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Jersey Boys: School Edition

With phenomenal music, memorable characters, and great storytelling, Jersey Boys: School Edition follows the fascinating evolution of four blue-collar kids who became one of the greatest successes in pop-music history. Winner of Best Musical at both the Tony Awards® and Olivier Awards®, Jersey Boys: School Edition takes you behind the music of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons to discover the secret of a 40-year friendship as the foursome work their way from the streets of New Jersey to the heights of stardom.

Thrill your audiences with electrifying chart-topping hits including "Sherry," "Big Girls Don't Cry," "Can't Take My Eyes Off You," "Dawn," and "My Eyes Adored You," which brought The Four Seasons the highest honour: induction into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame.

More information

Description

  • Full Length Musical
  • Drama, Biography

  • Time Period: 1960s
  • Target Audience: Teen (Age 14 - 18), Appropriate for all audiences
  • Set Requirements: Unit Set/Multiple Settings
  • Cautions: Mild Adult Themes
  • Orchestra Size: Medium/Large

  • Performance Group:
  • High School/Secondary
Jersey Boys: School Edition has been carefully edited, with additional director's notes throughout, to make the show more producible for high school groups. In some cases problematic language has been changed, while in others an alternate choice is offered at the discretion of the director.
ACT I
Spring
"Ces soirées-là", a modern pop-rap song that was released in 2000, is performed. Tommy DeVito arrives, introduces himself and explains how the song is a cover of The Four Seasons' "December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night)". He offers to tell the story of the band, explaining how he started out with the group "The Variety Trio" with his brother Nick DeVito and friend Nick Massi, eventually discovering teenager Frankie Castelluccio and taking him under his wing, teaching him everything he knows ("The Early Years: A Scrapbook"). During these early years Nick Massi helped train Frankie to sing, Tommy went in and out of prison, Frankie changed his last name to Valli, Tommy and Frankie developed a good relationship with mob boss Gyp DeCarlo, and Frankie fell in love with and married Mary Delgado. Musically, the band was still struggling and kept changing their name and sound but without any dramatic success. One day friend and fellow Jersey boy Joe Pesci comes up to Tommy and says that he knows a singer-songwriter who'd make the perfect fourth for their band: Bob Gaudio.

Summer
Bob Gaudio takes over the narration, telling the audience that no matter what Tommy says, he wasn't plucked from obscurity by him, since he already had a hit single with "Short Shorts". Bob goes with Joe Pesci to see the band perform, and is immediately impressed by Frankie's voice. Bob performs a song he'd just written: "Cry For Me" on piano, which Frankie, Nick Massi and then Tommy joining in with vocals, bass and guitar respectively. They negotiate an agreement, though Tommy is at first skeptical that Bobby (then still a teenager) will be good for the band. The band eventually gets a contract with producer Bob Crewe but only to sing back-up ("Backup Sessions"). Crewe insists that the band has an "identity crisis" and needs to make a firm decision on a name and a sound. The band name themselves after The Four Seasons bowling alley, and Bobby writes them three songs that finally propel them to stardom: "Sherry," "Big Girls Don't Cry" and "Walk Like a Man". In the wake of their success, Bob also chalks up a personal first by losing his virginity ("December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night)"). The band's success means that they tour a lot more, along the way discovering the girl band The Angels ("My Boyfriend's Back"). Unfortunately, the constant touring strains Frankie's marriage to Mary, and they eventually divorce ("My Eyes Adored You"). The band continues to enjoy chart successes ("Dawn (Go Away)") until after a concert the band is approached by a loan shark out to claim money owed by Tommy ("Walk Like a Man (Reprise)").

ACT II
Fall
Nick Massi, taking over as Narrator, explains that Bob was so focused on the band's musical success and future that he couldn't see that the band had been in trouble for some time. Tommy's been racking up debts, and a forgotten bill during a previous tour lands the band in jail over the weekend, which strains things between Tommy and Bob ("Big Man in Town"). Nick observes that Tommy became jealous of Frankie's success and closeness with Bobby, and attempted to seduce Frankie's new girlfriend Lorraine. The two never confronted each other about it, but the old friendship was not what it used to be. When the loan shark approaches the band for the $150,000 owed by Tommy, Frankie goes to Gyp DeCarlo for help despite Tommy's insistence that he doesn't need it ("Beggin'"). The band, Gyp, and the loan shark come to agreement: Tommy is to be "sequestered" in Las Vegas where the mob can keep an eye on him, and the band will willingly cover the debt, along with an additional half a million in unpaid taxes that Tommy kept hidden from the group. At this time, Nick declares that he's tired of everything and wants out ("Stay/Let's Hang On!").

Winter
Frankie takes over narration, explaining that though he owes Tommy a great deal, he's aware that their relationship wasn't ideal, and he never understood why Nick decided to leave. Frankie and Bob find replacements to keep the band a quartet ("Opus 17 (Don't You Worry 'Bout Me)") until Bobby announces that he's never been comfortable in the spotlight and that Frankie should be a single, i.e. Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons. In his personal life, Frankie's relationship with his daughter Francine is strained and he breaks up with girlfriend Lorraine ("Bye, Bye, Baby (Baby, Goodbye)"). Frankie continues to have success thanks to Bobby's songs, and hits jackpot with "C'mon Marianne" and the almost-never-released "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" which Bobby fights to get airplay for. Along with the success of "Working My Way Back to You", Frankie and Bobby finally finish paying off Tommy's debts, and Frankie's life is good until his daughter Francine dies from a drug overdose ("Fallen Angel"). Bob Crewe describes The Four Seasons' 1990 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which reunited the original four members on stage one last time ("Rag Doll"). Each member takes a moment to address the audience in turn, explaining his pride at having been with the band and briefly notes what he did afterwards ("Who Loves You").

Characters

  • Casting: 19M, 5F, 3M or F
  • Casting Attributes: Reduced casting (Doubling Possible), Strong Role for Leading Man (Star Vehicle)
  • Chorus Size: Large

  • TOMMY DEVITO - founding member of The Four Seasons
    BOB GAUDIO - a singer/songwriter, and keyboardist for The Four Seasons
    NICK MASSI - bass player for The Four Seasons
    FRANKIE VALLI - born Francis Castelluccio, lead vocalist for The Four Seasons
    BOB CREWE - a record producer
    GYP DECARLO - a New Jersey mob boss
    MARY DELGADO - Frankie’s first wife
    FRANCINE - the youngest of Frankie and Mary’s three daughters
    JOEY - actor Joe Pesci
    LORRAINE - a journalist
    FRENCH RAPPER - sings “Oh, What A Night” in its French disco incarnation in the opening scene
    STOSH - a local wannabe gangster
    DONNIE - a local wannabe gangster
    HANK MAJEWSKI - a comedic singer, and member of the band for a short time
    HAL MILLER - studio singer of "An Angel Cried"
    MISS FRANKIE NOLAN - studio singer of "I Still Care"
    BILLY DIXON - studio singer of "Trance"
    NORMAN WAXMAN - a local loan shark
    BARRY BELSON - a Deejay at WCFA Radio
    LEAD ANGEL - sings the solo in "My Boyfriend’s Back"
    OFFICER - a police officer at the Ohio State Fair
    SEA BREEZE EMCEE - the announcer at the Sea Breeze Club
    JOE LONG and CHARLIE CALELLO - replacement members of the group (the NEW SEASONS)
    FINNEY - the president of a record label
    DAVIS - a radio station program director
    PRIEST (or NUN) - a hospital chaplain
    ENSEMBLE - backup singers/dancers, patrons, wait staff, police officers, groupies, music publishers, TV crew, bowling alley owner, nurse, party girls, backup angels, dressers...

    • Available Material

    Name Price
    Digital Perusal Material Shipped immediately. This is optional. Order Now

    1 x Script / Vocal Book / Score sampler

    Once purchased, a link will be emailed to you allowing the download to take place. 

    		$10.00
    Pre-Production Pack Shipped upon receipt of a signed License Agreement and full payment of all invoices. This is optional.

    1 x Director's Script
    1 x Cast Script/Vocal Book
    1 x Piano-Conductor's Score

    		$75.00
    Rehearsal Material Shipped a minimum of 3 months before the last performance. This must be hired as a condition of the License to produce this show.

    30 x Cast Scripts/Vocal Books
    3 x Director's Scripts
    2 x Piano-Conductor's Scores

    Materials supplied 3 hole punched and shrink wrapped for use in a 3-ring binder. Cast members to bring in their own binder and organise their script and vocal scores in the order they prefer.

    		$550.00 +$135.00/pm
    Orchestral Material Shipped a minimum of 1 month before the last performance. This is optional.

    2 x Keyboard I - III
    1 x Reed I (Flute, Oboe (opt.), Clarinet, Soprano Sax, Alto Sax)
    1 x Reed II (Clarinet, Bass Clarinet, Tenor Sax, Baritone Sax)
    1 x Trumpet (Trumpet, Flugelhorn)
    1 x Guitar I (6-string Electric, 12-string Electric, Acoustic)
    1 x Guitar II (6-string Electric, 12-string Electric, Acoustic, Mandolin, Baritone Guitar, Electric Sitar)
    1 x Bass (electric)
    1 x Drums

    		$350.00 +$135.00/pm
    Show|Ready Shipped upon receipt of a signed License Agreement and full payment of all invoices. This is optional.

    With Show|Ready, you can virtually send your Musical Director home with each and every member of your cast! Show|Ready allows you to play a customizable rehearsal track of your show, complete with individual vocal parts and all dance breaks on a Mac, PC, and soon on your iOS device. Your Musical Director simply uploads any edits made at that day's rehearsal and your cast can access and download the newest version with all of the new changes! This enables your entire cast to rehearse correctly from the beginning, saving you valuable time and effort.

    With an intuitive interface, Show|Ready gives you complete control over which parts you hear, and lets you modify the key or tempo and cut, vamp, or repeat measures as you place. All shows include the piano, bass, drum, and all vocal parts, as well as a sheet music viewer that automatically displays the piano/conductor score and changes the pages as you listen and navigate throughout the show.

    		$300.00
    Stage|Tracks This is optional.

    Stage|Tracks provides quality performance tracks, edited to integrate your individual changes from Show|Ready. With the best sounding tracks at an affordable price, Stage|Tracks will greatly enhance your production if you do not have live musicians to accompany the show. However, you should be advised that while Stage|Tracks provides quality performance tracks of the full orchestration, it is not recommended to be used alongside live musicians.

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    		$0.00

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