'Jersey Boys' brings songs of the Four Seasons back to PPAC
Kevin Patrick Martin figures that growing up in Rhode Island made him “honorary Italian,” enough to believably play a variety of roles over the last five years in the touring production of “Jersey Boys."
“Hey, I’m not Jewish, but I also play the loan shark Norm Waxman in the show!” Martin says with a laugh in a phone interview.
The Cumberland native, who is married and living in East Providence, will again return to the Providence Performing Arts Center with the jukebox musical about Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons on June 2 and 3. He’s been part of the tour since 2017.
“Honestly, a big part of why I’m still doing it is the music. It’s also a big part of why the audience stays interested and coming back. We leave the theater on a high every night,” Martin says.
This time around, in addition to Waxman, he plays Hank Majewski, one of the Four Seasons, and other roles. The Rhode Island College graduate is also the tour’s fight captain, but his favorite part of the show is all about love.
“The finale number — "Who Loves You" — is my favorite. It’s the one true number where we break the fourth wall, look out into the audience and see everyone just rocking out,” Martin says. “It’s the only time the whole cast is on the stage and we’re allowed to look out at the audience.”
That song and others — the show includes all the group’s top hits such as “Sherry Baby,” “My Eyes Adored You” and “Can’t Take My Eyes off of You” — bring him right back to the hours spent listening to radio station B101 when he was a kid.
“The music is part of pop culture – it’s everywhere,” he explains. “Even now, some of the songs are being remade on TikTok. I saw a young girl at the stage door one night and I asked her if she knew the songs. She knew ‘Beggin’ from TikTok."
Even though “Jersey Boys” is dubbed a jukebox musical, it’s part of a new category that tells the group’s story through its songs. In contrast, shows like “Mamma Mia!” were written to showcase the songs of Abba.
“This tells their story, something no other musical had done before and none have done as well since,” Martin says.
Valli and his band grew up on the rough streets of New Jersey, capitalizing on Valli’s unique falsetto and the group’s harmony to land a music contract. The rags-to-riches tale has also been made into a movie, but Martin says the stage version is electrifying. Fans come again and again.
“We’ve meet people who have seen it more than 100 times. We’ll actually recognize people. The fans are very devoted,” Martin says.
“Jersey Boys” is on stage through June 3 at Providence Performing Arts Center, 220 Weybosset St., Providence. For ticket information, go to ppacri.org.
If you go ...
What: "Jersey Boys"
When: June 2-3, 7:30 p.m.
Where: Providence Performing Arts Center, 220 Weybosset St., Providence
Tickets: $20-$90
Info: ppacri.org, (401) 421-2787
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: 'Jersey Boys' returns to Providence Performing Arts Center
