::: George Christy ::: From the Beverly Hills Courier

ÒYouÕre just too good to be true/CanÕt take my eyes off of youÓ was Frankie ValliÕs monster hit during the Õ60s that draws warm shivers from nostalgic prom queens of other days. Those timeless Òtoo good to be trueÓ lyrics reflected the audienceÕs reaction to the Sunday afternoon opening of Jersey Boys, which plays through the summer at the Ahmanson Theatre. Gauging from the thrilling ovations, please hurry and nab your tickets now. ÒThis is my music,Ó admitted Dr. Gerald Baker of the Santa Monica Podiatry Group, who had tickets for this week and for next week, and after seeing it again he may want to give it a third shot this summer. A sensation on Broadway, winning Tony Awards and other tributes, Jersey Boys sold out in San Francisco, and how lucky we are that the road company quartet of its troubadours under Des McAnuffÕs fluid direction is now ensconced here. The San Francisco company soldiers on, with a new cast. YouÕll be bowled over with the harmonies (33 songs!), the energizer-bunny choreography by Sergio Trujillo, and the beyond-belief singing by Christopher Kale Jones as the iconic Frankie Valli, whoÕs still performing and who was among the guests during the premiere. Any number of ladies screamed during the intermission, ÒI want to meet Frankie Valli!Ó Christopher sings in several octaves and smoothly manages that legendary falsetto timbre of FrankieÕs voice. In those other three equally demanding roles are Erich Bergen as songwriter Bob Gaudio, Mike Ingersoll as Nick Massi, and Deven May as hotshot Tommy DeVito, who takes credit for envisioning the potential of the Four Seasons. ÒDonÕt wanna seem ubiquitous,Ó he announces, Òbut we put Jersey on da map.Ó Not a jukesical, or a jukebox musical, Jersey Boys has a lively, clever and affecting narrative by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice, whose royalties will be coming Õround the mountain for years. The signature ballads build the story, with anecdotes along with way. When Bob Gaudio was watching Rhonda Fleming and John Payne in an old Western on television, Rhonda sighed, ÒBig girls donÕt cry,Ó which inspired Bob to write his Big Girls DonÕt Cry hit. We learn that Frankie Valli was born Frankie Castellucio, and after changing his name to Valley, he was scolded that the spelling was a no-no, and that Italian names end in ÒiÓ. And youÕll be amazed that FrankieÕs monster hit barely made it on the air waves, deemed as Òtoo artyÓ. Whoever enhanced the technical design of the music captured the sound of the Õ60s, and the pop-art Roy Lichtenstein-esque projections spotlight the musicalÕs changing moods. The Four Seasons lyricist Bob Crewe was in the audience, as was New JerseyÕs Eddie Murphy, ducking in the house managerÕs office until showtime, and begging off being photographed. What Placido Domingo loves, sooner or later, will come to pass, as it has with our Los Angeles OperaÕs production of Luisa Fernanda, known in composer Federico Moreno TorrobaÕs native Spain as a zarzuela -- not unlike an operetta with dialogue. The son of traveling zarzuela troupers. PlacidoÕs locked the music of his childhood in his heart, and in the role of farmer Vidal who falls in love with Luisa, he sings superbly with haunting nuances as a baritone. On opening night, the Puerto Rican-born Yali-Marie Williams replaced Maria Jose Montiel, who was ailing from a virus, and she and Placido created a lyrical duo in this tale of unrequited love during the revolutionary 19th century Spain of Queen Isabel II. During the post-premiere reception, we met the cosmopolitan assistant conductor and chorus master Dennis Doubin, who immigrated to California from Russia at an early age with his mother and who believes there is no country like the United States where an outsider is accepted as belonging. ÒNo matter how long youÕve lived in a European country, youÕre forever a foreigner.Ó Luisa Fernanda was underwritten by Barbara Augusta Teichert, whose family owned the Teichert Construction Company in Northern California, and while she considered herself Òa theater nut,Ó her life changed during the mid-Õ90s. ÒThat was when I became aware of Placido Domingo,Ó she notes, adding that she gave herself a birthday present of experiencing his live performance of Carmen in Los Angeles. The rest is history. SheÕs since sponsored productions for the Washington National Opera and supported the MetÕs world-premiere of The First Emperor. ÒIÕve had a post-9/11 sense of wanting to do something for the greater good, and a realization that the only way to control what happens to your money is to give it away yourself.Ó SharesÕs chorus lines of jazzy dancing hit the mark, and who knew that the dark-haired beauty in the chorus, Lynn Brody, is a rabbi in Palm Desert. ÒI love to dance,Ó she beamed, when Share member Corinna Fields introduced us after ShareÕs 54th Boomtown Night at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium. ÒBest everÓ was among the comments this year, with appreciation for the pace of the show, produced by that loyal Mr. Wonderful Gary Smith, whose wife MaxineÕs among ShareÕs shimmy-shakers with their shapely legs. We were happy to hear Share member Nancy Hutson Perlman praise the Beverly Hills Courier, and if, by chance, it misses her driveway on Friday (or someone picks up?), she ÒborrowsÓ a neighbors. ÒBut I always return it!Ó ÒSheÕs the one, canÕt do enough for Share.Ó Mitzi Gaynor nodded to benefactress Joni Berry, a longtime Share member (Share is an acronym for Share Happily and Reap Endlessly), who underwrote the chicken and ribs dinner catered by Along Came Mary. Joni also created the hot-stuff costumes for the Way Down Yonder In New Orleans numbers led by whirling dervish Matthew Dickens and his hoofers and hooferettes. ÒThe greatest gift my parents gave me was their Eichenbaum Foundation,Ó says Joni, Òwhich allows me to do what I can for others.Ó Joni contributes $100,000 yearly to Share, and the funds raised during these Boomtown hoedowns benefit childrenÕs facilities throughout the Los Angeles area. The Boomtown event was sparked during that meeting decades ago of industry wives who wanted to Ògive back.Ó Share president Marilyn Katleman presented the Member of the Year award to Debra Cirilov Crouch, and David Schwimmer honored the Rape Treatment CenterÕs pioneer Gail Abarbanel with the Shining Spirit Award, received last year by television genius Marcy Carsey. Comic Jeff Ross had the audience laughing, but knew when to move on, and we discovered that Roslyn Kind is one supercool singer, as is Jack Jones, both holding notes longer than Ethel Merman in their showstopping performances. For many years weÕve been invited to join her table by Joanna Carson, who we christened That Sexiest Strut This Side of Montmartre during our Hollywood Reporter days. And weÕre happy to report that, yes, Joanna and the ladies picked up the insistent message to, please, keep editing the show. WhatÕs better than hitting the road by 10:30? We did hear in the wind that when ViacomÕs Sumner Redstone chooses to retire, heÕll anoint Jeffrey Katzenberg as chairman, with DreamWorks being sold to Paramount. And, for Jeffrey, this will mean going Òback homeÓ to Paramount. Online at www.bhcourier.com.