FROM LEFT: Andrew Rannells (in the role of Bob Gaudio), Joseph Leo Bwarie (Frankie Valli), Jeremy Kushnier (Tommy DeVito) and Steve Gouveia (Nick Massi) play the '60s pop sensations The Four Seasons in the Dancap production of Jersey Boys: The Story of Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons.

TORONTO - If you've always harboured a secret desire to hang out with the coolest guys in the neighbourhood, the wait is over.

In fact, the Jersey Boys might just be the coolest guys on the planet -- at least as portrayed in Des McAnuff's jubilant Tony Award-winning celebration of the life of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons.

Now for those of you who didn't live through the era and have somehow managed to make it through life without ever tuning into a golden oldies station, Valli and his cohorts were the guys behind a whole raft of pop tunes from Sherry through Walk Like a Man and Rag Doll.

These were guy songs that dominated the hit parade and turned an American falsetto-voiced singer from the wrong side of the turnpike and his cohorts into pop idols, despite the best that British pop could throw at 'em.

But if the music -- for the most part written by long-time Season Bob Gaudio -- is familiar, the story behind their success is far less so, charting as it does the unique dynamic between four young men from Jersey's crime-infested Italian ghetto who dream of a life beyond their neighbourhood, even while that life threatens to bring them down.

It's a story beautifully, if sparingly, told in a book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice, brought to life with stunning and straightforward genius by Des McAnuff and a hugely talented cast.

After winning the Tony for best musical in New York in 2006 (beating out a Toronto-born offering titled The Drowsy Chaperone in the process, you might recall) Jersey Boys: The Story of Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons opened an overdue and already extended run Sunday in the Toronto Centre For The Arts as part of the Dancap season.

And frankly, it should play forever, for in transforming the tale into a stage musical, McAnuff and his collaborators have transcended the jukebox musical to such a degree that all that lovely music is actually secondary to the relationship between the characters that unfolds on stage.

Credit for that must be shared between four hugely talented actors who, in deference to the name the group borrowed from a bowling alley, portray the seasons of the Seasons' success.

First up as Spring is bad boy Tommy DeVito, played with both depth and winning charm by ex-pat Jeremy Kushnier.

It was DeVito who recognized the latent talent in young Frankie and began the process of polishing his star.

From the promise of their early beginnings, the narrative is then passed to Bob Gaudio, the composer who decided he wanted to write for Valli's voice the first time he heard it.

In the role of the perpetual outsider, Andrew Rannells scores a major triumph, lighting up the stage with an "Aw shucks" kind of charm before seemingly transforming himself into a polished and confident character as life leaves its imprint on him.

As Valli, who assumes the narrative as things slip into autumn, Jospeh Leo Bwarie is responsible for weaving much of the muscial magic of the show and matches his considerable musical talent with enough heart to win over any audience.

And finally, in the often thankless role of Nick Massi, Steve Gouveia proves happily and conclusively that every hang-dog has its season, making the most of his moments in the limelight.

Add to this an almost universally strong supporting cast (sadly, only Joseph Siravo seems to have been cast by type rather than talent) and a powerful creative team that includes choreographer Sergio Trujillo, set designer Klara Zieglerova and musical director Ron Melrose, and you've got a hit that feels like summer 365 days a year.

Oh, what a night indeed!
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