Theatrical Thursday – Jersey Boys

Given what this Theatrical Thursday is about not all of these will have a link to a novel of any kind. Even though this isn’t book related I wanted to talk about it anyway because I love theatre and once the Festival gets going I’ll be talking about a number of shows that have no other literary history than that of a theatrical production. But I also think that plays has a place in the literary world and that’s why I’m using this place to talk about them.

There were a number of reasons for wanting to see Jersey Boys. The primary reason for wanting to watching this particular show is because the director, Des McAnuff, is the new Artistic Director of the place I work, the Stratford Shakespeare Festival. This year he is directing our flagship production Macbeth and one of the musicals this season A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. So needless to say I felt inclined to see this production dispite its one major downfall, the fact that it’s a jukebox musical. I really don’t like the jukebox musical because the stories are contrived and are just a way of drawing people to the theatre because they already know the music.

I saw the all Canadian cast at the Toronto Center for the Arts last week. There were four of us that took the trip from Stratford to Toronto. Sadly the most exciting part of the evening was when we saw Fred Penner come through the front door. He was someone I remember watching on television all the time growing up. So it was really exciting to see him. You may better remember him for this:

After that excitement we entered the theatre to see this production. Jersey Boys, for those of you don’t know, is the story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. The story is good and the music is fantastic but as a show it’s not anything spectacular. I just couldn’t understand why it continues to win all the awards it’s won or won the Tony Awards it got. The best that could be said for this show is that it’s entertainment. It’s enjoyable but I don’t think it’s something people should rush out to see.

My first encounter with this show was watching the Tony Awards. You’ll get an idea of the energy of the show from the clip below from the Tony Awards. For those of you that know the music of the Four Seasons you’ll enjoy the tunes in this show and it may be of interest to see the show.

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Weekly Review #12

This is a little later than usual but this week has been turned on its head a little.  I’ve had make some adjustments to my work schedule (starting earlier) because I’m off tomorrow evening to see Jersey Boys in Toronto.  Due to this change I wasn’t thinking yesterday and so didn’t do my weekly review then…so you get it now.

I didn’t get nearly as much reading done as I wanted to this past week.  I did get started on The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson and I must say this is proving to be one of the best books I’ve read this year.  Thank you to all of you that suggested I read it.  I’m almost half way through already and I have already fallen in love with it.

On the flip side I’m still struggling through Sea of Poppies and more and more is being missed because my mind likes to use this time to wander.  But I’m determined to keep at in hopes that it’s rewarding in the end.

I did get another one of the Fables books finished this week and I must say it was great.  This is one of the best graphic novel series I’ve encountered.  But then again I haven’t been that involved in the graphic novel scene.  I’m really enjoying my encounters with graphic novels thus far.

Coming up this week in Theatrical Thursday is a look at Boy in the Striped Pajamas.

Until next time happy reading.