Charting the rise to fame of The Four Seasons and their frontman, Frankie Valli, Jersey Boys proved a major hit when it premiered on Broadway in 2005 - and 21 years later, the jukebox musical is still going strong. A special anniversary tour visits the Midlands this autumn, with Luke Baker taking the role of Frankie. Carlo Boumouglbay, Lewis Kennedy and Toby Miles round out the Seasons’ quartet. Luke, Carlo, Lewis and Toby here talk about bringing this rags-to-riches story to the stage…

With the awards-laden Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons musical Jersey Boys reaching 21 years of age in 2026, the show is returning to the West Midlands with a tour that reunites the original creative team of director Des McAnuff, choreographer Sergio Trujillo and musical supervisor Ron Melrose.

“They’re the dream team - and this is my dream role,” beams Luke Baker, who heads the cast as Frankie. “It’s been on my wish list for longer than I can remember. When the show was on at the Prince Edward Theatre in London, I worked front-of-house, so I saw it maybe 100 times. Now I finally get to play Frankie, and it’s my biggest, most challenging role to date. 

“It’s such a fast-paced show. When we first did a run-through of act one, it was like the first time you drive on the motorway; you put your foot down and go ‘God, this is fast!’ Then you settle into it. For me, being in this show is everything I hoped it would be and more.”

When it premiered on Broadway in 2005, Jersey Boys was praised for its clever use of the Four Seasons’ music to tell their rags-to-riches story. As dramatised by book writers Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice, the musical charts the group’s incredible journey, from the days when the four of them were just hanging out on the streets of New Jersey, to their inauguration into the Rock & Rock Hall of Fame. Along the way, they enjoyed spectacular chart-storming success with 1960s and 70s hits including Sherry, Big Girls Don’t Cry, Walk Like A Man, December, 1963 (Oh, What A Night) and Frankie’s solo smash Can’t Take My Eyes Off You.

“The music is incredible, and they were one of the few groups to have falsetto vocals as the lead parts,” Luke says. “They had such a unique sound, and Frankie could sing anything from R&B and doo-wop to jazz and disco. His vocal ability is crazy. Nailing his famous falsetto takes a lot of work, but once you get there, it becomes like second nature - as do the band’s very specific dance moves.

“There are so many layers to [Valli]. He’s loyal and determined, and he faces adversity head-on. Like the rest of the band, Frankie suffers setbacks and tragedy - the show is just as full of drama as it is of fun and fantastic songs. As jukebox musicals go, it’s the gold standard.”

Too right. Since its US premiere, Jersey Boys has been seen by more than 30 million people worldwide and won 65 major awards. These include the Helpmann Award for Best Musical in the Australian homeland of Carlo Boumouglbay. Having moved to the UK a year ago, the actor is currently playing Tommy DeVito in the show.  

“Tommy’s got a lot of courage and he doesn’t mind getting his hands dirty,” says Carlo. “He’s maybe not the nicest of guys at times and he rattles a few cages, but he’s full of passion.”

The biggest challenge Carlo has faced is learning to play an electric guitar: “We have incredible musicians doing the real playing, so the finger-picking needs to look realistic. Then there’s the accent. I have to sound like I’m from New Jersey, not Queensland - but again, we have an incredible dialect coach.”

Carlo is looking forward to taking the show on tour. “It’s going to be a voyage of discovery for me because we’re going to places I’ve never been to before. I’ve seen some of the towns and cities on TV and in films back in Australia, but now I get to experience them for real.”

Newcastle-born Lewis Kennedy, meanwhile, landed the part of bassist & arranger Nick Massi after auditioning for various Jersey Boys roles over the years.

“Nick is the quietest of the bunch, but he’s often described as being really smart and with a genius for harmonies,” says Lewis. “Jersey Boys is the best of all the so-called jukebox musicals because the script is so strong and it takes audiences, as well as we actors, on a big journey. It’s full of emotion - having each character narrate different bits of the story gives it a unique twist.

“Getting to be in the anniversary tour is a real honour, especially as we’re working with the original team. I think the show has lasted this long because the book and the story are as strong as the songs. It takes us on a rollercoaster ride that mirrors what the band went through to achieve success.”

Completing the core cast is Toby Miles as the baby of the Four Seasons bunch, Bob Gaudio. 

“Bob is the musical brains of the group,” Toby explains. “He writes a lot of the music, and he’s very clued-up, articulate and business-oriented. He’s an interesting character because, unlike the others, he’s not largely driven by emotion.

“I’ve always loved the music, and the show has a lot of heart. It appeals to all demographics, I think, and there’s so much happening in terms of the relationships between the characters. It’s deep and charged and quite brilliant in its storytelling.”

The Newcastle-born actor has piano-playing in his skill set, so the musical numbers are in his wheelhouse: “I’m lucky in that respect because it’s an instrument that I’m comfortable with. But the show is challenging in other ways because the script is packed full of dialogue and it moves at an incredibly fast pace. Each of us gets to narrate a ‘season’ in the story, and that means directly addressing the audience, which is fun.”

Toby also has a theory to suggest why the musical has had a staying power to match that of Frankie and the band themselves.

“People grew up with this music, either the first time around or because their parents continue to play it or because they’ve heard it on the radio. Songs like Oh, What A Night and Beggin’ have had second lives - and on top of that, there’s this riveting story.”

Jersey Boys shows at the Regent Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent, from Monday 26 to Saturday 31 October, and The Alexandra, Birmingham, from Monday 2 to Saturday 21 November. 

The production then returns to the region in 2027, showing at the Wolverhampton Grand Theatre from Monday 15 to Saturday 27 March.