If you've never had the chance to see Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons in concert, the next closest thing is coming to the Toyota Oakdale Theatre in Wallingford.
Jersey Boys has been touring nationally and in Canada since 2011 and it opens at the Oakdale Tuesday, Feb. 3 for a one-week run. The Tony Award-winning musical has also been made into a movie.
"It's the story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, so it's kind of his journey in the telling of his life and the Four Seasons," said Miguel Jarquin-Moreland, who stars as Frankie Valli.
Before the group formed, "they were just four guys from Jersey," according to the Jersey Boys website. In this version, your Four Seasons are Jarquin-Moreland, Matthew Dailey (Tommy Devito), Keith White (Nick Massi) and Drew Seeley (Bob Gaudio).
"Same great show that you can see in any company across the world," said Dailey, who described his character, Tommy as the one who finds the talent, "puts the group together" and is the glue that keeps them together.
Drew Seeley portrays songwriter Bob Gaudio, the last man to join the Four Seasons and White's Nick Massi is the bass player in the group.
"He comes up with all the harmonies too," White said, adding "and he's the best looking."
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And the harmonies are what gave Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons their distinctive sound.
As the play follows the story of the iconic all-male band, the "Jersey Boys" of the nationally touring company said it's a musical that appeals to men. It's a play that feels like a concert, according to the actors.
"It's a guys' musical. It's one of the best written musicals ever," Jarquin-Moreland said. "And it's not really a musical. It's like a play with four seats of music. It's one of the most intelligently written pieces in musical theater history and it's just the story of these guys and how they came to be the Four Seasons, one of the greatest groups of all time in American pop culture and Rock and Roll Hall of Famers."
Why go see it?
"It's like a rock concert and it's a great story," Seeley said. "What more can you want?"
The production's website said that the show is not recommended for children because it "contains smoke, gun shots, strobe lights, drug references, sexual situations and profane 'authentic Jersey language.' "
The show runs at the Oakdale through Feb. 8. You can visit the Oakdale's website or the tour's website for more information on the production and tickets are available on Live Nation.
The Toyota Oakdale Theatre is powered by Xfinity, which is affiliated with Comcast. NBC Connecticut is in the NBC Universal family, which Comcast owns.
