Big boys don’t cry they walk like a man into court.
Frankie Valli has filed suit against six former cast members of “Jersey Boys,” charging them with ripping off the Tony award-winning show for a copycat concert tour now under way.
The Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Famer claims “The Boys in Concert” steals songs, stage elements and copyrighted logos to dupe patrons into thinking it’s an “authorized road company” of the long-running Broadway musical.
“Beginning with low-profile performances of songs from Jersey Boys, defendants have now increased the scale of their performances as The Boys to the point that they now more boldly flaunt their similarity to the production,” the Manhattan federal court suit says.
Valli — along with Four Seasons’ singer and songwriter Robert Gaudio, and playwrights Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice — is seeking a court order ending the alleged chicanery.
The plaintiffs also want $150,000 for each of 10 tunes performed in the ersatz entertainment, along with all of the production’s profits and unspecified damages for unfair competition and copyright infringement.
Defendants in the case include Christian Hoff, who won a Tony for his performance as Tommy DeVito in the original cast production, and Michael Longoria, who formerly portrayed Valli and has said he is not related to Eva Longoria of “Desperate Housewives” fame.
According to the suit, The Boys in Concert has already been performed in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Atlantic City.
The show’s Web site says it was also supposed to go on Saturday in Westport, Conn., with 19 additional performances scheduled through October across the country and in Canada.
Managers for The Boys in Concert didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.