Students unable to extract Fergie lyrics from their heads can expect an entirely different “Big Girls Don’t Cry” from the record-breaking musical Jersey Boys. The show tracks four blue-collared guys from the 1960s on their journey to becoming the chart-topping pop group The Four Seasons.
Presented by Broadway in Chicago and TheatreDreams, Jersey Boys runs October 6 through April 14 at the LaSalle Bank Theater (18 W. Monroe St.). The run has already been extended due to popular demand.
Communication freshman Liz Olanoff assures that both theatre and non-theatre crowds will enjoy the musical.
“The choreography is really crisp and the story is really easy to get into,” Olanoff says. “It’s like an E! True Hollywood story on the stage.”
According to Broadway in Chicago vice president Eileen Lacario, Jersey Boys “will become a classic of our time.”
Broadway in Chicago draws both local and non-local audiences to the city. Forty percent of its patrons come from over 100 miles away.
“With long runs and the pre-Broadway shows that Broadway in Chicago has been able to bring, we’ve been able to attract long-term travel,” Lacario says.
Based on its successful record, Jersey Boys will continue this tradition. So far, the musical won a Grammy for Best Musical Show Album and earned four Tony awards.
Theatre professor Amanda Dehnert urges students to take a trip into the city to see the show.
“Northwestern is a great place to have your mind expanded, and having access to the arts in Chicago is just a great part of that,” she says.
Tickets start at $30 and are available at Broadway in Chicago box offices, by calling the Broadway in Chicago Ticket Line at (312) 902-1400 or through Ticketmaster.
-Alison Goldman
