Hellooo! Next up on my blog catch up is Jersey Boys! Back in June (the 2nd) I went over to the Alhambra Theatre in Bradford to see the matinee performance of Jersey Boys! I booked my ticket around a week before the show and was sat in the Upper Circle in seat G13 which cost £31 including fees. I think I've mentioned it before but at the Alhambra, NEVER sit on the front row of the Upper Circle! We did once to see Wicked and although you have the bonus of no heads in front of you, you find yourself leaning forward to see over the front wall of the Upper Circle and it was probably the most uncomfortable seat I've sat in but if you go a couple of rows further back, you don't have that problem!
This was the furthest back I've sat at the Alhambra so I was interested to see how it would be and I found that from a couple of rows in front of me (row G) backwards, there were no arm rests between the seats meaning that you were VERY close to the people either side of you. There was also very little leg room and I'm only small (5" 4) with short legs and I felt squashed in but I guess that's why those seats were cheaper! The view was decent however, I think there were screens and signs at the top at the back of the stage which I was unable to see from where I was sat as I was looking down at the stage more than looking straight ahead at it if that makes sense! However, this wasn't a huge problem and I could still follow the story without any problems.
Moving onto the show! I went in knowing only that the show was about Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons and didn't know the story so didn't know what to expect! My initial reaction was that the story was not at all what I was expecting but I really enjoyed it! I found Act 1 to be quite fast paced and I only just managed to keep up however, I'm pretty easy to confuse so it might have just been me! I loved the music throughout the show and thought the cast were spot on for their roles! I also really liked how they tied up the story at the end of the show!
Following the show, I had a flip through the programme and although I was sat pretty far away from the stage, I didn't recognise Michael Watson who was down as the lead Frankie Valli. After a quick Twitter investigation, I found that for that performance, Dayle Hodge was playing the role of Frankie Valli instead and his voice was incredible! We also had Karl James Wilson playing the role of Gyp instead of Mark Heenehan and I thought all the actors were perfect for their roles and I loved the music from start to finish!
Now it's time for a short rant about the audience in the theatre that afternoon! There were so many people in the audience eating and rattling packets, particularly during Act 1 and then around 15 minutes before the interval, people started getting up and leaving! I don't know if they knew it was nearly the interval so they were trying to get ahead of the queue for the toilets but it was just so rude! It wasn't just a couple of people, I lost track of how many people got up and left, it was like a constant stream of people getting up and disrupting everyone around them who had paid a decent amount for their tickets! On top of this, I hate to imagine what it looked like from the actors' point of view, looking up and seeing so many people just walking out. I just could not believe how many people walked out. I don't know if this was the case across the entire theatre or if it was just the Upper Circle but it was unbelievable!
Anyway! Back to more positive things! Overall, even though the seat wasn't the most comfortable and some of the audience was a nightmare, I really enjoyed the show and loved the cast and in particular the lead Jersey Boys, Dayle Hodge, Simon Bailey, Declan Egan and Lewis Griffiths as Frankie, Tommy, Bob and Nick. I loved the music throughout the show and I'd definitely go again so I'd recommend seeing it whether you know the story and are a fan or if you've never heard any of the music!
Thanks for reading!
Sophie
