Nostalgic audiences sing along to ‘Jersey Boys’ at Landmark Theatre stop
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Harry Sperduto still remembers the first time he walked into the Landmark Theatre.
“I looked up at all the seats and I was like, ‘This is bigger than anything I’ve ever performed in. Can I do this?’” Sperduto said.
This week, he proved he could. Sperduto plays band member Tommy DeVito in the national tour of “Jersey Boys,” which opened at Syracuse’s Landmark on Tuesday and will run through Saturday, marking the first stop on the show’s yearlong run across the United States. The jukebox musical tells the true story of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons, tracing the group’s rise from the streets of Newark, New Jersey, to the top of the pop charts, as well as the financial and personal fractures that came with fame in the 1960s.
Built around some of the band’s biggest hits — like “Sherry,” “Big Girls Don’t Cry” and “Walk Like a Man” — “Jersey Boys” has toured intermittently for nearly two decades since its 2005 Broadway debut.
Unlike many jukebox musicals, “Jersey Boys” is structured around fourth-wall breaks, with the show split into four “seasons,” each narrated by a different band member. The arrangement allows the story to move quickly through the group’s two-decade career while still grounding the hits in the personal and financial toll of its success.
For Sperduto, who grew up in New Jersey and graduated from SUNY Cortland, Syracuse also marks the beginning of his first national tour. He said having an audience that already knows the music changes the energy in the room every night.
“The show has a lot of really iconic Broadway tunes, and I think that seeing the reaction of all the people when we’re singing these songs is something that never gets old,” Sperduto told The Daily Orange.
That nostalgia was evident to audience members Jeff and Sue Altman. Wednesday’s performance was the couple’s third time seeing the show, and Jeff said he remembers his mother playing The Four Seasons’ songs around his house as a child.
“We were surprised how many songs we knew,” Jeff said. “I never really listened to it until I realized I’d listened to it. It’s cool.”
The couple had another tie to the show, though. Jeff’s uncle, Anthony Tedesco, played trumpet in Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons after the original quartet disbanded. One time, Valli even ate pasta at Jeff’s mom’s house. Jeff said the family ties make him and his wife feel more connected to the story.
Because of the show’s fourth-wall breaks and emotional honesty, cast members can feel when the audience is truly invested, Sperduto said. That connection is especially visible at the beginning of Act 2, when the extent of Tommy’s debt is revealed to the rest of the band.
Throughout the show, the audience was singing, clapping, gasping and laughing as one. But when DeVito dropped the “half a mil” bomb (regarding the money he owes), the audience was in sync, producing a loud, unified gulp.
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“There is an audible sinking, like almost a grunt, from the audience,” Sperduto said. “They’re feeling the burden that was about to be put onto Frankie Valli and Bob Gaudio as well.”
Pam Olsson of Manlius said she grew up in the Four Seasons era, so the musical was especially nostalgic for her. As an adolescent, Olsson would play their records in her room — though she said it was too long ago to remember which ones. In the musical, she said “Earth Angel” was her favorite.
“I grew up with them, The Four Seasons and the Beatles and everyone,” Olsson said. “This portrayal feels very accurate. This is my era.”
Because DeVito was a real person, and because “Jersey Boys” tells a specifically Italian American story, Sperduto said the cast has worked to play the characters honestly rather than lean on old stereotypes or caricatures.
Coby Oram, who plays Valli, has had considerable experience in the role. He spent years playing Valli on cruise ships and in regional theaters between ship contracts, his father, Clifton Oram, said.
Coby’s identical twin has also played Valli in theaters and ships for years. But Clifton still enjoys watching the songs and story, he said.
“I’ve seen it more times than I can count,” Clifton said. “But I can honestly say I’ve never gotten tired of it.”
The throughline of the musical is family and connection. Audience members said they could feel the theme through the songs and performance on stage, but Sperduto feels it’s also true behind the scenes.
“In a show centered around family, it really feels special that we are going to be family off the stage, too,” Sperduto said.
