Ogunquit Playhouse’s regional premiere of “Jersey Boys,” the multi-Tony Award-winning Broadway sensation and internationally-acclaimed tribute to Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons, unleashes a troth of musical gems and a floodgate of sentimental childhood memories upon a very receptive audience. The show closes out the Playhouse’s 86^th summer season and runs through October 28.

Shepherded by Award-winning director, writer and producer Holly-Anne Palmer, “Jersey Boys” is presented as a live “rockumentary,” written by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice, about four young guys from the streets of Newark, New Jersey, who eventually weave their sordid tangent paths into one journey to fame and fortune.

As a creative property, “Jersey Boys” is unique compared to similar-themed works of artistic homage that have enjoyed stupendous popularity at Ogunquit Playhouse—“Million Dollar Quartet, Heartbreak Hotel, Smokey Joe’s Café,” e.g.  In this production, the story is exposed by Frankie Valli, (born Francesco Castelluccio), Tommy DeVito, lead guitarist, Bob Gaudio, songwriter/keyboardist, and bassist Nick Massi — who alternately break the fourth wall and share their versions of The Four Seasons journey.

It’s a fascinating story that wouldn’t have happened if not for Joe Pesci (yes, that Joe Pesci). After 18 band name changes, The Four Seasons released their first hit (“Sherry”) in 1962 and immediately catapulted from lounge bar gigs to the big time.  Thirteen hits later (“Big Girls Don’t Cry, Walk Like a Man, Candy Girl, Stay, Dawn, Rag Doll, Bye Bye Baby, Let’s Hang On, Workin’ My Way Back to You, Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You, C’Mon Marianne, My Eyes Adored You, O What A Night” ), The Four Seasons were clean-cut, hard-working American heartthrobs and industry legends.

But trouble was brewing within the Frankie Valli dynasty. Personalities flared. Separate business dealings between Gaudio and Valli became a point of contention. And when it was revealed that DeVito was in hock to loan sharks who by now were circling the band camp, Gaudio and Valli arranged to protect the band and pay off DeVito’s debt on the condition that he leave the band. Soon after, Massi quit and Gaudio turned to producing Valli’s solo career.

The narratives are as entertaining as the music — intimate moments with the players before they’d jump back into an iconic hit … to the thrill of a very appreciative audience.  The fine vision of Scenic Designer Adam Koch is front-center in his clever array of linear apparatus that quickly and effectively moves the show like a live 3-D game of Chutes and Ladders. Add some fun 60s choreography by Gerry McIntyre and a talented cast to drape the stage and the result is a well-oiled entertainment machine.

Jonathan Mousset has the honor of playing Frankie Valli. Matt Magnusson’s commanding treatment of Tommy DeVito is convincingly crafty and foxy. Andy Christopher’s Bob Gaudio is well-played from beginning to end, and Matthew Amira emulates the role of Nick Massi with perfect subtlety.

The ensemble features Andrew Aaron Berlin, Sean Burns, Kris Coleman, Nathan Yates Douglass, Craig Glen Foster, Maxel Garcia, Colin McAdoo, David McDonald, Hillary Porter, Bailey Purvis, Erin Riley, Connor Schulz, Doug Storm, and Stephanie Toups. Bravo to a focused ensemble for all the savory characters!

The Four Seasons hits were created by Bob Gaudio (music) and Bob Crewe (lyrics). For this production, Jonny Baird served as music director (Keys 1) with Jacob Yates as associate music director (Keys 2). Others included Jason May (Reeds), Christian Marrero (Trumpet/Flugelhorn) and Daniel Hartington (Guitar).

[A noteworthy local connection: Maine Philanthropist Dan Crewe is Bob’s brother who worked with him during those early years producing records and writing hits. Dan moved to Portland in 1991 and two years later bought a 33-acre plot of land in Cumberland which houses a Nature Preserve and a renovated farmhouse that became home to his family. When Bob died in 2014, Dan built an art gallery on his property to lodge Bob’s art collection and memorabilia, including the piano on which Bob wrote many of his hits. For more information, visit  https://mainehomedesign.com/features/2512-music-in-the-making/

While “Jersey Boys” succeeds in giving the audience an exhilarating nostalgic look back to a great period of American music and history, it fell shy of reaching that customary standard-bearing excellence the Playhouse has consistently mastered with previous tributes. Three factors to consider:

Clearly there was an issue with the audio (late mic cues and drops), but the overall mix did not blend well. The backup vocals were mixed hotter than the lead vocals and even the pit levels were low … almost as if the front mains were turned down and the audience was hearing monitor mixes. 

Also, Mousset, while a fine singer in his own realm, was not able to  sustain the trademark nasally powerful Valli falsetto consistently. Not sure if he was experiencing vocal issues, but hopefully it’ll resolve (and hopefully he’s okay).

Thirdly, the way the show is written only provides for very short samples — teases — of the hits … not any full versions to satisfy die-hard Four Seasons fans…not even in the encores.

Sadly, the performance overall seemed under-powered and under-energized … but that clearly did not stop the audience from re-living their glorious teenage days and showing their love for the cast with instant standing ovations and lots of hooting and hollering … and that’s what it’s all about!

For more information, contact 646-5511 or OgunquitPlayhouse.org. 

— Louis Philippe is a freelance reviewer for the Journal Tribune