Who loves you?

I love, love, love the Jersey Boys. Absolutely adore it. The music, the harmonies, the story, the jokes, the energy, everything. Puts a huge smile on my face while I'm watching.

I just came back from seeing the Jersey Boys for the third time at the Curran Theater, first time from rush seats (I arrived at 5pm, I was probably the 8th or 9th person in line?). They aren't kidding when they say the seats are limited view. We were in the front row of the left orchestra - I had the centermost seat of the four of us, and most of my view was blocked everytime they had a bar or table or something set up, and I couldn't see anything from the actors' waists down once they got only halfway back (or barely their heads when they were in the back), and my friends were even further to the left and could see even less. On the other hand, you really get caught up in the energy of the show when you're that close up, watching the spit fly, getting a wink or a glance from a cast member, seeing the glittering moisture in Jarrod Spector's eyes during "Fallen Angel," watching every facial expression cross the actors' faces (when they weren't facing away from you, at least), and almost, almost thinking you could hear their actual voices instead of the projected voices.

I've now seen the original SF cast - Christopher Kale Jones as Frankie, Deven May as Tommy, Miles Aubrey as Bob (Erich Bergen was off that day), and Michael Ingersoll as Nick - from 3rd row center orchestra seats we were lucky enough to snag the day or two before the show. I've seen the new SF cast shortly after they started - Jarrod Spector as Frankie, Jeremy Kushnier as Tommy, Drew Gehling as Bob, and Steve Gouveia as Nick - from balcony seats. And now I've seen the current SF (soon to be Chicago, I believe) cast with Michael Ingersoll as Nick from 1st row left orchestra. Not to mention countless YouTube clips of the Broadway cast. My assessment? It's far, far, better to be close up, to feel more caught up in the energy and the emotion. Center orchestra 3rd row (which probably cost 4x as much as rush seats) are much better than left orchestra 1st row. Jarrod Spector sounds an awful lot like the actual Frankie Valli and his acting is spot on - the emotion feels genuine, his growth from callow youth to mature father very convincing, yet extremely subtle, his quiet strength and barely-restrained anger in the confrontation scene with Tommy believable, and his anguish during "Fallen Angel" palpable. He delivers one of the most beautiful versions of "Fallen Angel" (and "My Eyes Adored You") I've heard, and his voice is fantastic. My only complaint is that I sometimes felt, in both performances I saw of him, that he was a bit too restrained - his falsetto is flawless but doesn't project as strongly as his non-falsetto singing voice so he could get a bit lost in the orchestrations, and he doesn't have the extroverted energy of the rest of the cast (though how he could maintain that for the length of time he's on stage, I don't know). On the other hand, from the recordings I've seen of John Lloyd Young, that could simply be the character. He seems to me to approach the character in a very similar way to JLY. Christopher Kale Jones, on the other hand, was a bundle of joyous energy. Of the three Frankie's I've heard, he's the least authentically Valli sounding, but he has a very powerful falsetto and possibly the best musical theater singing voice (though when Jarrod actually got going on songs like "Beggin'", he was right up there in the projection and energy as well). His energy level was infectious, and it could be b/c it was the first time I saw it, but Sherry/Big Girls Don't Cry/Walk Like a Man was an absolutely incredible energy shot in that first performance in a way that didn't quite hold as true after that. On the other hand, I found his dramatic scenes - the confrontation with Tommy, the "Fallen Angel" scene (though sung beautifully) a bit less convincing. Christopher Kale Jones was a ton of fun to watch, Jarrod Spector is extremely compelling to watch. The funny thing is, the first time I heard both Chris Jones and Jarrod Spector sing as young Frankie, I could not stand their voices - both were far too nasally (and I thought Chris Jones went slightly off key from time to time). It was my bf who suggested that it was a deliberate acting choice to indicate him being young and untrained, I was too busy cringing to interpret =P. I don't know if it's b/c I expected it or b/c he's toned it down, but I didn't think Jarrod's voice was nearly as nasally as young Frankie tonight. At any rate, I would love to see Chris Jones' interpretation of Frankie again now that he's had more time to settle into the role and I'm much more familiar with it, but I'm not *quite* crazy enough to drive out to Sacramento to see the show for the fourth time. It's tempting...

As for the rest of the cast, I have a definite fondness for Deven May as Tommy DeVito - he seemed more dangerous, more edgy, but really played up the sly humor and the broad winking at the audience. Plus I like his voice. However, Jeremy Kushnier brings his own spin to the role and is equally compelling in a different way. He plays Tommy more as an ineffectual blowhard than someone actually dangerous or tough, which I initially found a bit offputting after Deven May's interpretation, but made him backing down to Frankie and the way everyone started dismissing him after a while a lot more believable. Both are awesome and I'm glad I saw them both. Of the Bob Gaudios, Miles Aubrey had a wonderful, wonderful voice, but as a character, I thought Drew Gehling was both more convincing and brought a lot more interpretation to the role. Of course, Aubrey was an understudy so he didn't have night after night to perfect the role, but IMO he also didn't have the right look to play the super-youthful Gaudio early on. I loved his "Cry for Me" and "Oh What a Night" but Drew Gehling also has a wonderful voice and made me laugh harder. His rather overexaggerated but hilarious reactions as the extremely nervous inexperienced youth at the beginning of "Oh What a Night" (and when he first talked to some girls at the bar in his first scene) were priceless. And it was pretty amazing glancing at him as he stood on the catwalk and watched Frankie sing "Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You". He was facing me directly from where he stood, and even though he's in the background of the scene, he looks completely proud, and fond, and every emotion you would imagine Bob Gaudio feeling as he watched his best friend sing this song and capture the audience you could see on his face. It had me wondering if he's just a great actor, or if that was actually his genuine emotion watching Jarrod. Pretty cool moment. Though I was a bit distracted at times b/c I think he looks a bit like Todd Eldredge, the figure skater. As for Nick Massi, there's no question about it. Michael Ingersoll's interpretation wins for me hands down. The character can be a bit of a non-entity, in the background all the time but never really exhibiting a really strong sense of who he is in the way the other three do, but Michael Ingersoll brings him to life in his line deliveries, facial expressions, and body language as a slightly offbeat, quirky, precise and fussy, and wistful person. His every line reading is deliberate in the same way he straightens his cuffs, really taking what's in the script about this slightly OCD character and embodying him with dignity and humor. And the way he turns "maybe I should start my own group" into a running joke, just by his delivery and expressions, is awesome. Steve Gouveia's interpretation was far more ordinary guy, and given how in the background Nick Massi already is, it just didn't make him stand out at all. And the "maybe I should start my own group" repetition seemed to just blow over the audience's heads, wasting a great joke. He was good, but I love Michael Ingersoll's version.

Overall, though, it's the music more than anything that keeps me obsessed with this show. I love guys harmonizing anyway but there's something about the Four Seasons music that is just so infectious and addictive. One of the people we talked to in line was waiting for her 3rd show in a row, and had seen the show a total of six times. I'm not quite at that level yet, but boy..it is kind of tempting to go back tomorrow night and try again... ;)

Oh I almost forgot - one funny bit that I don't remember ever seeing in my previous two viewings of the show (maybe they added it, maybe I didn't notice it?) was when Frankie and the guys are singing backup for "Miss Frankie Nolan", at one point Frankie sings backup alone for her, really belting out his part in falsetto, and she starts looking really pissed, waving at him to be quieter, and trying to outsing him, finally giving him a very dirty look as she leaves the stage. In the meantime, he's looking really amused (probably one of the few times you see him laugh on stage) while the other guys are basically laughing and slapping him on the back for it. That was cute. Ah, poor threatened lead singer...

Who loves you, pretty baby? Who's gonna help you through the night... *goes off singing(