Jersey Boys London Production has increased its booking period by 12 months – tickets are now on sale to 8 April 2012.
Jersey Boys opened at the Prince Edward Theatre 18 Mar 2008, following previews from 28 Feb 2008 to reasonable notices from the popular press: THE EVENING STANDARD says, “Slickly animated production.” THE DAILY TELEGRAPH says, “It has a quality you rarely find in musicals – gritty honesty – as well as the best collection of pop hits since Mamma Mia!” THE GUARDIAN says, “A pleasant, forgettable night out; no more, no less.”
Jersey Boys is written by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice, with music by Bob Gaudio and lyrics by Bob Crewe.
The London production is staged by the entire original Broadway creative team: Directed by Des McAnuff , designed by Klara Zieglerova, lighting by Howell Binkley, choreography by Sergio Trujillo, costumes by Jess Goldstein, sound by Steve Canyon Kennedy and projections design by Michael Clark. The orchestrations are by Steve Orich and the music direction and vocal arrangements by Ron Melrose.
The story of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons – Frankie Valli, Bob Gaudio, Tommy DeVito and Nick Massi – and how this group of blue-collar boys from the wrong side of the tracks became one of the biggest American and International pop music sensations of all time. They wrote their own songs, invented their own sounds and sold 175 million records worldwide – all before they were thirty. Their songs include ‘Sherry’, ‘Walk Like A Man’, ‘December, 1963 (Oh What a Night)’, ‘Big Girls Don’t Cry’, ‘My Eyes Adored You’, ‘Let’s Hang On (To What We’ve Got)’.
Merry Christmas to everyone! To add to your holiday cheer, enjoy four fabulous voices from the Broadway cast of Jersey Boys (Miles Aubrey, John Hickman, Dominic Nolfi, and Jarrod Spector)–performing at Broadway Sings for Toys in 2008!
Jersey Boys, the record-smashing musical will perform as a headline act in the star-studded line up of Channel Nine’s 2010 New Year’s Eve broadcast from 8.30pm on Friday 31 December.
Jersey Boys is the story of one of the biggest American pop sensations of all time, Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons.
Families at the event, and at home watching Channel Nine, will be treated to the cast performing a foot stomping medley of songs from the acclaimed musical which has now been seen by approximately 11 million people worldwide.
This New Year’s Eve join all of the acclaimed cast of Jersey Boys as they sing some of the greatest hits of all time – “Walk Like a Man”, “Sherry”, “Big Girls Don’t Cry”, “Oh What a Night”, “Who Loves You” and “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You”.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, All the Jersey Boys Fans
Even if you are a big music fan, all you might know about The Four Seasons is that Frankie Valli was their lead singer and they had a slew of hits many years ago like “Sherry,” “Big Girls Don’t Cry” and “Walk Like a Man,” to name a few.
But, if you see “Jersey Boys,” the electrifying Tony Award-winning musical based on the group’s bumpy ride to the top, you might start thinking you witnessed every hit and heartbreak.
Jersey Boys is currently playing on tour in Boston, MA thru January 30, 2011. From then it is moving to Baltimore, MD February 02 , 2011 playing thru February 27, 2011.
Jersey Boys returned to Boston and received rave reviews once again at the Colonial Theatre, where it opened Friday, December 17 (performances began Thursday, December 16) and will play through Sunday, January 30, 2011.
Jersey Boys Reviews:
The Boston Herald: Lauren Beckham Falcone writes “The boys are back in Boston – bringing the Tony- and Grammy-Award-winning musical to the Colonial Theatre – and audiences to their feet. JERSEY BOYS shines, shimmies and sizzles on the stage. The foursome playing the foursome is seamless, a pitch-perfect quartet of impressive pipes and emotional storytelling.”
Boston Globe: Don Aucoin writes “Joseph Leo Bwarie’s performance as Frankie Valli goes beyond mere mimicry. The Emerson College grad doesn’t simply channel Valli; he inscribes the role with a breath-catching artistry of his own as he soars, without seeming effort, into the upper reaches of the human voice.”
Cape Cod Times: Gwenn Friss writes “Joseph Leo Bwarie, Quinn VanAntwerp, Steve Gouveia and Matt Bailey are extraordinary. The singing is terrific and the show’s 10-piece band is perfect.”
The Boston Channel: says “Jersey and Boston have a lot in common … proud, territorial, a wee bit arrogant and certainly not the least bit intimidated by the big cheeses in the Big Apple. Broadway may have launched Jersey Boys, but when it swings into the Hub, it’s ours! It’s built just like the songs it celebrates … catchy, clever, and heartfelt. Joseph Leo Bwarie is a unique talent portraying a unique talent. Bwarie’s singing is jawdroppingly good. Matt Bailey as Four Seasons bad boy Tommy DeVito is pitch perfect as the loud mouth schemer who knows Frankie is his ticket out of the neighborhood. Quinn VanAntwerp as Bob Gaudio, tall, rosy cheeked, and brimming with intelligence, he’s a force to be reckoned with on his own terms.”
Jersey Boys has joined together with the Italian Home for Children to help bring joy to those in need this holiday season. During performances of Jersey Boys December 16th – 19th patrons attending a performance are invited to bring an unwrapped toy to Boston’s Colonial Theatre to be donated to a Boston area child.
Jersey Boys is playing a limited engagement at Boston’s Colonial Theatre from December 16th – January 30th.
Holiday Toy collection will take place from December 16th to 19th, 2010. All toys must be delivered by December 19th to ensure delivery to the children by Christmas.
Broadway.com asked readers to vote on which actor to have played a member of the Four Seasons is their favorite. The votes are in, and readers just can’t take their eyes off of Jarrod Spector, who landed in the top spot with 38%. Spector first played Four Seasons frontman Frankie Valli in the Chicago production of Jersey Boys before taking over the role on Broadway in 2008. He is still wowing audiences nightly at the August Wilson Theatre.
Following in second place is the show’s original Frankie Valli, John Lloyd Young. The actor, who won a Tony Award for his performance in 2006, earned 17% of votes. Third place went to another original cast member, J. Robert Spencer, with 12% of votes. Spencer played Nick Massi and later went on to score a Tony nomination for his performance as Dan Goodman in Next to Normal.
Fourth place resulted in a tie between original cast member Christian Hoff, who also picked up a 2006 Tony Award for his portrayal of hot-headed Tommy DeVito, and recent cast member Sebastian Arcelus. Both actors earned 8% of votes. Arcelus first joined Jersey Boys in 2008 as the band’s singer/songwriter Bob Gaudio and returned in 2009. He departed the production earlier this fall and can now be seen as the title character in the new holiday musical Elf.
Joseph Leo Bwarie will star in “Jersey Boys, The story of Frankie Valli &The Four Seasons” at the Colonial Theatre, 106 Boylston St., Boston, Dec. 16-Jan. 30.
Joseph Leo Bwarie will star in “Jersey Boys at the Colonial Theatre, 106 Boylston St., Boston, December 16, 2010 to January 30, 2011
Joseph Leo Bwarie, who has been playing Frankie Valli in the national tour of the musical mega-hit “Jersey Boys” since 2007, returning to Boston at the Colonial Theatre in Boston.
“My contract was to end in Philadelphia on Dec. 12, but I extended because I said there was no way anyone else was going to play Frankie Valli in Boston. This will be the tour’s first ever repeat city in four years on the road which is momentous. We finally get to use ‘Working our Way Back to You’ as our advertising slogan,” explained Bwarie, a 1999 graduate of Emerson College, last week by telephone. “I grew up in southern California, but my family on both my Mom’s and Dad’s sides are all from greater Boston – from Westford, to Arlington, Belmont, Brookline, and Braintree. I have family all over Massachusetts. When ‘Jersey Boys’ played Boston last summer, we did one show where the entire Shubert mezzanine was filled with just my family members.”
“As a singer, I’m very honored to be compared to Frankie Valli. To me, the voice people hear in the show is just me, Joe Bwarie. This is just what I sound like. I had always been cast to sing the high parts, but I had never performed any of this music before I got this role and no one had ever told me I sounded like Frankie Valli. If I can come close to what he sounds like then that, of course, is the goal.”
Bwarie hasn’t made up his mind yet whether or not this Boston engagement will be his last with “Jersey Boys,” but he does know he’d like to see his own name on the marquee one day in the future.
Jon Lee, one of the original members of pop group S Club 7, joins the West End Production of Jersey Boys from 15 March 2011, playing the role of ‘Frankie Valli’ at certain performances. He joins Ryan Molloy who continues in the role of ‘Frankie Valli’ for a fourth year.
Jon Lee joins the West End Production of Jersey Boys from 15 March 2011
Jon Lee’s West End credits include ‘Marius’ in ‘Les Misérables’.
Jon Lee said, “I’m so excited to be playing the role of ‘Frankie Valli’ in Jersey Boys, it’s been a goal of mine since the show opened. Ryan is exceptional in the show and I feel lucky to be working with him and truly blessed to be performing some of The Four Seasons biggest hits. I can’t wait!”
Matthew Wycliffe will also join the cast as ‘Bob Gaudio,’ Wayne Smith as ‘Bob Crewe,’ Rachael Wooding as ‘Mary Delgado,’ Carl Au as ‘Joe Pesci,’ Lauren Hall as ‘Francine,’ Jo Servi as ‘Barry Belson,’ Chris Gardner as ‘Hank Majewski’ and Jake Samuels as ‘Norm Waxman.’ Trina Hill and Tom Oakley also join the cast. Jon Boydon will continue to star as ‘Tommy DeVito,’ Eugene McCoy as ‘Nick Massi,’ Mark Carroll as ‘Donnie/Knuckles,’ Charlie Bull as ‘Lorraine’ and Stuart Milligan as ‘Gyp DeCarlo.’ Also in the cast are Lucinda Gill, Michael Conway, Mark Isherwood, Ben Wheeler and Paul Iveson.
