Francesco Castelluccio, better known by his stage name, Frankie Valli, was born in the First Ward of Newark, New Jersey in 1934. A working-class neighborhood filled with immigrants, the world in which Frankie Valli grew up would have been a mashup of Italian and American culture. The colorful language that has become synonymous with North […]
The Smaldone family, Denver’s version of the Mafia, was low key, unlike their more high-profile brethren in New York, Chicago and New Jersey. They wore big hats and spiffy suits, but they didn’t race around town in big cars, mowing down rivals. In fact, they weren’t in the Mafia. Isolated far out in Denver, they […]
Compiled from material by Center Theatre Group How is it possible that The Four Seasons have been part of American culture for four-and-a-half decades, and who they are has remained a mystery? Why is it that we have known their songs by heart while knowing or learning little about the singers? Four Seasons lead singer […]
By: Diane Snyder Forget about show-stopping finales. In Jersey Boys, the smash-hit musical about the rise and fall of The Four Seasons, the pinnacle of excitement comes about 45 minutes into the first act. That’s when back-to-back presentations of three of the group’s biggest hits — “Sherry,” “Big Girls Don’t Cry” and “Walk Like a […]
Music can certainly transport you to a different time and place, but if that time and place is before your time and place, you might need a bit more context. Enter the costume designer. This artist — along with the set, prop and lighting designers among others — helps to take an audience on a […]
By: David Freeland Jersey Boys, the Tony® and Grammy® Award-winning Broadway musical about the spectacular rise of pop icons Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons, has been seen worldwide by over 24 million people, all of them captivated by the dazzling recreations of classic 1960s hits such as “Sherry,” “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” and “Can’t […]