Jersey Boys starts with the arrival of Tommy DeVito. He proceeds on telling the story of his group, “The Variety Trio,” which he formed with his brother Nick and friend, Nick Massi. Nick Massi is also a mentor to a young man named Frankie Castelluccio. During the years when their group is still just new, Tommy has been to prison. Frankie on the other hand, has changed his name to Valli, and together with Tommy, forged a friendship with the mob boss Gyp DeCarlo. It is also a hard time for their group as they keep on changing their group names and trying to come up with a sound of their own but to no avail. One day, a man named Joe Pesci arrives and tells Tommy that a man named Bob Gaudio is a perfect addition to their group.
Bob Gaudio comes in to tell his story. It starts with him checking out the band perform. When he hears Frankie sing, Bob is impressed and he starts performing a song. Frankie, Nick Massi, and Tommy then join in with their instruments. After Bob joins the band, they get a job for performing as back-ups with the producer Bob Crewe. When Bob presses them for a name, they come up with The Four Seasons. The band start singing songs written by Bob Gaudi and soon, the men become more popular. Because they are constantly in tour, they also suffer from some personal problems, especially Frankie who is divorced by his wife, Mary. Tommy, on the other hand, is hunted by some loan sharks whom he owed some money.
When Nick Massi takes over, he starts with telling about Bob’s obliviousness to the band’s problems. Tommy’s financial debts are also taking their toll and an incident that landed the band in jail has caused some problems between Tommy and Bob. Tommy has also been jealous of Frankie’s closeness to Bob. The loan shark comes again and Frankie then decides to ask for Gyp DeCarlo’s help. Gyp helps the band strike a deal with the loan shark while Nick starts feeling stressed out by what’s happening to them.
Frankie comes in after Nick Massi and relates how he isn’t that close to Tommy. He also finds it difficult to understand why Nick left the band. He and Bob try to continue with the band but it is not long after Bob tells him that it will be better if Frankie would be a solo artist. Though his career as a solo artist also proves to be successful, Frankie’s personal life is still filled with some struggles. He breaks up with his girlfriend and his daughter is quite distant from him. The money he earns is also used to pay the rest of Tommy’s debts. However, grief takes over Frankie’s life when his daughter dies from drug overdose.
The play ends with original members of The Four Seasons reuniting and performing one last song together. This is the kind of music that has influenced everything from the Beatles to punk rock.