Between Christmas and New Year I decided to introduce my two teenage boys to a little theatre culture. It wasn’t their first experience, they’ve seen Lion King in Toronto and Annie in Columbus, Ohio but they were much smaller and easier to impress then.
I hadn’t heard much about Jersey Boys other than it was a great production. Both my kids are quite involved with music at school so I hoped the musical would hold their interest rather than illicit the typical teenage response of eye rolling and yawns of boredom.
I so wanted them to love it for two reasons:
- I wanted them to get the same pleasure and enjoyment I do from the theatre. I don’t get to attend as many productions as I’d like because of the expense. If money were no object, I’d see every show playing here in Detroit, Toronto, and New York.
- I don’t want to be the parent who drags them to boring crap. I wanted them to consider going out with their mother as fun. When I set up activities in the future, I wanted them to look forward to it with anticipation, rather than disgruntlement.
Being a fairly recent Detroit area transplant, this was my first foray into the Fisher Building; I was stunned by it’s beauty. The first time I saw downtown Detroit, I was impressed by the architecture here and the Fisher Building is the crowning jewel.
We had a light lunch in the Cloud Nine Restaurant and Ultra Lounge. The salad was good despite my concern that the establishment was much quieter than expected pre-show.
We headed into the theatre and took our front row balcony seats. The opening act got our attention immediately. Within the first 15 minutes I knew my boys would like the show even if the music pre-dated them.
Jersey Boys tells the history of the Four Seasons in a fun, unique and exciting way. I loved it and, I dare say, my teenagers did too. I think they’ll choose to attend more theatre productions with me in the future.
Video of the London cast:
I saw MAMMA MIA! on Broadway and I enjoyed Jersey Boys in Detroit even more.
Jersey Boys is only playing until January 23rd so grab your teenagers and take them – they won’t be disappointed and neither will you!
