It’s easy to forget just how radical Jersey Boys once felt. When it arrived, the idea of building an entire musical around the back catalogue of a pop group was hardly the well-worn theatrical formula it is today. Long before Tina, MJ and the seemingly endless procession of jukebox musicals, Jersey Boys helped establish the template: take a beloved catalogue, find the human story behind it and let the songs do the rest.

Twenty years on, that formula may be familiar, but the Four Seasons’ music remains anything but tired. This anniversary tour arrives at Manchester’s Palace Theatre with a cast more than capable of reminding us why the original production became such a phenomenon.

Luke Baker is an excellent Frankie Valli, combining the singer’s apparent shyness with the determination beneath it. Most importantly, Baker has the voice: that extraordinary falsetto cuts through the Palace with startling clarity. Toby Miles’ Bob Gaudio brings an appealing mixture of youthful confidence and musical ambition to the songwriter whose compositions help propel the group towards stardom.

Carlo Boumouglbay gives Tommy DeVito the swagger the role demands but avoids reducing him to a simple villain. There is charm here alongside the self-interest, making Tommy’s eventual unravelling all the more compelling. Lewis Kennedy’s Nick Massi is the most understated of the four, his dry humour and increasingly exasperated reactions providing a welcome counterpoint to the larger personalities around him.

Together, the four are superb. Their harmonies are perhaps the evening’s greatest asset, capturing the extraordinary precision of the Four Seasons without making the performances feel like impersonations. A strong ensemble surrounds them, moving effortlessly between the streets of New Jersey, recording studios and stages. Under Des McAnuff’s direction, with Sergio Trujillo’s choreography, the storytelling remains brisk and unfussy.

And then come the songs. Sherry, Big Girls Don’t Cry, Walk Like a Man, Can’t Take My Eyes Off You and Oh, What a Night are the kind of hits that make the whole concept of the jukebox musical seem almost inevitable; Marshall Brickman’s book’s four-part structure allows the songs to function as almost seamless storytelling rather than simply a succession of greatest hits.

That distinction matters. Jersey Boys paved the way for later productions that would turn the lives and music of artists into theatrical spectacles. Without it, the route to shows such as Tina is arguably harder to imagine. Yet it also demonstrates why the best jukebox musicals work: the songs are not merely decoration but a way into character, ambition, heartbreak and memory.

The production itself is where the 20 years are beginning to show. Jess Goldstein’s costumes effectively chart the period, but the wider visual design occasionally feels like a theatrical time capsule. Jonathan Allen’s UK associate scenic design retains the fluidity of Klara Zieglerova’s original set, but its scaffolding and platforms now verge too close to functional than stylish. Howell Binkley’s lighting design has some strong concert-style moments, but its visual language can feel rooted in the early 2000s, while Michael Clark’s video design is somewhat akin to a PowerPoint presentation. It’s a curious contrast: the machinery surrounding Jersey Boys is showing its age, while the music remains remarkably fresh.

Perhaps that is the most fitting way to celebrate 20 years. This is a production that helped create a theatrical genre now ubiquitous on stages around the world. The format may have been copied many times since, but this classic very much still has something to teach its successors.

Twenty years on, Jersey Boys may be a little creakier around the edges. But when those four voices come together, this old, well-oiled machine still sounds genuinely magnificent.

Jersey Boys plays at Manchester’s Palace Theatre until Saturday 19th September. Further information and booking details can be found here.

Tickets received in exchange for an honest review. #AD

Photography by Mark Senior.