New Jersey, we're sorry. You deserve more credit than you get for your creative output. From Bebe Neuwirth to Ice-T, your contributions to American pop culture are impressive. It's just that we hear so much about your crime rates and the legal troubles of your Real Housewives that we forget you gave us Jason Alexander and Queen Latifah. And Frankie Valli, too. Our bad, Jerz. Our bad.
Speaking of the falsetto-ed wonder, we have the chance to make it up to The Garden State as Jersey Boys comes to Gammage Auditorium for a two-week run. The musical, which was recently adapted into a film nobody saw (we'll save our apology to Clint Eastwood for another time), chronicles the rise to stardom of Valli and The Four Seasons, as told from each member's perspective --- and with a boat load of their songs, including “Sherry” and “Big Girls Don't Cry.”
Resist the urge to sing along when the show opens at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, July 22, at 1200 South Forest Avenue in Tempe. Performances run through August 3. Tickets are $25 to $135 via www.ticketmaster.com or by calling 480-965-3434.
Tuesdays-Fridays, 7:30 p.m.; Saturdays, 2 & 7:30 p.m.; Sundays, 1 & 6:30 p.m. Starts: July 22. Continues through Aug. 3, 2014