Relive the spectacle of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons when performer Bobby Fox brings his ‘Four Seasons In One Night’ show to the Adelaide Cabaret Festival with a full-scale stage production.
Handpicked by Frankie Valli himself for the Australian production of smash-hit musical ‘Jersey Boys’, Bobby played the lead role for three years (over 850 performances). In ‘Four Seasons In One Night’, Bobby presents his side to the story and what it took to recreate one of the biggest pop groups of the '60s. “Essentially what I do in ‘Four Seasons In One Night' is, where ‘Jersey Boys’ tells the story of The Four Seasons, this show tells the story of me playing that role,” Bobby says.
“Experiences like seeing the show for the first time, auditioning, getting the role and then working with Bob Gaudio in the studio in New York. It was quite the whirlwind adventure, as they say.”
Written by Bobby and James Miller, ‘Four Seasons In One Night’ weaves together Bobby’s experiences portraying the iconic crooner, with his own carefully curated selection of classic Four Seasons songs. “The show crosses the boundary between being cabaret and being like a rock concert,” Bobby says.
“With all The Four Seasons’ music I thread the trajectory of the show from start to finish, and the trial and tribulations of that. It’s trying to delve into what it was like and what we went through as four guys trying to recreate a pop group from the '60s.”
In preparing his 'Jersey Boys’ role, Bobby had the rare opportunity to spend time with Frankie and get an insight into what it takes to be a flesh-and-blood music legend. “I didn’t work with him as such but I did get to talk to him quite a bit,” he says.
“I met him in Las Vegas when we were launching the show. Then he came back to Australia to do a show, I went to see him and then had some time and we chatted a lot about music, women and the like… the old man, he knows the subject,” he adds with a laugh.
“So he gave me some references and essentially told me what he does when he’s given new music and what he does to analyse that music, keep it original and do exactly what he does. It was an incredible experience to hear that from the man himself.”
With ‘Four Seasons In One Night’, Bobby has distilled the pure essence of both Valli and the group as a whole, resulting in what he sees as the most entertaining combination of their music and his own story. “The music I put into the show was what I thought suited the show,” he says, “but also the best of ‘Jersey Boys’ and The Four Seasons. Then with the harmonies I really wanted to go right back to the original Four Seasons harmonies and arrangements.
“So I’ve got a four-piece band; the musical director was in ‘Jersey Boys’ as well, the guitarist, he’s played the show over 1,000 times and I’ve got three guys doing the backing vocals and choreography a la ‘Jersey Boys’.”
‘Four Seasons In One Night’ plays at Dunstan Playhouse from 10-12 June as part of the Adelaide Cabaret Festival.
