Locals experienced the internationally acclaimed top Four Seasons tribute band worldwide, The Unexpected Boys, Thursday, Nov. 21 at the Columbia Theatre.  The Unexpected boys sang many known songs from the Four Seasons, Les Miserable and more.

The Unexpected Boys all come from Broadway and include Scott Pearson, Austin Lesch, Stephen Booth and Brian Noonan.  They have headlined previously at The Pentagon, Formula One Singapore and many more top locations. 

“I thought it was fantastic,” said Aimee Barrios, an English professor at Southeastern.  “The level of talent was just so out of the league of a little local show like this.  It was great.  Very Broadway.  It was way better than I expected.  I could really connect with the music.”

The Unexpected Boys formed six years ago in 2007.  They all knew each other because of the Broadway community they were a part of, which, according to Noonan, is a tight nit group and much smaller than many think.

“We’re a bunch of Broadway veterans and I had an idea to start a corporate entertainment company,” said Noonan.  “And before we know it we put together this rinky dinky thing and it ended up being so much fun.  We weren’t prepared for it.  We loved the music, we all got up on stage that made it so much fun and we thought, ‘Maybe we have something here.’  And it kind of gave birth to the very informal Unexpected Boys and since then we’ve performed it.”

The performance not only involved The Unexpected Boys singing and dancing, but had a storyline for the duration of the show, which followed the story of each song they sung.  The Unexpected Boys began the show talking about love and a girl one of the boys liked, named Sherry.  This led into the performance of “Sherry” by Franki Valli and The Four Seasons.

Later in the show, the boys interacted with the audience by pulling a woman up on stage and serenading her.  This resulted in laughter and applause from the theatre.

At the start of The Unexpected Boys forming in 2007, they wrestled with choosing a name, but thanks to Noonan’s wife, found the perfect fit.

 “My wife came up with the name,” said Noonan.  “It was Jersey Boys and we kind of had Unexpected Entertainment and she said, ‘Easy.  Unexpected Boys.’  Unexpected Boys just stuck and like how we like to start the show, we like to start it unexpectedly and different every time.”

The Unexpected Boys often change the theme and customize their show to wherever they are performing. Performing in Hammond, Louisiana meant the boys mentioning local favorites such as the New Orleans Saints during the show.

“The Columbia’s great.  It’s very intimate and it’s got a great sound system,” said Noonan.  “They have a great crew, they were really on it.  We had a great time.  Unfortunately now we have to run onto the next town.”

The Unexpected Boys are heading to New York and then St. Martin for their next shows. 

For more information about the Unexpected Boys visit their website at unexpectedboys.com.