'Jersey Boys' highlights Four Seasons

(l to r) Jason Kappus, Colby Foytik, Brad Weinstock and Brandon Andrus (Credit: Photo: Joan Marcus)

Bob Gaudio and Frankie Valli pounded doors on both coasts during the late 1950s and early 1960s, trying to get people in the music business to hear their band, which had gone through a few name changes before settling on The Four Seasons.

Someone at Vee-Jay Records finally listened, and within months the band had its first No. 1 record in “Sherry,” which was quickly followed by a second chart-topper, “Big Girls Don’t Cry.” That was 1962, and 50 years later the group has sold more than 175 million records.

Gaudio never forgot the value of beating on doors, and did the same beginning in 1999 when he was trying to get The Four Seasons’ story made into a stage production. Lightning struck again, and “Jersey Boys” has won multiple awards, including a Tony for best musical, and has been seen by 15 million people while grossing more than $1 billion internationally.

“Somebody told me after one of the previews (in 2004), ‘You know, this may be bigger than you guys ever were,’ and I said, ‘Well, I certainly hope so,’” Gaudio said. “It’s pretty astounding. It’s something that you dream about, and maybe I’m still dreaming.”

“Jersey Boys” returns to the Kentucky Center’s Whitney Hall for a 16-show PNC Broadway in Louisville run that begins Tuesday and will go through Dec. 2. In 2010 in Louisville, it played to more than 40,000 fans, selling out many performances, and is expected to do the same this time.

That’s because The Four Seasons’ story resonates beyond the music. Gaudio calls it “the ‘Rocky’ aspect,” referring to Sylvester Stallone’s movie about a punch-drunk boxer who gets his chance to fight the heavyweight champion and, after a lot of work and a couple of tries, succeeds.

“Only in America, absolutely,” he said. “It has those elements, and I think that people relate to that, even people who may not particularly care for the music, or who could go one way or the other.

“We have a very high rate of return with audiences. I’ve rarely spoken to someone who has only seen the show once. It’s usually two, three or four times, so there’s something about the show. You could listen to the songs at home, but there’s something about the visuals and the impact of the story that becomes an important marriage.”

“Jersey Boys” is what’s known as a jukebox musical, or one that uses existing songs to help tell its story. The music is by Gaudio, with lyrics by Four Seasons producer Bob Crewe, and the show’s book is by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice.

The story is separated into four chapters, each representing a different season and each narrated by a different Four Season in Gaudio, Valli, Tommy DeVito and Nick Massi. It traces the arc of the personal relationships among band members as their fame grows, with Valli eventually breaking away for a solo career.

“Jersey Boys” premiered in 2004 at the La Jolla Playhouse at the University of California, San Diego, which is fitting since the band’s first label, Vee-Jay, was based on the West Coast. It arrived on Broadway in late 2005, opening at the August Wilson Theatre, and has since toured nationally and internationally. It has been nominated for 39 awards in the United States, London, Canada and Australia, winning 12 times — thrice for best new musical.

Gaudio, who had a highly successful second career as a producer, making six albums with Neil Diamond, has seen “Jersey Boys” many times but still experiences flashback moments.

“The truth is pretty well on that stage,” he said. “I feel like I’m watching my life with a 20-minute intermission. Some nights it’s exhausting, because I feel the impact of that much time and that much effort and what we went through.”

Reporter Jeffrey Lee Puckett can be reached at (502) 582-4160.