Jersey Boys at the Opera House Manchester Review
Jersey Boys
Opera House, Manchester
28 October to 7 November 2015
Reviewed by Ruth Thomas
The Manchester Opera House is right in the city centre, close to lots of places to eat and drink. We decided to make an evening of it and visited Fazenda on The Avenue for an amazing fill of meat. It was our first visit to Fazenda and we will be certainly heading there again. The Avenue has lots of lovely restaurants and cool bars to choose from.
There is plenty of parking close-by albeit some of it quite expensive; we parked in King Street West which was £18 for the evening.
When we arrived at Manchester Opera House there was a definite buzz as lots of paparazzi gathered outside taking photographs of Manchester based celebrities on the red carpet who were attending the show; including Hollyoaks actress Stephanie Waring, former Coronation Street actress Tupele Dorgu, actress Sue Devaney, former Manchester City player Stephen Ireland and Coronation Street actor Jimmi Harkishin.
We had excellent seats in the stalls and had the opportunity to order drinks and snacks from our seats.
Jersey Boys is the story of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons, it focuses on the singers offstage lives told through the eyes of each of the boys ‘from the wrong sides of the tracks’. Each has a different take on their journey from rags to riches, which includes gambling, debt and connections to the Mafia.
Photo credit Helen Maybanks
Tommy DeVito is responsible for putting the group together and takes young Frankie under his wing. Nick Massi is the bass singer and bass guitarist while Bob Gaudio joins the trio as the song-writer.
The show included hits Sherry (which sold over a million copies in 1962), Big Girls Don’t Cry, Walk Like a Man and Beggin’ so there was lots of foot tapping from the audience.
Personally I found the story took quite a long time to get going, and there was a certain lack of energy in the first half however Valli’s falsetto was captivating.
There was some humour, a few choice words (which may not be suitable if you are thinking of taking younger children) and lots of hits; just lacking a certain energy in my opinion.
Rating: 4/5
Tickets cost from £23.90 to £64.40 (plus £4 transaction fee).
Jersey Boys is at the Opera House in Manchester until 7 November 2015. For more information or to book tickets click here or call the box office on 0844 871 3018.
Opera House Manchester. 3 Quay Street, Manchester, M3 3HP | 0844 871 3018
