"Oh, What A Night..."

Yes, I went there with the title of this post.  ;)  Anyway, we saw "Jersey Boys, The Story of Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons" on Friday night.  O.M.G.  It was a little bit of a play, a little bit of a concert, all rolled into one.  The performances were incredible.  Joseph Leo Bwarie sang the part of Frankie Valli and was simply awesome--his voice is amazing!  The entire cast seemed to really enjoy what they were doing and the energy reached us all the way in the balcony!

So, this play is (obviously) about the musical group The Four Seasons.  It began around the time Valli sang with the group for the first time and brought us through their induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.  Most of the show centered around their rise and break-up, with the very end focusing on the change to Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons.  While the storyline was very interesting, it was the music that made the play for me.  I still find myself singing one of the songs at odd times during the day or night--they had some memorable hits, for sure.

All performances at the venue where we were, prohibit any form of electronic recording device or cameras.  Fine, no problem if that's the policy.  But, I never imagined there was a ban on taking pictures of the empty stage BEFORE the play began--but there is.  I decided to take a pic with my phone and as I was trying for a second one, an usher practically had a stroke yelling at me that "pictures are prohibited!!!"  You could have sworn that I was trying to copy government secrets, for crying out loud.  And I'm sorry, but using the excuse that cameras, etc, "may interfere with wireless technology" is very lame as a reason for prohibiting the use of electronic devices.  Just give the REAL reasons:  A GOOD REASON--they can be a HUGE distraction for the audience and actors;  A CRAPPY REASON--it keeps the theater/production company/etc, from being able to make a crapload of money by selling overpriced items to the public; pictures, etc.  But, I DID manage to get a decent pic of the empty stage:

The entire play was done on a very minimalist stage--not many props at all.

At this particular venue where we see plays, we have noticed that 'drinks'--and we're usually talking alcoholic here--cannot be brought into the theater itself.  (Water bottles--without their caps, I believe--are allowed in the theater.)  So, before the play and during intermission, you will find people milling about, trying to finish their beverages before the doors are closed and they are not allowed entrance to what they paid to see.  On Friday, we noticed something different:  cups with lids.

 

We weren't sure WHAT these were for, but because they were on the wine tables, next to the wine glasses, we thought (and were correct) that they could be used to bring wine into the theater.  Now, we were happy that we were able to enjoy adult beverages of our own choosing while seeing the performance, but the glasses really left a lot to be desired.  First, the lids on the cups that we bought are blue.  And the wine that was in them was a pale yellow.  Imagine this for a second and you can see how much like doctor's office specimen cups these resembled.  Yeah.  The best thing about these is that we can bring them back the next time we go to the theater and have them refilled--and we don't have to purchase the cups again.  YAY!  (Of course, we STILL have to pay for what we want put IN them.)

I'm already planning on what we will be seeing in the future. The theater has announced some of their performances for next season and there are quite a few that should be interesting:  West Side Story, Mary Poppins, Rain (Beatles tribute band), Les Miserables, Million Dollar Quartet (about the one-time recording session that brought together Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Elvis Presley.)  Now, to get K to commit to how many of these we will see...