“Jersey Boys" at the Timber Lake Playhouse -- August 17 through 27.
Thursday, August 17, through Sunday, August 27
Timber Lake Playhouse, 8215 Black Oak Road, Mt. Carroll IL
Lauded by Time Out New York for its “infectiously energetic 1960s tunes” and by The New Yorker for its “well-judged humor and elegant strokes of observation,” the Broadway-musical smash Jersey Boys – running August 17 through 27 – closes the 2023 summer season at Mt. Carroll's Timber Lake Playhouse, this multiple Tony Award winner a show that, according to Broadway World, “rousingly recreates the catchy songs, convoluted lives, and roller-coaster careers of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons.”
Jersey Boys is the inspiring rags-to-riches tale of The Four Seasons beginning with their early days as struggling members of “The Variety Trio.” When Frankie Valli, Bob Gaudio, Tommy DeVito, and Nick Massi met, they were just four New Jersey teens singing together under street lamps, scraping for gigs and money in their working-class neighborhood. As the quartet rises to international stardom, however, they celebrate the highs and endure the lows that come hand-in-hand with fame. Each member of the group takes a turn narrating events in this stage tale, illustrating how a ragtag group of guys from New Jersey – and their decades-long friendships – became music history. Jersey Boys consequently showcases The Four Seasons' most iconic hits and reveals the inspiring stories behind the music, with its repertoire boasting such iconic smash hits as “Sherry,” “Walk Like a Man,” “December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night),” “My Eyes Adored You,” “Working My Way Back to You,” and the show-stopper “Can't Take My Eyes Off You.”
Playing an incredible 4,642 performances in New York and currently standing as the 12th-longest-running show in Broadway history, Jersey Boys originally ran from 2005 to 2017, and since its debut, the show has been on two North American national tours and two national tours of the United Kingdom and Ireland. There have been productions of Jersey Boys in London's West End, Las Vegas, Chicago, Toronto, Melbourne and other Australian cities, Singapore, South Africa, the Netherlands, Japan, Dubai, and China. In 2006, Jersey Boys also won four Tony Awards including Best Musical and Best Actor in a Musical for Valli portrayer John Lloyd Young, and the show later received Great Britain's 2009 Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Musical.
Starring as Frankie Valli, lead vocalist of The Four Seasons, is Michael Fasano. Jacob Anderson plays the charming bad-boy Tommy DeVito, the lead guitar player of The Four Seasons, who serves as the show’s primary narrator and founding member of the band. Rounding out the Four Seasons is Keaton Miller as Nick Massi and Peyton Schoenhofer as Bob Gaudio.
The Timber Lake Playhouse production will be helmed by director John Michael Coppola, who was the leader of The Four C Notes when they played at TLP. Oliver Townsend joins the creative team as music director for Jersey Boys, and Spencer Gjerde is the scenic designer. Additional members of the show's creative team include sound designer Dillon Allen, lighting designer Cletus Karamon, costume designer Maya Faye Gordon, props designer Jeff Creath, and stage manager Elaina Veasey. “We’ve looked forward to producing Jersey Boys at TLP for many years,” said Executive Director Dan Danielowski. “I think our audiences will love the music and the story about these rough New Jersey boys.”
Jersey Boys runs at the Mt. Carroll theatre August 17 through 27, with scheduled performances at 7:30 p.m. and 2 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays. Admission is $25-35, and more information and tickets are available by calling (815)244-2035 and visiting TimberLakePlayhouse.org.
