Theater review: An overly complicated JERSEY BOYS at Palo Alto Players offers danceable music, too many scene changes but a fine quartet of singers<\/p>\n
By <\/em>JOANNE ENGELHARDT <\/u>on\u00a0March 10, 2025<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong>The opening night audience for the Palo Alto Players\u2019 production of \u201cJersey Boys\u201d had to try hard not to get up and start dancing in the aisles as the very likeable foursome that eventually became known as Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons went through a lot of iterations before becoming the quartet that was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990.<\/p>\n Director Doug Santana<\/strong> found the right combination of singers when he selected James M. Jones<\/strong> to play Frankie Valli, Justin Kerekes<\/strong> to be Nick Massi, Andrew<\/strong> Cope<\/strong> as Bob Gaudio and Tyler Savin<\/strong> as Tommy DeVito.\u00a0 They split up many times, tried out other singers, but never found the sound they had together.<\/p>\n But sometimes all the quick scene changes and constant movement of props and people (17 actors, many of whom play multiple roles) gets in the way of the storyline and the songs.<\/p>\n Choreographer Witney Janssen<\/strong> kept busy with so many musical numbers, yet both the full production numbers and the small snippets of numbers are done well.\u00a0 Nick Kenbrandt<\/strong> keeps busy leading his large orchestra from the back of the stage \u2013 the better to enjoy all of \u201cJersey Boys\u2019\u201d wonderful musical numbers.<\/p>\n Costume designer Jenny Garcia <\/strong>also had her hands full creating costumes for the large cast.\u00a0 The costumes, especially for the dancers, are flashy, colorful and fun. One example: Danny Martin<\/strong> as Bob Crewe, a big-time music producer. (Martin\u2019s outfit was made out of shinny satin bright yellow pants and a white satin shirt.)<\/p>\n John Mannion<\/strong> makes a commanding presence as a judge in a black robe as well as Gyp DeCarlo, a gangster, who makes life tough for several of the singers who owe the mob big time.\u00a0 (Every time DeCarlo shows up, several of the Jersey Boys owe him more money than they did in the previous scene!)<\/p>\n Melissa Momboisse<\/strong> also impresses in several roles, most especially as Lorraine (Frankie\u2019s second wife).\u00a0 Skylar Riordan<\/strong> also plays a number of roles \u2013 including Joe Pesci!\u00a0 And he always seems to get on people\u2019s nerves.\u00a0 The T<\/strong> also shows up in several roles \u2013 and each is memorable.<\/p>\n Finally, Samantha Kenbrandt<\/strong> is memorable in her role as Mary Delgado, although she also has several other roles as well.<\/p>\n At times there seems to be too many walks up one stairway to the catwalk by several actors, only to walk to the other side of the stage and down the other stairway.\u00a0 It just seems like filler.<\/p>\n Despite these shortcomings, the PAP production of \u201cJersey Boys\u201d is definitely worth seeing.\u00a0 Especially if you\u2019re of an age to remember all that wonderful \u201cjuke box music\u201d\u00a0 like \u201cSilhouettes,\u201d \u201cI Can\u2019t Give You Anything But Love,\u201d\u00a0 \u201cEarth Angel,\u201d \u201cShort Shorts,\u201d \u201cBig Girls Don\u2019t Cry,\u201d \u201cWalk Like a Man,\u201d \u201cMy Boyfriend\u2019s Back, \u201cBye Bye Baby\u201d and so many more!<\/p>\n \u201dRuntime for \u201cJersey Boys\u201d is approximately two hours with one intermission.<\/p>\n Palo Alto Players at Lucie Stern Theater, 1305 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto 94301. Shows: Fridays and Saturdays: 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Sundays: 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Closes: Sunday, May 4. For tickets, call 650.329.0891 or visit www.paplayers.org<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Theater review: An overly complicated JERSEY BOYS at Palo Alto Players offers danceable music, too many scene changes but a fine quartet of singers By JOANNE ENGELHARDT on\u00a0March 10, 2025…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":124,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"yasr_overall_rating":3.4,"yasr_post_is_review":"","yasr_auto_insert_disabled":"","yasr_review_type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[841],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-108994","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-joanne-engelhardt"},"yasr_visitor_votes":{"stars_attributes":{"read_only":true,"span_bottom":"