New Jersey Nights at the Royal and Derngate, Northampton Review
New Jersey Nights
Royal and Derngate, Northampton
15-20 September 2014
Reviewed by Michelle Llabani
As always it was a joy to be in the Royal and Derngate again, with excellent facilities and parking it is a fantastic venue to visit.
Walking into the theatre to find our seats for the show I was first struck by the overwhelming 60+ demographic, however considering the show is based on the music of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons I guess this is no big surprise.
The show got off to a great start, with ‘Oh What a Night’ followed by ‘Beggin’. However it quickly became apparent that the production was solely based on the music of the era in a concert style as opposed to shows like Buddy or We Will Rock You, where a story is built around the music. You may think this is a problem for those who are not fans of the Four Seasons or their discography, however there were enough hit, such as ‘Unchained Melody’, ‘Grease’ and ‘My Girl’ to satisfy even the most uninitiated in 50’s and 60’s music.
Hit followed hit, the singers Damion Scarcella, Jonathan Hawkins, Adam Dougal and William Hazell all did an excellent job, without sounding like a tribute act. There were some excellent falsetto notes and outstanding acapella harmonies to ‘Silence is Golden’.
Accompanying the singers were a live band and a group of 6 dancers who did a good job of helping to bring the music alive without the chorography feeling overworked or too cheesy. Having not been born at the height (or the end) of The Four Seasons fame I can’t truly say if the set and costumes were a true reflection of the late 50’s or 60’s, however they seemed authentic to me.
All in all my mother and I had a very enjoyable night, culminating with almost all the whole audience (including me) up and dancing at the end to the New Jersey Nights Mega Mix. Definitely one to treat the mum to. I’ll be humming ‘Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You’ for the rest of the week I’m sure.
Rating: 4/5
Tickets cost from £10 to £29 (plus £2.80 transaction fee).
New Jersey Nights is at the Royal and Derngate in Northampton until 20 September 2014. For more information or to book tickets click here or call the box office on 01604 624811.
Royal & Derngate, Guildhall Road, Northampton, NN1 1DP | 01604 624811
