Reviving the look, style and feel of the 1960’s New Jersey Nights is a jukebox musical concert which takes the audience on a nostalgic tour through the hits of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons along with other songs from the era, performed by a talented group of singers, a superb live band and a healthy dose of vivacious enthusiasm.
By Paul Szabo | 25th September 2013
Not only did the show include a number of Frankie Valli classics, such as “Big Girls Don’t Cry”, “Sherry”, “Walk Like A Man” and “My Eyes Adored You”, there was also a selection of songs by other artists, such as “Be My Baby”, “Why Do Fools Fall In Love”, “Blue Moon” and “My Girl”. Even if the names of the songs on the set list were not familiar upon first glance, as soon as they started, they became instantly recognisable. The set list was well balanced, with the first half of the show providing a relentless succession of up-tempo, foot tapping numbers, which bubbled with energy and enthusiasm. The second half started off more slowly, with a number of ballads, but picked up towards the last quarter of the show, bringing the audience to their feet to sing and dance in the aisles.
The singers, John Hawkins, Ricki Rojas, Damion Scarcella and Simon Schofield were a talented bunch and sounded superb both during their solo numbers and when performing together as a group, producing incredible harmonies and hitting the high notes perfectly with their falsetto voices. The attractive and sharply suited group undeniably looked and sounded the part and came across as confident and charismatic on stage. They were backed by a live, on-stage four-piece band that were equally as talented and sounded excellent; thereby ensuring that both the music and vocals were highly polished and professionally presented.
Unfortunately, the show did not quite come up to scratch in some areas. Firstly, the set, as a whole, was very basic and almost cheap looking, with its gold tinsel curtains and painted scenery. Whilst functional, it simply looked as though it had been thrown together which is a real shame. Secondly, the choreography was in keeping with the trends and styles of the era, but looked disjointed for the majority of the time. The dancers, mainly paired in couples, all did their own routines to each number simultaneously on stage. The routines for the three couples were never sufficiently different to separate them out as doing a separate routine but equally, never looked sufficiently similar to give the impression of the three couples dancing in unison.
Regrettably, despite the talented dancers, it led to the choreography looking and feeling stilted and awkward at times. Thankfully, the performances of the lead singers generally detracted the audience from these flaws.
The show is more of a concert than a musical, and at times felt a little like a high value piece of cruise ship cabaret. Its production values were very basic and it was cabaret masquerading as theatre, but provided you approach the show with this in mind, you will find it very hard to resist its charms.
The audience was mainly made up of the generation who remembered these songs from the first time around and who were clearly thoroughly enjoying the show. But even the younger members of the audience were cheering, clapping and singing along at the end. If you are a fan of the music of Frankie Valli, The Temptations and The Ronettes, if you enjoy the “Do-Wop” style of music, or if you love the soundtrack to Dirty Dancing, then you will no doubt have great fun.
As the whole theatre took to their feet for the last few numbers and the cries for “one more” rang out at the end, it was clear how much the audience had enjoyed the show. The reality is, that despite the feel of the show, its flaws and its production values, you simply couldn’t help getting swept up in the party atmosphere. The show is quite simply infectious fun.
New Jersey Nights is currently playing at Sheffield Lyceum Theatre until the 28th September 2013 before continuing on its national tour.
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