The Turbine on the Jetty, Battersea – 31 August 2020
Reviewed by Adam Craddock
3***
When I got invited to review “The Best of Frankie Valli” I bit off my bosses hand. This was my first opportunity to see a piece of theatre in nearly 6 months and I was so excited, especially with it being a Four Seasons show (probably my biggest musical influence). I was a bit apprehensive about reviewing around COVID but all my worries were put to rest when I turned up at the Turbine Jetty and was greeted by the well informed front of house team, who took my temperature and then seated me in the wonderful socially distanced deck chairs that were set out.
The show started off with a beautiful bit of doo wop and harmonies as the four lads came through the audience and made their way to the stage. There were some minor technical difficulties at first as the lighting seemed a bit off and a techie had to sneak down the side to sort the lights. But after this was solved and the first couple of numbers had gone the show really began in full force. The highlight of the show for me wasn’t actually the Four Seasons songs but the wonderful Beach Boys medley that the lads had put together. The harmonies and arrangement were superb and were a real highlight for me. Some slight negatives were a bit of obvious stage rust (completely understandable given it was 5 months since their last gig) showing with some forgotten choreography and some slightly breathy falsetto. The boys played their audience better as the night went on, with some slight awkwardness in their address at first but the audience really warmed up to them as the night went on (and dare I say it the more drink was consumed in the audience) and people were up and dancing in the aisle by the end of the night.
Overall I did enjoy my evening very much and I think with a few more performances to recover from the 5 months off, this will be superb. You can catch “The Best of Frankie Valli” in theatres up and down the country in 2021.