[Coverage] Jersey Boys @ Istana Budaya

[Coverage] Jersey Boys @ Istana Budaya

Kuala Lumpur, 18^th April 2014 – Our team of journalist and photographer from wljack.com & loong-updates.blogspot.com has been given an opportunity to watch the amazing show of “Jersey Boys” yesterday. It’s not a wonder why the awards winning “Jersey Boys” could be one of the longest running shows on Broadway. It’s really spectacular!

Date: 15th-27th April 2014

Time: Weekday 1 show at 8:30pm, weekend 2 shows at 3pm and 8:30pm.
Monday (21st April) is dark day no show.
Venue: Istana Budaya

Summary Of The Story:

JERSEY BOYS revolves around the true-life story and the remarkable rise to stardom of one of the most successful bands in American pop music history – Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons - how a group of blue-collar boys from the wrong side of the tracks became one of the biggest American pop music sensations of all time.

Apart from featuring the band’s 60’s American pop worldwide hits, JERSEY BOYS also tells the story of the inspiring journey of The Four Seasons from the mean streets of Newark, New Jersey to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. It’s all about the friendships, hardships, fights and the success resulting from a New Jersey “handshake”.

Audiences were amazed by the top-notch singing by the casts!

Without any doubt, the crowd has totally enjoyed the singing by the casts. The quality of their vocal was brilliant. The whole show feels like a real concert of the legendary 60s American pop as more than 80% of the show has consisted of mesmerizing singing by the casts.

Impressive All-rounder Performers!

As mentioned, the casts have great voice. However, besides the splendid vocal, they also have great acting skills, good chemistry with each others as well as the amazing skills in changing props on stage. Different from other show, the casts in this show themselves were the ones who switched the props on stage for majority of the time! Their versatile talents were really remarkable!

Seamless flow of scenes with tremendous smooth props change!

The flow of the show is very well paced and there was not a single moment of interruption. Everything blends in seamlessly with music and well-written scripts without any moment of complete silence. (Except for the short break session of course.)

The most impressive part of the show is how good and smooth the props were changed throughout the show. The transition is so perfect and I am sure the audiences who have seen the show would totally agree with that. Totally brilliant!

Backdrop with comical relief! Scenes of real-life documentary video!

Throughout the whole show, the screen at the backdrop has been changing accordingly to the mood, theme as well as the background setting for the plot. Occasionally, there were some comical arts being shown on the screen which provide additional comic relief for the audience.

Besides, the team is also thoughtful enough to insert some real-life documentary video of THE Four Seasons to allow us to have a glimpse on the real 60s American pop band which has once stormed the music industry with their hits.

Experience the life of THE FOUR SEASONS!

Many important moments of THE FOUR SEASONS were really brought to LIVE with these wonderful backdrops and props. The audience could almost feel like they are in these boys’ shoes during the ups and downs of their life. You could almost feel like you are in the recording room with, in the club for their singing or even being at the backstage of their world tour concert.

Great Features of 60s Hits!

The show features many of the bands’ worldwide hits, including the ever-popular  CAN'T TAKE MY EYES OFF YOU as well as other hits such as WALK LIKE A MAN, BYE BYE BABY (BABY GOODBYE) and etc. It’s really entertaining to listen to all these good songs in one show! I believe the fans of 60s will totally enjoy it!

Inspiring and Thoughtful performance!

Despite being a jukebox musical, the show has provided some insightful moments for the audience as well. It has allowed us to see how a huge success was achieved from something as simple as a handshake. The obstacles and hardships throughout their journey provide a lot of inspiration to never give up in life. The friendship and relationship with the family has reminded us the importance of spending more time with the closest people in our life. All the messages delivered were really thoughtful!

Overall, it’s a brilliant musical which must not be missed!

“Jersey Boys” will be running in Istana Budaya from 15th-27th April 2014. Do check out the show before it’s too late!

Additional story (Back stage tour):

The crew has really invested a lot for their sets. In addition, the backstage is actually so huge and even larger than the front stage by two to three times in order for the backstage mechanics to run smoothly. Their sets were great! It’s definitely worth every cent of your tickets for the show!

By the way, I was glad to bump into the most lovely couple in Malaysia IMO, Timothy Tiah (http://timothytiah.com/) and his wife Audrey (http://fourfeetnine.com/) after the backstage tour! Took a photo with them then! Didn't manage to introduce myself though, so it's more like a fans photo with them! 

Last but not least, million thanks to Milestone Production Sdn Bhd for bringing “JERSEY BOYS” to Malaysia. It’s a wonderful show not to be missed by any music lovers!

Published by WLJack.