Jersey Boys

Just before the final number in "Jersey Boys," the character of Frankie Valli recalls the old days with his buddies and "the first time we made that sound — our sound. " By this point in the hit musical about the Four Seasons, a lot has happened to the pop group's original members. But Valli holds on to the intense memory of those first days when the music was all that mattered. "That was the best," he says. "That's why I'm still going out there singing — like that bunny on TV with the battery.

Next season at the Hippodrome Theatre , a character in an iconic outfit will fly off the stage and into the house, soaring high above wide-eyed spectators. The chances of a mishap during this show-stopping feat are just about nil, however, since we're not talking about the guy who is supposed to zip effortlessly through the air in that unlucky monolith of a musical called "Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark. " Baltimore audiences will see instead a primly dressed woman with an umbrella over one arm — the famed governess who takes charge of children and adults alike in the well-traveled Broadway revival of "Mary Poppins.

The first time he was asked to consider working on a musical about the 1960s pop/rock sensation Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, Marshall Brickman declined. "I still wake up screaming sometimes, thinking how my life would have been different had I stuck with saying no," he said by phone from his New York home. That initial reluctance could have derailed the project that turned into "Jersey Boys," the multiple Tony Award-winning, international monster hit that landed this week at the Hippodrome . The Bronx-born Brickman, former head writer of "The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson" and co-screenwriter of such Woody Allen classics as "Annie Hall," had a good excuse when actor/writer/creative consultant Rick Elice suggested a Four Seasons show.

Just before the final number in "Jersey Boys," the character of Frankie Valli recalls the old days with his buddies and "the first time we made that sound — our sound. " By this point in the hit musical about the Four Seasons, a lot has happened to the pop group's original members. But Valli holds on to the intense memory of those first days when the music was all that mattered. "That was the best," he says. "That's why I'm still going out there singing — like that bunny on TV with the battery.

In the crowded field of great American pop acts from the 1960s and '70s, Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons may not rank at the top in profound artistic quality, but certainly in high notes and - as it turns out - in back story. "Jersey Boys," the Tony Award-winning musical that has settled into the National Theatre for a 10-week run, tells that tale with a disarming energy, and a whole lot of songs. Although there are moments when you may expect an announcer to stop the action and solicit donations to your local PBS station, this isn't just a nostalgia feast engineered to unleash fuzzy feelings in people of a certain age. Written by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice, the affectionate, but unsentimental, show effectively mingles enough biography to produce genuine and interesting characters onstage.

Picture it: Club Venus, Perring Plaza. One night in 1967, booking agent Bill Bateman brought in Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons. Responsible for making sure the crowd hears the music at the best possible level is the house soundman, Bob Goldstein. The familiar strains of "Sherry," "Rag Doll" and "Walk Like a Man" filled the place so effectively that night it changed Goldstein's life. Clair Brothers, the sound company from Pennsylvania that started in 1966 with a Four Seasons gig in Lancaster, offered Goldstein a job. "I dropped out of college and went on the road with the group in 1967," Goldstein said.

Tomorrow, Peggy Santiglia Davison will drive to Washington and, not for the first time, watch a lithe young actress in the production of "The Jersey Boys" pretending to be her. Chances are, it will be a joyful experience, though not an entirely comfortable one. Davison, now 65 and a resident of Carroll County, was one of the Angels, the three-member girl group that enjoyed stratospheric popularity for a few years in the early 1960s. The Angels toured the world. They performed on "The Ed Sullivan Show."

Next season at the Hippodrome Theatre , a character in an iconic outfit will fly off the stage and into the house, soaring high above wide-eyed spectators. The chances of a mishap during this show-stopping feat are just about nil, however, since we're not talking about the guy who is supposed to zip effortlessly through the air in that unlucky monolith of a musical called "Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark. " Baltimore audiences will see instead a primly dressed woman with an umbrella over one arm — the famed governess who takes charge of children and adults alike in the well-traveled Broadway revival of "Mary Poppins.

1 Double vision: The American League Central race continues on two fronts tonight, with the White Sox and Twins each at home against, respectively, the Indians (7:05) and Royals (7:10). 2 While in the NL ...: The National League East/wild-card contenders play this afternoon - Marlins at Mets (1:10), Cubs at Brewers (3:55) and Nationals at Phillies (3:55, chs. 45, 5). 3 Lions and Tigers: Columbia comes to town to play Towson in football (3 p.m.). Look for the visitors to be late because their bus driver doesn't realize that, unlike in New York, you can make a right turn on red. 4 Jersey boys: No. 8 Gilman, which has beaten a couple of Washington football powers, sets its sights on New Jersey's Bergen Catholic (7:30 p.m., Homewood Field)

Vegas and Valli What's the deal?: The nearly new, all-suite Palazzo Resort-Hotel-Casino in Las Vegas is offering a package for $299 a night during midweek and $339 a night on weekends that gives you a suite, tickets to the 2006-Tony-winning Jersey Boys (the story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons and their rise to fame) and $25 in gambling credit. What's the savings?: The midweek package, if priced separately, saves you about $100 if you were planning to stay a couple of nights (that's the minimum stay for this package)

'Jersey Boys' The 50-year career of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons — the biggest group in rock and roll, at least until The Beatles came along — is chronicled, celebrated and otherwise revisited in this exuberant Tony Award-winning musical. Actors playing each of the four original members — Valli, Tommy DeVito, Bob Gaudio and Nick Massi — take turns telling the band's story, as it rises from obscurity to massive popularity, followed by dissension, infighting, and then acceptance and rediscovery (the trajectory of pretty-much every rock band, come to think of it)

The first time he was asked to consider working on a musical about the 1960s pop/rock sensation Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, Marshall Brickman declined. "I still wake up screaming sometimes, thinking how my life would have been different had I stuck with saying no," he said by phone from his New York home. That initial reluctance could have derailed the project that turned into "Jersey Boys," the multiple Tony Award-winning, international monster hit that landed this week at the Hippodrome . The Bronx-born Brickman, former head writer of "The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson" and co-screenwriter of such Woody Allen classics as "Annie Hall," had a good excuse when actor/writer/creative consultant Rick Elice suggested a Four Seasons show.

Picture it: Club Venus, Perring Plaza. One night in 1967, booking agent Bill Bateman brought in Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons. Responsible for making sure the crowd hears the music at the best possible level is the house soundman, Bob Goldstein. The familiar strains of "Sherry," "Rag Doll" and "Walk Like a Man" filled the place so effectively that night it changed Goldstein's life. Clair Brothers, the sound company from Pennsylvania that started in 1966 with a Four Seasons gig in Lancaster, offered Goldstein a job. "I dropped out of college and went on the road with the group in 1967," Goldstein said.

R ock music, from a slicked-down '60s group to high-hair '80s metal bands, will help propel Baltimore's 2010-2011 theater season, along with crackling scores from decades-old Broadway shows. The common tune running through all of this is hopeful box-office appeal. "The economy is requiring us to be smarter and more nimble," says Jeff T. Daniel, vice president and executive director of the France-Merrick Performing Arts Center, home of the Hippodrome Theatre. "You can't take anything for granted anymore.

In the crowded field of great American pop acts from the 1960s and '70s, Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons may not rank at the top in profound artistic quality, but certainly in high notes and - as it turns out - in back story. "Jersey Boys," the Tony Award-winning musical that has settled into the National Theatre for a 10-week run, tells that tale with a disarming energy, and a whole lot of songs. Although there are moments when you may expect an announcer to stop the action and solicit donations to your local PBS station, this isn't just a nostalgia feast engineered to unleash fuzzy feelings in people of a certain age. Written by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice, the affectionate, but unsentimental, show effectively mingles enough biography to produce genuine and interesting characters onstage.

Tomorrow, Peggy Santiglia Davison will drive to Washington and, not for the first time, watch a lithe young actress in the production of "The Jersey Boys" pretending to be her. Chances are, it will be a joyful experience, though not an entirely comfortable one. Davison, now 65 and a resident of Carroll County, was one of the Angels, the three-member girl group that enjoyed stratospheric popularity for a few years in the early 1960s. The Angels toured the world. They performed on "The Ed Sullivan Show."

R ock music, from a slicked-down '60s group to high-hair '80s metal bands, will help propel Baltimore's 2010-2011 theater season, along with crackling scores from decades-old Broadway shows. The common tune running through all of this is hopeful box-office appeal. "The economy is requiring us to be smarter and more nimble," says Jeff T. Daniel, vice president and executive director of the France-Merrick Performing Arts Center, home of the Hippodrome Theatre. "You can't take anything for granted anymore.

"Oh What a Night" for Jersey Boys. The musical biography of the Four Seasons - the group that made that song a hit - took home the award for best new musical at last night's Tony Awards at New York's Radio City Music Hall. The musical also won three other awards, including a Tony for its star, John Lloyd Young, who plays Four Seasons' lead singer Frankie Valli, and one for featured actor Christian Hoff, who plays Tommy DeVito, the singer who formed the group. Sobbing as he accepted his award, Hoff said, "Papa, this is for us," explaining his father "died when he was 52; he immigrated to this country in 1961, the year [the song]

Vegas and Valli What's the deal?: The nearly new, all-suite Palazzo Resort-Hotel-Casino in Las Vegas is offering a package for $299 a night during midweek and $339 a night on weekends that gives you a suite, tickets to the 2006-Tony-winning Jersey Boys (the story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons and their rise to fame) and $25 in gambling credit. What's the savings?: The midweek package, if priced separately, saves you about $100 if you were planning to stay a couple of nights (that's the minimum stay for this package)

1 Double vision: The American League Central race continues on two fronts tonight, with the White Sox and Twins each at home against, respectively, the Indians (7:05) and Royals (7:10). 2 While in the NL ...: The National League East/wild-card contenders play this afternoon - Marlins at Mets (1:10), Cubs at Brewers (3:55) and Nationals at Phillies (3:55, chs. 45, 5). 3 Lions and Tigers: Columbia comes to town to play Towson in football (3 p.m.). Look for the visitors to be late because their bus driver doesn't realize that, unlike in New York, you can make a right turn on red. 4 Jersey boys: No. 8 Gilman, which has beaten a couple of Washington football powers, sets its sights on New Jersey's Bergen Catholic (7:30 p.m., Homewood Field)