Texas-born Allison Horsley’s job was to get to know Frankie Valli, Bob Gaudio, the late Tommi Devito and the late Nick Massi — also known as The Four Seasons — and chart their lives from before the band formed in New Jersey in the 1960s, through to present day.
She then provided the cast with her knowledge and research so they could present the real-life characteristics of each band member in the "behind the scenes" look at Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons.
"Bob and Frankie functioned almost like an old married couple who completed each other’s sentences.
"They shared the same lawyer and they talked all the time.
"At one point, we needed suggestions for an early Four Seasons song the four characters could sing/play when they jam together onstage for the first time in the show.
"I asked Bob for ideas, and he couldn’t remember the name of a particular song, but said, ‘It was something like, I cried for you, so now you cry for me’ — something like that. I don’t remember, but if you call Frankie, he can sing it to you’. It was of course Cry for Me, which features in the show."
She said Devito was a "mysterious" and "colourful" character.
The show has gone on to become a global smash hit.
Horsley recently visited the cast of Dunedin’s production of the show to give them a sense of how the show was developed, why it was developed that way, and shared all the stories she had about "the guys".
"To hear about someone’s demeanour and behaviour in real life can really give that extra depth of understanding for an actor, to get a three-dimensional sense of who this character is as a human being."
She said it meant the production would be about as close as Dunedin residents would ever get to seeing Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons, without actually meeting them.
"Jersey Boys is about a real band that made real music, and their songs are used chronologically in the show, providing a soundtrack to the guys’ lives and helping to demonstrate their rise to fame."
Doug Kamo Creative Management director Doug Kamo said no other centre in New Zealand who had staged Jersey Boys, had had the opportunity of having Horsley "at their finger tips".
"Her connection to Frankie Valli and Bob Gaudio during her time as dramaturg on the production cannot be overlooked."
