About the work
Jersey Boys is a jukebox musical with music by Bob Gaudio and lyrics by Bob Crewe, with a book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice, premiered on Broadway in 2005. It tells the story of the pop group The Four Seasons and won four Tony Awards, including Best Musical.
Plot
From the impoverished circumstances of New Jersey, four young men around the falsetto singer Frankie Valli rise to global stardom in the 1960s. Told from the shifting perspectives of the four band members, the musical follows their meteoric rise, the tensions over money, debt, and loyalty, and the personal tragedies behind the success. Hits such as Sherry, Big Girls Don't Cry, and Can't Take My Eyes Off You mark the stages of their career.
Cultural significance
Jersey Boys is regarded as one of the most successful jukebox musicals ever and set the standard for the biographical band musical. Its narrative form of four subjective viewpoints lifted it above the usual string of hits. With more than 4,600 performances it was one of the longest-running Broadway hits; Clint Eastwood's 2014 film carried the Four Seasons' story to a wider audience.