Direct from Las Vegas, blockbuster musical revue OH WHAT A NIGHT! celebrating the music of Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons, comes to the Wangaratta Performing Arts and Convention Centre on Thursday, 21 August at 7.30pm.

While the smash hit JERSEY BOYS is a scripted musical biography of the group, OH WHAT A NIGHT! is a loving concert and tribute to the popular band who topped the charts in the 1960s, featuring their original hits as well as top 10 releases not in the Tony award-winning hit, including Frankie Valli’s biggest solo hit from the movie Grease.

Born Francis Castelluccio on May 3, 1934, Franki Valli grew up in a public housing project on the tough streets of Newark, New Jersey.

When he was seven, his mother took him to New York City’s Paramount Theatre to see Frank Sinatra sing, Frankie saying he decided then and there that was what he wanted to do.

It was a tough neighbourhood, but fortunately Frankie and his friends discovered that making music was a good way to stay out of jail and out of the trunk of a car.

In the early 1950s, Frankie's buddy Tommy DeVito headed a group called the Variety Trio, and one night he invited young Frankie on stage to sing I Can’t Give You Anything But Love.

Soon, Frankie was known around the neighbourhood for having the voice of an angel.

In 1953, he made his first record, My Mother’s Eyes, but national attention came in 1956, when Frankie was in a group called the Four Lovers with Tommy, his brother Nick DeVito and Hank Majewski, having a minor hit with You’re the Apple of My Eye.

In the late 1950s the Lovers reconfigured their lineup and became the Four Seasons singing background for other acts until 1962, when songwriter Bob Gaudio came up with a song that made full use of Frankie’s remarkable range - from baritone to falsetto - and the Seasons sang Sherry on American Bandstand, becoming the hottest band in the land with their first number one record.

They went on to create a dynamic songbook with 19 songs in the Top 10 and eight reaching number one.

Conceived and directed by award-winning Broadway producer/director Michael Chapman, written by Motown producer George Solomon, with choreography by Paul Holmquist, OH WHAT A NIGHT! features songs including Sherry, Big Girls Don’t Cry, Walk Like A Man, Can’t Take My Eyes Off You, My Eyes Adored You, Working My Way Back To You, Let’s Hang On and Who Loves You.

This exhilarating, family-friendly musical revue has been thrilling audiences with great choreography, boundless energy, humour and instantly recognisable classic pop songs that have become timeless, and tickets are available now at wpacc.com.au.

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What's On in brief

Print exhibition at Art Gallery on Ovens

A new exhibition called Journeys home and abroad by Jo Kerr will open at the Art Gallery on Ovens in the laneway off Murphy Street this week.

The exhibition features a range of linocut, reduction linocut and intaglio prints of places and landscapes which have importance to the artist and inspired her work.

A celebration will be held on Wednesday, 13 August from 5pm to 7pm with all welcome to attend, and the exhibition will be open Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 10am to 4pm and on Saturday and Sunday from 10am until 2pm until August 18.

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Naming local laneways exhibition at Bainz Gallery

The Wangaratta Historical Society is presenting an exhibition at the Bainz Gallery during August to raise awareness about its project to name the un-named laneways in Wangaratta's CBD.

It features old and new maps, photographs of significant buildings and a map of the unnamed laneways people may not be aware of, with the public invited to make suggestions regarding suitable names for these laneways.

In conjunction with the exhibition, the Wangaratta Historical Society has organised a one hour walk with surveyors Greg Thompson and Rob Steel to locate these laneways on Saturday, 16 August.

It will leave from the society's headquarters at 29 Ford Street, Wangaratta at 10am with all welcome to attend and refreshments to follow, with RSVP would be appreciated for catering purposes to Prue Noble on 0428 454 303.

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Project 365 Gala Ball 2025 at Wangaratta Turf Club

Enjoy a night of elegance, entertainment and community when the Project 365 Gala Ball is held at the Wangaratta Turf Club on Saturday, 16 August.

The black-tie event features canapés on arrival, a two-course meal, drinks and a charity auction, with live music from Lachie Routledge and Liam Blunt’s Funky Rhythm Train.

Dress to impress with a splash of teal and celebrate the incredible impact of Project 365 with tickets available via Humanitix.

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Cathedral College Wangaratta presents Mamma Mia!

Get ready to dance and sing along as Cathedral College Wangaratta students take audiences on a sunny, feel-good journey to a Greek island paradise with Mamma Mia! — the global smash-hit musical which has captured hearts for decades.

Featuring the unforgettable music of ABBA, Mamma Mia! blends timeless pop hits with a heartwarming story of love, identity and friendship, as Sophie, a young woman about to be married, goes on a quest to uncover the identity of her father.

Shows will be presented at the Wangaratta Performing Arts and Convention Centre on Friday, 15 August at 7pm, and on Saturday, 16 August at 1pm and 7pm, with tickets at wpacc.com.au.

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New exhibitions to open at Wangaratta Art Gallery

Two new exhibitions, Primavera: Young Australian Artists and Us by Gillian Bencke, will be officially opened on Saturday, 23 August at 4pm at the Wangaratta Art Gallery.

Primavera: Young Australian Artists is MCA Australia’s annual exhibition for artists aged 35 years and under, presenting work by six early-career artists who challenge society’s prescribed structures to deliver compelling alternatives to the status quo.

Gillian Bencke’s work in Us re-imagines commonly collected items - ephemera, keepsakes, heirlooms from personal and institutional collections through a textile-based practice.

The exhibitions will be launched by Primavera: Young Australian Artists curator, Talia Smith, and it is free to attend, with bookings appreciated for catering purposes at wangarattaartgallery.com.au.

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