‘Jersey Boys’ brings some of Broadway’s favorite songs to Lexington theater

The night “Jersey Boys” opened on Broadway was the night John Leone realized how big the show would be.

“It’s not incorrect to reiterate the degree to which this show is a hit,” said Leone, who was in the original Broadway cast of “Jersey Boys” and is now in Lexington as part of the Lexington Theatre Company’s production. “It is such a crowd-pleaser on every level. People came over and over, returned again ... I just have such an incredible confidence in how good it is.”

The numbers back him up. “Jersey Boys” opened on Broadway in 2005 and ran for 4,642 performances before closing in 2017, the 13th longest running show in Broadway history and fourth longest of the 21st Century behind “Wicked,” “Mamma Mia!” and “The Book of Mormon.” At the 2006 Tony Awards, it received eight nominations and won four, including best musical. It also proved its appeal far from Jersey, with the London production winning best new musical at the Olivier Awards.

Leone and others with the Lexington Theatre Company production say the show has endured because its appeal goes well beyond the specific time, place, and music it portrays. “Jersey Boys” is the story of the Four Seasons, led by Frankie Valli, and includes hit songs such as “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” “Sherry,” “December 1963 (Oh, What a Night),” and “Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You.”

“The music is obviously fantastic and iconic and just part of the zeitgeist of our country for the past 60 years,” says Leone, who plays Gyp DeCarlo, a mob boss who helps the group. “It has a legitimately fascinating, true story that’s beautifully constructed.”

Director and choreographer Patrick O’Neill recalls that during that Broadway run families from teens to grandparents often went together, the songs being what they knew going in.

“The humanity was so relatable to everybody,” he said. You watch the kids grow up, you watched parents having problems with their kids — there was such a thing that resonated throughout our community up there, and the audiences ate it up. Because no matter if you were 16, and in the middle of high school, or you were at a Frankie Valli concert in the ’60s, everybody resonated with the stories that were being told on stage.”

Joey LaVarco, who plays Frankie Valli in the Lexington Theatre Company production, was one of those children in the audience for the Broadway show, taken by his mother who was a huge Valli fan.

“I’m from Jersey,” LaVarco said. “My hometown is mentioned at least four times in the show. It was a big deal with the show came out. And it’s such a big deal for people from Jersey and this little area of the country that is so specific, and there’s such a culture there and it became mainstream and so many people fell in love with it.

“As a 10-year-old kid, like I didn’t really connect with much from it. But the story and the music alone were enough to keep me hanging for this many years.”

Valli, who was involved with the creation of the musical, is still actively performing and recording at 90. Leone, who knows Valli, says LaVarco is offering a faithful representation of the distinctive singer.

“He just embodies Frankie,” Leone said. “He’s on it. He makes it a really different, beautiful performance.”

A member of the original Broadway cast commenting on the performance of a man who first saw that production as a preteen sort of epitomizes what distinguishes this production to O’Neill. Between them, and the other professional cast members, they are bringing unique experiences with “Jersey Boys” to this show. And then they’re conveying that to the student and community actors that round out the cast.

“We’re infinitely lucky to have John and the four guys join us because they bring such expertise,” O’Neill says. “They’ve crafted performances all across the country, and the fun part is watching them do it together.

“What we’re most excited to bring to Lexington is a production that’s never been done anywhere before. This is the Lexington production of ‘Jersey Boys.’”

The Lexington Theatre Co. presents “Jersey Boys”

When: Aug. 1 and 2 at 7:30 p.m., Aug. 3 at 1 and 7:30 p.m, and Aug. 4 at 1 and 6:30 p.m.

Where: Lexington Opera House, 401 W. Short St.

Tickets: Call 859-940-4450 or visit lexingtontheatrecompany.org for ticket information and to learn more.

This story was originally published July 31, 2024 at 4:59 AM.