Writer Kotaro Isaka once said, “Music, sometimes it saves.” A musical, Jersey Boys, not only because I love their music, but because of the solace and empathy I have found in their story. I remember going to see a rock band LIVE and the lead singer said, “Thanks to rock and roll, if it wasn’t for rock and roll, we probably would have gone rogue, with rock and roll, we’re making music now.” This is a fitting phrase to describe the birth of the Jersey Boys.

This musical, based on America’s most famous band of the last century, The Four Seasons, recreates the legendary story of four young men confused about their future who are brought together by music. In New Jersey, the fourth most densely populated state in the United States, a group of young men, some formerly in prison, some street thugs, come together because they share a love of music. After a long period of silence and obscurity, they became famous for “Shirley”, which topped the Billboard charts for 11 weeks and had 50 hit singles in five months.

Even when The Beatles first opened in the US, a DJ introduced them as “the British version of The Four Seasons”. This is the Broadway musical Jersey Boys, one of the most moving and powerful musicals I have seen in recent times.

I tried to restrain my expectations before seeing it, because it is a production that has won numerous accolades: 54 major awards worldwide, including the Tony Awards in the US and the Laurence Oliver Award for Best Musical in the UK. It has achieved a 97.37% attendance rate in Broadway musical history. Winner of a Grammy Award for Best Original Score. I was worried that I would be disappointed by the high expectations.

The two-and-a-half-hour musical recreates the Four Seasons’ 40-plus-year journey through thick and thin, with a tight plot throughout and surprisingly good live sound effects. The rendition of the four big boys in red suits really gave me a sense of vicariousness as I followed them from unnoticed to the limelight.

A real experience of resonating with an era in one play. The Jersey Boys did this and I was brought to tears. Such themes may seem grandiose, but the writer and director have recreated the epitome of the American dream with vivid language, a tight plot, and an audio-visual feast forged from golden tunes. There is no doggerel or chicken soup in this story; everyone has their own love-hate relationship, even their own selfishness and intrigue, but it is so sincere that it moves you.

The Four Seasons’ fame stems from the authenticity of their music, and Jersey Boys is in keeping with the archetype, not shying away from the conflicts and rivalries beneath the halo, choosing to recreate them. It is more interesting to most people than the pretentiousness of the ‘star-making’ culture of the 1990s and beyond. The Four Seasons had an extraordinary meaning to that generation of Americans.

Their song ‘December, 1963′ was used in Forrest Gump, and became the longest running single in music history (54 weeks). Even after 30 years, these Jersey boys’ beautiful voice has the power to travel back in time.

Even Sherlock, which we all love, used this golden song. In the American drama Modern Family, Grandpa Jay goes to a concert of his favourite band, The Four Seasons, with his wife and kids, only to find out that Vivaldi’s Violin Concerto “The Four Seasons” is being performed.

As written in a book about The Four Seasons, “In those days, pop music was that black record with 45 revolutions per minute, one song per side, songs sung by everyone.” The musical is divided into four acts, spring, summer, autumn and winter, a set-up that also highlights the band’s name ‘The Four Seasons’, and each act is told by a member of the band from his or her own perspective.

The opening scene, “Spring”, features Tommy as the narrator, telling the story of the band’s beginnings. In the early days, the band was too busy changing names and musical styles to achieve anything outstanding. In the scene “Summer”, Bob begins the story, the fourth person to join the band. After the band’s name change to ‘Four Seasons’, they made a name for themselves with three songs in a row, ‘Sherry’, ‘Big Girls Don’t Cry’ and ‘Walk Like a Man’.

This is followed by ‘Autumn’, narrated by Nick, which charts the band’s decline from strength to strength. While the band began touring after their success, Tommy hid a lot of loan shark debt from the band. After a debt collection by a loan shark, Tommy is forced to follow the agreement and live in seclusion while the band picks up the tab. Nick Massey also said he was fed up with everything and opted out.

“Winter” is narrated by the band’s lead singer Frankie. Frankie and Bob searched for a new band member to fill the void, until Bob said he was never used to exposing himself to the spotlight. At Bob’s suggestion, Frankie went “solo”, which is why the Four Seasons always appeared as “Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons”.

One of the things that struck me most about this musical was the way in which band member Tommy became addicted to gambling, ran up hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt, and was so proud of himself for running the band that he often referred to Frankie as the barbershop apprentice that I had saved.

There was a divide in the band, and even the audience, as I saw it, would have preferred not to have an arrogant and gradually degenerating bandmate like Tommy. But Frankie made a different choice – to pay his debt for Tommy. “Now you might be thinking that after all this, Frankie must just cut all ties with Tommy. If you think that, it means you’re not one of us New Jerseyans.” He went to the local mafia for help, and the man asked him in disbelief why you were coming to his aid.

Frankie said, “Because I sing ‘Mama’s Eyes’ better.” In a distant counterpart, at the beginning of the musical, Frankie is subjected to blackmail by a team of operatives, and it is Tommy who finds the local mafia and helps him out of trouble, with Frankie singing ‘Mama’s Eyes’ for the mafia.

The two men climbed out of the mire and hopefully made their own way. Then later, when everyone had made their mark, he chose to take up for him in the face of this comrade who had gone to his aid without a second thought. Was it worth it? Perhaps you can’t help but ask.

The vociferous debt collection came at the cost of Tommy quitting the band, with frontman Frankie alone taking on the band’s entire debt, starting a nearly 20-year career of touring to pay it off. Thankfully, however, despite the landing and onslaught of British rock, Frankie was able to rise to the top of the musical ladder again with Gold.

Bob’s tailor-made ‘Can’t Take My Eyes Off You’ conquered his fans once again and even made him achieve greater success than he had during The Four Seasons. In addition to the glorious interplay and the portrayal of success, there is also the conflict and strife of facing up to dreams and family. Frankie, for example, rarely sees his wife for his long tours away and his daughter often holds grudges against him. What is so moving about this play is that it is not all about advocating dreams and making you believe that they can come true if you persevere.

They have still lost a lot even though they have made a name for themselves. Tommy lost his chance to continue singing in the band because he indulged in gambling, Nick left the band abruptly because he suddenly wanted to go home, and Frankie became popular again but still suffered the unexpected death of his daughter. I think its biggest point is to show you that “you can’t always get what you want, you have to make choices and pay the price for them.”

And you see the play and unconsciously look at yourself, “How do I deal with my dreams, how do I balance my career with my life?” As Blackman says, “It’s going to be a classic American story, which starts with nothing and comes crashing down.” Aside from the band’s journey of living their dreams, the entire musical is laced with a number of eye-catching and good-looking mini-plots.

For example, Bob, the band’s gold medalist songwriter, shows off his eight-pack abs in one scene of the play, and immediately afterwards, good friend Nick presents him with a shirt, and the two chat while showing off their fine flesh, prompting applause and cheers from the entire audience, and fanboy faces going online (I admit I’m blushing haha). We don’t always know which path to choose in life, nor are we able to fully grasp the balance between career and family, nor are we able to have no gap with our teammates who are fighting alongside us.

But we have to know what we’re moving on for. That’s what those boys taught me. And for the Jersey Boys, for the Four Seasons, it was about the music. As they gather decades later at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, looking back on the happiest days of these past forty-plus years, was it being inducted into the Hall of Fame? Or being famous for the song ‘Shirley’? All the record sales? No, none of that. What they recall is before it all happened, when the four lads stood under a street lamp and sang that sound for the first time – their own harmonies.

When it all fades away and all that’s left is the music, that’s the most beautiful moment of all. Why did The Four Seasons become such a popular classic of the last century? I think I found the answer when I watched the show. Because they were singing about millions of people like them who were willing to follow their dreams. Just like us who are watching this play, we are also people who are full of expectations in life.

Success doesn’t happen by accident. Before The Four Seasons became popular, they struggled to find a fourth team member; knocked on doors to sell their demo; sang harmonies for singers and then were mocked by producers. You can see in this play the pursuit of fame and fortune, the quest for love, the persistence in the struggle and the frustration.

You may even be reminded of your dreams long after the show has broken up. If your dreams are still alive, go and see a production of Jersey Boys and believe me, you will burn up again to the rhythm of the music.