Tony-winning 'Jersey Boys' musical comes to Tucson for weekend run

On stage, Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons harmonized with perfection, from Valli’s stunning high-arching falsetto that stopped you in your tracks to their catalogue of catchy tunes from “Big Girls Don’t Cry” to the swoonable “Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You.”

Off stage, however, life was anything but harmonious for Valli and the band — Bob Gaudio on keyboard and tenor vocals, Tommy DeVito on lead guitar and baritone and Nick Massi on electric bass and bass vocals.

That’s the story you see in “Jersey Boys,” which Broadway in Tucson is bringing to the Centennial Hall stage this weekend for five performances. The show runs Friday, March 18, through Sunday, March 20.

“Jersey Boys” is a rags-to-riches-back-to-rags tale of four Jersey guys, several with minor criminal records, who became rock stars with a sound like nothing anyone had heard coming from a 1960s radio.

Valli’s arching falsetto separated the band from other 1960s superstars including the Beach Boys and the Beatles. When they took the stage, the girls swooned and screamed, but once they left the glare of the spotlight, all was not good with the band.

Legendary fights, egos clashing and a spectacular breakup all documented in the 2004 Tony-winning musical “Jersey Boys,” which traces the band’s rise and fall through the eyes of each member.

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“Jersey Boys” is structured as a musical docu-drama, where each member gets to have their say on what worked and what didn’t, leading up to their international success and failure. It’s sectioned off in seasons — get it, Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons — with each of the original members telling the story according to the time of year.

“Jersey Boys” took home four Tony Awards in 2006 including Best Musical. The soundtrack won a Grammy for best musical show album in 2007.

Tucson showtimes: 8 p.m. Friday, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday and 1 and 6:30 p.m. Sunday at Centennial Hall, 1020 E. University Blvd. on the University of Arizona campus. Tickets are $35 to $125 through ticketmaster.com

Those attending must provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination or negative PCR test and masks will be required.

Coming up from Broadway in Tucson: “Tootsie” the musical, March 22-27.