SINGAPORE — Jersey Boys may serve as the perfect excuse to take your parents to the theatre. The story of the seminal ’60s band The Four Seasons is generously packaged with hits like Big Girls Don’t Cry, Can’t Take My Eyes Off You and Walk Like A Man.

But this highly-enjoyable award-winning musical by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice also transcends its initial come-on as a jukebox nostalgia trip — it’s really about four young men from a tough New Jersey neighbourhood who undergo a crash course on how to be a pop star in America back in the day.

Its scope is as sweeping and thorough as the journey one witnesses unfolding onstage. One moment you’re dealing with the hazards and quirks of finding one’s footing as a band — the name changes, the touring, the cold business aspects, the intrigues and camaraderie, the sheer magic that occurs when a song is created almost accidentally — and the next, you’re dealing with mobsters. It shifts seamlessly from jail and seedy bar to TV and music recording studios to big stadium.

Divided into four distinct parts that correspond to a season (and a member’s own take on the band’s history), Jersey Boys gains not only a clear, even structure, but also an understated complexity, allowing the story to move forward even as it creates distinct portraits of its protagonists. There’s the posturing of founder and guitarist Tommy Devito; the cold genius composer Bob Gaudio (who also gets music writing credits for Jersey Boys); the silent, practical bassist Nick Massi; and the group’s defining voice and most famous member, Frankie Valli. Cinephiles will also be tickled by the character cameo of Hollywood actor Joe Pesci as a precocious young kid who plays a pivotal role in the forming of the band.

Jersey Boys finds that perfect balance between being an archetypal band profile (the idea of the bassist as an everyman goofball, for one) and one that’s distinctly The Four Seasons (in one scene, they comment about their place in the US music scene during the British Invasion of the ’60s).

And in doing so, it manages to veer away from what could potentially be a mere success story. Instead, it offers us something richer, more nuanced, and more human. While this musical one seems the least catchy: It doesn’t have the visual extravagance of The Lion King or Wicked; the sexy glam of A Chorus Line; or the feel-good factor of Annie. But like the four unassuming young men who simply gave it a go at the start and ended up being legends, Jersey Boys will eventually charm you with its generous heart, gentle wisdom, and cheeky spunk.

Jersey Boys runs until Feb 17. Tues to Fri, 8pm; Sat and Sun, 2pm and 8pm. Sands Theater at Marina Bay Sands. Tickets from S$55 at Sistic.