The story of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons is a piece of musical history that has been told on stage many times, but not quite like this.
OH WHAT A NIGHT!: A Musical Tribute to Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons will offer an insight in to the lives of the The Four Seasons through a unique blend of humour, song and dance at the Cleland Theatre on Nov. 7.
The show premiered in Las Vegas in 2008 and has been touring worldwide ever since with a talent pool of more than 50 performers.
Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons are usually associated with the Broadway show Jersey Boys, which recently spawned a feature film of the same name.
“Jersey Boys is a biographical account of the lives of The Four Seasons, which is rather a dark story,” said producer and director Michael Chapman said.
While Jersey Boys focuses on The Four Seasons’ rise to stardom and connections with the New Jersey mafia, OH WHAT A NIGHT! is a music-based tribute that keeps things light hearted.
“Our show is the opposite,” Champman said. “It’s all the music, actually more music than in Jersey Boys, but very upbeat, a lot of humour and completely family friendly, which is the biggest distinction.”
The performance features informative and quippy dialogue in between songs penned by Motown producer George Solomon, offering a glimpse in to the history of the famed performers.
The music is what takes centre stage for this rendition said Chapman. Performers will be singing all 27 of The Four Seasons’ top 10 hits including Big Girls Don’t Cry, Walk Like a Man and Can’t Take My Eyes Off You.
“We do every single hit of The Four Seasons. Every single one,” Chapman said.
Another distinction from Jersey Boys is the cast members of OH WHAT A NIGHT! Play multiple parts as opposed to sticking to Frankie Valli or a certain member of The Four Seasons. The cast rotate between roles and vocal solos throughout the show.
“In our show, everybody is Frankie,” Chapman said. “You really feel like you got to know our guys. It’s like you’ve spent an intimate evening really getting to know our performers through the music of Frankie Valli.”
This run marks the fourth Canadian tour of OH WHAT A NIGHT!, and the response at Canadian shows has been nothing short of positive according to Chapman.
“Standing ovations, full houses, the Canadian (shows) are amazing. Everyone is so vocal and appreciative, it has just been super. We love playing Canada,” Chapman said.
Tickets are available at the Penticton Community Centre or by phone at 250-490-2426.