Jersey Boys At The New Victoria Theatre, Woking Review

Reviewed by Kelly Victoria

Oh what a night was had watching Jersey Boys at the New Victoria Theatre in Woking. Unlike other bootleg musicals, the show isn’t written around the songs to form a story. Instead, you are taken through the real journey of The Four Seasons and all of the highs and lows they experienced from forming the iconic group and right up until the end of their journey together.

The dynamic and talented cast performed the story perfectly. You’re taken back to 1960’s New Jersey where Frankie Valli (Michael Pickering), Tommy DeVito (Dalton Wood) and Nick Massi (Christopher Short) meet and form a band. Looking for a fourth member, they are introduced to Bob Gaudio (Blair Gibson) and this is where you can instantly feel the magic of the four members together and complimenting each other perfectly, to form the band we know and love.

A favourite scene has to be Bob playing on the piano whilst auditioning to join the band. Each member of the band suddenly sees how the four of them are made to perform together and one by one join Bob. This is when you hear the four of them sing in harmony together for the first time – it was a really special moment in the show.

We then follow the tumultuous journey of the band, from deciding on the band name of The Four Seasons, to the highs and lows of making it ‘big’. Starting with humble gigs and working as backing vocalists, they finally get their big break and become renowned around the world. Whilst to the adoring public they portray perfection, behind the scenes things are quite different. We are taken through the real and raw journey that the band took throughout their time together, with each band member taking a turn to narrate the story from their own perspective. The demise of The Four Seasons eventually comes when Tommy’s involvement in mob culture lands them in debt and causes an unhealable rift which ripples through the band.

Sharp suits, iconic microphone stands and sixties fashion representative of the era, really set the scene. The show is jam packed full of songs which you know and love including Beggin’, Big Girls Don’t Cry, Working My Way Back to You and many more. Emotional, funny and thrilling you are taken on a journey and feel like you’re right there with The Four Seasons throughout.

The vocally challenging role of Frankie Valli was played by Michael Pickering who performed the role incredibly and mastered the unique tone of Frankie Valli’s vocal tone with ease and perfection.

This certainly doesn’t deflect from the talent of the performers playing the rest of The Four Seasons, Blair Gibson (Bob Gaudio), Dalton Wood (Tommy DeVito) and Christopher Short (Nick Massi) who were also insanely talented and performed their respective roles brilliantly. When together the four of them sung and performed their harmonies and iconic dance moves perfectly and were incredible to watch.

The whole cast were exceptional and the show finished with a well-deserved standing ovation from the entire audience who were then played out of the theatre by the fantastic live band.

Jersey Boys is currently playing at New Victoria Theatre in Woking for a two-week run. It’s a perfect venue with exceptional staff who were so incredibly welcoming. Whilst waiting for the show to start, the staff talked openly about how enthusiastic and proud they were to be home to the show. This just made you even more enthusiastic about getting to your seats ready for the show to start. The theatre is immaculate and has a stunning bar with an occasional live piano player, making it perfect for pre-theatre drinks. Inside, the theatre is perfectly sized and comfortable. They layout of the seating is well thought out and there doesn’t appear to be a bad seat in the house.

If you’ve booked or plan to book tickets, you will definitely not be disappointed. You’re in for a great show full of talent, toe tapping and vocal performances that will blow your mind.

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The show is on from Tuesday 27th September until Saturday 8th October 2022

Tickets cost from £13 (subject to a transaction fee of £3.65) and can be booked by visiting Jersey Boys Tickets | New Victoria Theatre, Woking in Woking | ATG Tickets or phoning the box office on 0333 009 6690

The Peacocks Centre, Woking, GU21 6GQ