Jersey Boys

About This Event

The hook isn't just the hits — it's who's telling the story. Each of the four real-life Four Seasons gets a stretch of the show to narrate in his own voice, and since Tommy DeVito, Bob Gaudio, Nick Massi, and Frankie Valli don't all remember the rise-and-fall the same way, the musical plays less like a standard jukebox cash-in and more like four guys taking turns correcting each other's version of events.

It premiered at San Diego's La Jolla Playhouse in 2004 before landing on Broadway in 2005, where it ran twelve years and won four 2006 Tony Awards, including Best Musical — a real surprise at the time, since jukebox musicals built around one band's catalog weren't yet the Broadway staple they are now. Clint Eastwood, of all people, directed the 2014 film version — the guy behind Unforgiven and Gran Torino taking on falsetto doo-wop is its own odd pairing.

It's CIBC Theatre's fourth touring booking of the season, sandwiched between Operation Mincemeat before it and Maybe Happy Ending after — one stage carrying a lot of Chicago's Broadway-in-Chicago slate this year.