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You don’t have to be from New Jersey to love Millbrook’s latest hit

PHOTO PROVIDED The promotion photo for “Jersey Boys,” Millbrook’s latest production is shown above.

You don’t have to be from New Jersey to love Millbrook’s latest hit. The musical “Jersey Boys,” which has won more awards than could fit on my dining room table, is playing for the next three weeks on the Ryan Main Stage.

This fast-paced production takes us on a whirlwind tour as the Four Seasons — a group held together by spit, polish, and the angelic singing voice of Frankie Valli — weathers breakups, deadtimes, skirmishes with the law, and internal tensions to finally achieve its own original, wildly popular 60s sound. From the opening of the show to the last rousing number, with stopovers for the dramatic highlights, we are treated to a playlist that includes “Sherry,” “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” “Walk Like a Man,” “Can’t Take My Eyes off of You,” “Rag Doll,” and “December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night).”

Four newcomers to Millbrook’s stage play the essential roles, each taking a turn in the spotlight to narrate his version of the main events.

Tommy DeVito, played by Tyler Shore, is the heavyweight of the group, insisting that he was the one who discovered Frankie and that he’s the glue holding the band together. His innocent-seeming facade, however, hides an ego-driven persona unable to take responsibility for his misguided and sometimes criminal behaviors. The success of the group is not, of course, due to the force of one person, and much of the story undermines DeVito’s perspective while also highlighting the forces — among them luck, persistence, loyalty, and incredible talent — that brought the group together and ensured its success.

Nathan David Smith plays Nick Massi, the self-described “Ringo” of the group. He complains about the size of the soap in their hotel bathrooms. He continually threatens to leave to start his own group. His part contributes a kind of grumpy humor to the performance as well as representing the centrifugal force that threatens to tear the group apart.

Colin Denehy is Bob Guido, the songwriter responsible for many of the group’s major hits, who’s accepted into the band over DeVito’s objections and who becomes its real visionary and leader. It’s due to Bob that he and Frankie meet up with record producer Bob Crewe (played with brio by Tyler Gallaher), who signs the group to the recording deal that eventually opens the door to recognition and public acclaim.

The music grounds this play, and the actors’ voices blend beautifully to create, with Adam Marino’s strong falsetto, a sound entirely worthy of the Four Seasons. Adam plays Frankie, the band’s center of gravity, with sensitivity, taking us from his first tentative try-outs to the full-out flowering of his voice, allowing us to experience the costs as well as the triumphs of his hard-lived journey.

One of the delights for me of seeing this play was to watch Frank Franconeri, whom we know from previous Millbrook performances (including “Deathtrap,” “To Kill a Mockingbird,” and “Gaslight”) perform here as Gyp DeCarlo, the mob boss with the heart of gold, and then transform into a number of other characters, each with his own distinct presence (and hair style!). It’s indicative of Frank’s acting chops that he’s able to slip into these parts as easily, and convincingly, as putting on a new suit of clothes. He gives this play a charm and texture that contribute immensely to its appeal.

Before the play began the night I went to see it, David Leidholdt, Millbrook’s Artistic Director, made the point that theatre is a “hard art form,” requiring that many people collaborate to make a performance work. This seems especially true for this production, with its fast pace, many costume and scene changes, ensemble pieces, and lighting decisions.

Great job from the lively ensemble, and from the director and choreographer Chaz Wolcott, as well as the many others who were involved. The play works — so well that you’ll be on your feet in its final moments , giving these boys (and girls) from Jersey a rousing Pennsylvania ovation!

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Karen Elias lives in Swissdale. She taught English for more than 30 years, most recently at Lock Haven University and Penn College.

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