets of Newark, New Jersey, in the 1950s to the group’s tumultuous rise with appearances on American Bandstand and The Ed Sullivan Show, chart-topping hits, and ultimately, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1990.
With over 100 million in record sales worldwide, the quartet started by playing bars and bowling alleys. At first, led by wise guy Tommy DeVito, played with fast-talking pizzazz by Gover, the group seems destined to fail.
However, when his pal, Joe Pesci (played with Jersey humor for big goofball laughs by Christopher Decker), introduces the trio to Bob Gaudio, a one-hit wonder composer known for his pop song delight “(Who Wears) Short Shorts” that he wrote at age 15, their fate turns.
With a little help from Bob Crewe, the famous lyricist/music producer (played by David James in some scene-stealing moments), and from mobster Gyp DeCarlo (performed with old-time mobster maudlin perfection by Brian Lyons-Burke), the Four Seasons are ready for the big time.
While the music was soon a big success, their personal lives were big failures with divorce, gambling debts, and in-fighting. This is when the story moves Frankie Valli to centerstage, and Nicky Kaider is just a delight to watch. At every turn, with every note, he displays a charm and charisma that glides the audience in and out of every one of his numbers. And what a voice — Kaider hits all the notes with the same smooth, silky, wide range of the original (and for your information, Frankie Valli is still performing on tour at age 90!) —especially as he takes on the ballads from “My Mother’s Eyes” to “Fallen Angel.”
This fast-paced show features 34 songs, a rocking live six-piece band conducted by Ross Scott Rawling, and a story that spans the decade-long career of this iconic group.
Toby’s up-close production also shows some terrific moves throughout — the Four Seasons styled sharply in skinny ties and tight bright sports jackets — slid in time across each song and were only matched by the high-energy dancing of the rest of the cast. Kudos to costume designer Heather C. Jackson. Director/choreographer Mark Minnick and this terrific cast shows us who loves you in every single number (including the big end with “Who Loves You” with The Four Seasons and the entire company!).
You might have seen the Broadway or touring show, or the movie version of Jersey Boys; however, there is such energy, joy, and chemistry in this production at Toby’s that as they would say in Jersey, it’s the God’s-honest-truth, so help me, that it is worth seeing again, or for the very first time.
Running Time: Two hours and 30 minutes plus a 20-minute intermission.
Jersey Boys: The Story of Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons plays through September 1, 2024, at Toby’s Dinner Theatre, 5900 Symphony Woods Road, Columbia, MD. Tickets ($63–$86) can be purchased by calling 410-730-8311 or online.
The menu is here.
Jersey Boys
The Story of Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons
Book by Marshall Brickman & Rick Elice
Music by Bob Gaudio
Lyrics by Bob Crewe