Archive for May, 2012
Jersey Boy Jarrod Spector’s Broadway Schedule
Jarrod Spector (@jarrodspector) Tweeted on 27 May about his schedule in Jersey Boys Broadway:
Ok #JerseyBoys folks! Officially: I’m in the show until 6/3, back again 6/12-7/1, and back again on 10/1, all on my normal show schedule.
Jersey Boys Fabulous Fox Theatre-GA Review
From May 22 to June 10, 2012, Jersey Boys playing at Fabulous Fox Theatre-GA in Atlanta GA and Wendell Brock reviewed the musical. Check out a sneak peek of the review:
There’s a moment in “Jersey Boys” when Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons must decide whether to bail out bad-boy gambler Tommy DeVito or throw him overboard to the loan sharks.
In a smoky boardroom, Valli gets up from the table and declares his intentions to walk like a man. They’ll pay off DeVito’s debt and behave like a family.
At this moment, it may occur to you that “Jersey Boys” is more than just a seamlessly crafted jukebox musical describing the public acclaim and behind-the-scenes struggles of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons: It is also a tale of honor and loyalty to rival Mario Puzo (“The Godfather”) and Shakespeare (“The Merchant of Venice”).
And I’m happy to report that the touring production at the Fox Theatre through June 10 is the slickest, best-looking and most dramatically resonant telling of the expletive-spewing 2006 Tony Award winner for best new musical that I have seen. As the diminutive lead singer with the voice of an angel, the troubled personal life and the heart of gold, Brad Weinstock is simply electric. His performance is as good as you will see on any stage, anywhere.
Though Valli’s flaws were considerable, DeVito’s were apparently even more troubling, and Colby Foytik plays the stock villain with a mixture of snarl and charisma. The handsome Jason Kappus portrays Bob Gaudio, the musical brains of the group, as fresh-faced and likeable, while Brandon Andrus exudes plenty of masculine energy as bass singer Nick Massi, the quiet soldierly one who can only endure so much. As “Fifth Season” Bob Crewe, the group’s lyricist and frequent producer, Barry Anderson is a delightfully flamboyant figure who recalls Hugh Jackman playing Peter Allen in “The Boy from Oz.”
Read the complete review {Via accessAtlanta.com}
Buy Jersey Boys Fabulous Fox Theatre-GA Tickets online today for best prices. Get $10 OFF on Jersey Boys Atlanta GA Ticket Orders of $350 or more by using code #SpringSavings at Checkout!
Jersey Boy, Nick Cosgrove Performing at Hometown Crowd in Chicago
Nick Cosgrove playing as one of the Jersey Boys, two performances each week at the Bank of America Theatre through June 3, 2012. Cosgrove in the role of Frankie Valli, he performs on Tuesday nights and at Wednesday matinees in the current national tour of the Jersey Boys in Chica.
The 24-year-old actor, with a four-octave vocal range, talked with suntimes.com about playing to the hometown crowd.
Q: How did you decide that a life in theater was the road you wanted to take?
A: I sang before I could talk, and I didn’t talk until I was 3. But then I started watching “Sesame Street” and my mom got me these Disney DVDs and suddenly I was singing all over the house. Then I started singing in church at Our Lady of Ransom in Niles and cantoring when I was in second grade. I was so short I couldn’t even reach the podium. But I liked singing in front of people. The first time I officially performed in a play was at Maine South when they were having auditions at my grammar school for third-graders [to play the kids] for “The Will Rogers Follies.” I played the youngest one, Freddie Rogers. That led to a talent show at my grammar school where I dressed up in a pinstriped suit and sang Frank Sinatra’s “New York, New York.”
Q: So Sinatra’s music was a big part of your childhood?
A: I grew up hearing Sinatra. My mom loved him. My Grandpa Cosgrove would listen to Sinatra and then hear me sing and he would call me The Voice. We’d listen to “Mob Hits,” Tony Bennett. I was listening to oldies and Etta James.
Q: You portray Frankie Valli twice a week. How similar is your voice to his, which is just so distinctive — and high?
A: (Laughs.) Growing up I was a boy soprano. Then my voice changed, but it’s always been a very high tenor voice. I was trained classically as a singer and it’s been such a huge help with my vocals. In college I started singing more pop and getting my voice the kind of training that really helps in this show, but I wasn’t necessarily working on a falsetto. That was just ingrained in my voice since I was a kid, so it just comes naturally.
Q: Was it hard for you to be the guy with the soprano voice in high school?
A: (Laughs.) Actually, it was cool because I had so many different interests. I was president of student council, taught dance class, was a Phys Ed counselor. So in some ways I kinda made it cool to do theater and sing and be in musicals and be a physical education champ. I got picked on by some jocks, but then I actually beat them out for a Phys Ed award.
Q: Were you a fan of the Four Seasons before you joined this show?
A: I knew a lot of Frankie’s music growing up, like “Can’t Take My Eyes off of You” and all the covers of that, especially Lauryn Hill’s version. But I love what they call “the big three”: “Sherry,” “Walk Like a Man,” and “Big Girls Don’t Cry.” It’s just a dream role to sing 27 songs in two and a half hours. “Jersey Boys” is why I went into musical theater. I saw the play in Chicago when I was in high school and from that day I said that’s what I want to do with my life. So in a way, Frankie Valli is like my Mama Rose (from the musical “Gypsy”).
Q: You and other “Jersey Boys” castmates got to sing
the National Anthem at
Wrigley Field in April. What was that like, and why is that song so hard for singers to perform?
A: That was just beyond awesome. I grew up a Cubs fan, so it was just a dream come true. I do love the Sox, too. I just don’t know why people have so much trouble with the song. I got to sing it as part of a group so it was cool. Singing it solo? Maybe they’re just nervous because it’s the words that throws them. There’s really nothing to the melody that’s difficult.
Q: What are some of your favorite haunts in Chicago?
A: I’m gonna definitely go to the Shedd Aquarium because that jellyfish exhibit is the coolest thing I’ve ever seen. I love Navy Pier so I’ll be going there. And hopefully catch some theater, if I have time.
Read the complete interview {Via Suntimes.com}
Jersey Boys will play at Bank of America Theatre through June 03, 2012. Get $10 OFF on Jersey Boys Chicago IL Ticket Orders of $350 or more by using code #SpringSavings at Checkout!
Jersey Boys Second National Tour in Atlanta GA – May 22 to June 10, 2012
Jersey Boys second national tour will be in Atlanta GA starting Tuesday, May 22 through Sunday, June 10, 2012. The musical last visited Atlanta in 2009.
“It’s a story about rags to riches and friendship,” said Ron Melrose, the in charge of the most crucial element of the show – the music. he said. “It’s universal.”
As the music supervisor Melrose also handles vocal arrangements and incidental music, Melrose travels to many of the cities where the tour stops, watches a handful of performances and then gives notes to the local conductor.
While the show presents more than 30 songs, there are obvious spikes in audience attention level. That trio of “Sherry,” “Big Girls Don’t Cry” and “Walk Like a Man” – which Melrose refers to as “the big three” – are unveiled in succession.
Jersey Boys will play at Fabulous Fox Theatre-GA (660 Peachtree St Ne, Atlanta, Georgia 30305) through June 10, 2012. Get $10 OFF on Jersey Boys Atlanta GA Ticket Orders of $350 or more by using code #SpringSavings at Checkout! Jersey Boys runs through June 10, 2012 at Fabulous Fox Theatre-GA.
Jersey Boys Will Premiere at The Tulsa Performing Arts Center June 06 to June 24, 2012
Jersey Boys will premiere at the Tulsa Performing Arts Center June 06 to June 24, 2012. The first national tour of jersey boys will stop in Tulsa, OK for only 3 weeks.
Jersey Boys Tulsa Performing Arts Center Schedule:
Tuesday to Tuesday – 7:30 PM
Friday – 8:00 PM
Saturday – 2:00 PM and 8:00 PM
Sunday – 2:00 PM and 7:00 PM
Additional show on Thursday, June 21 at 2:00 PM
On Sunday, June 24 as the tour closes with the 2:00 PM show.
Jersey Boys will be playing at the Tulsa Performing Arts Center June 6-24 and is presented in Tulsa by Celebrity Attractions. Tickets are on sale for Tulsa’s premiere engagement of the Tony, Grammy and Olivier Award-winning hit musical Jersey Boys – is the story of The Four Seasons: Frankie Valli, Bob Gaudio, Tommy DeVito and Nick Massi.
Jersey Boys musical is the story of how a group of blue-collar boys from the wrong side of the tracks became one of the biggest American pop music sensations of all time. They wrote their own songs, invented their own sound and sold 175 million records worldwide – all before they were 30 years old.
Get $10 OFF on Jersey Boys Tulsa OK Ticket Orders of $350 or more by using code #SpringSavings at Checkout! Jersey Boys runs through June 24, 2012 at Tulsa Performing Arts Center.
Jersey Boys to Perform June 12 – July 15 at Winspear Opera House, Dallas
The Winspear Opera House presents the National Tour of the Jersey Boys Broadway for a month long run. Jersey Boys tour will stay in Dallas, Texas for more than 4 weeks from June 12 through July 15, 2012.
Jersey Boys creative team – director Des McAnuff, book writers Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice, composer Bob Gaudio, lyricist Bob Crewe and choreography by Sergio Trujillo.
Jersey Boys tells the story of how four blue-collar kids became one of the greatest successes in pop music history. They wrote their own songs, invented their own sounds and sold 175 million records worldwide – all before they were 30.
Jersey Boys Winspear Opera House Schedule:
Tuesday to Friday – 8:00 PM
Saturday – 2:00 PM and 8:00 PM
Sunday – 2:00 PM and 7:30 PM
Special matinee on Thursday, July 12 at 2:00 PM
There is no 7:30 PM show on Sunday, July 15 as the tour closes with the 2:00 PM show.
Buy Jersey Boys Dallas TX Tickets in advance to watch your favorite Jersey Boys Live! Get $10 OFF on Jersey Boys Winspear Opera House Ticket Orders of $350 or more by using code #SpringSavings at Checkout! Jersey Boys runs through July 15, 2012 at Winspear Opera House.
Jersey Boys Performed the National Anthem at the Chicago White Sox Game – Video
Jersey Boys First National Tour cast members recently sang a beautiful rendition of the National Anthem at the Chicago White Sox game at Cellular Field.
Click below to watch the video!
Jersey Boys runs through June 03, 2012 at Bank of America Theatre. Buy and Get $10 OFF on Jersey Boys Chicago IL Ticket Orders of $350 or more by using code #SpringSavings at Checkout!
Jersey Boys Cast Interview by BroadwayWorld
Jersey Boys – Matt Bailey (Tommy DeVito), Alayna Gallo (Lorraine and others), and Kevin Crewell (Bob Crewe and others) from the national touring company of Jersey Boys talk about the show, their experiences, and their acting beginnings. They had a lot to say, including some particularly nice things about the Durham Performing Arts Center as a venue.
BWW: Jersey Boys has been around a long time now. What can fans who have seen the show before expect when they see it for a 2nd or 3rd time?
Kevin Crewell: Well, there’s so much that goes on, I feel like if you really do want to see everything, you need a good two or three shots at it.
Alayna Gallo: My mother has seen it at least 20 times, and every single time, she’s like “Oh, Alayna, I had no idea that this, this, and that happened.” She will still see it another 20 times.
Kevin Crewell: That’s the indicator – mom will keep seeing it…
Alayna Gallo: Yeah, and everybody that says that. It’s a show that they say that they would like to see it again. So much is happening and you start seeing other little tiny details and you’re like “Oh my God, that’s amazing.”
BWW: What’s the experience like joining a show that’s already established itself as a phenomenon?
Alayna Gallo: Wow. Um…
Kevin Crewell: I love it. I mean, I loved it. It was because the work’s kind of done for you. They’ve already carved this brilliant piece of theater and art out, so…
Alayna Gallo: But also, I feel it was also a little nerve-wracking to meet the expectation that it’s been at for so long. And just being a part of something that’s so much larger than us is so overwhelming. But then once you get the hang of it, you’re like, “oh, this is what it’s about.” And everyone’s always great and friendly and welcoming. So…
Kevin Crewell: Always? Always? [laughter]
Alayna Gallo: [laughter] I think so!
KC: Alayna ignored me our first three days. No, I’m just kidding. (laughter) She didn’t. I mean, it’s one of those shows that all you really gotta do is jump on the train at the beginning and ride it.
Alayna Gallo: Oh, yeah.
Kevin Crewell: Some shows, you feel like you’re kinda pulling, having to do work to compensate maybe that the material’s not so great or something like that. And this, boy, all you really gotta do is kind of get out of the way because the material’s just so good.
BWW: How is playing real people different from playing characters who are pure fiction? Is the process different?
Alayna Gallo: Actually yes, because when I first started, I was given a book of the dramaturgy, of the history of everything, from what New Jersey was like at that time, what the working class was like at that time, what was going on in the 50s, and about the character that I primarily play, Lorraine, which is his [Frankie’s] girlfriend towards the end of the show. I mean, I have three meaty scenes, but there was all this information about this woman. They are down to the detail. It’s like this is something you can really research and see who these people were, are, and their families and their lives, so I would say that that was kind of a different process because in most shows it’s all fictional for the most part. And you want to uphold the truth, because you can’t change the truth.
BWW: How do you keep the material fresh after so many performances?
AG: I mean, honestly, for me it’s easy because it’s so fast-paced, because I’m playing 17 different roles at a time.
KC: You guys don’t have time to think! [laughter]
AG: I really don’t. And the second that beat starts, the first before Ces Soir [hums the music], we’re on. We’re all on. And there’s no turning back. So, it’s easy for me.
KC: Mine, I get a lot of time down in the dressing room. [Laughter] To sit in my Italian suits. I mean, that’s where I think technique comes in. That’s where when we study, when you work on your craft and all of that. That’s where technique comes in. If you’re having a bad day personally, a bad day physically, any of that stuff, that’s when your technique of who are you talking to, what it’s about, what do you want, all of those things. The craft, I think, of acting, comes in to keep it fresh. There’s stuff about when new people come in and out of the show, that always gives it a nice little fresh spritz. You know, if you have an understudy on. If, all of a sudden, the person you’re across from is different. Audiences, every single night are different. Every single night. So, they’re the last piece of the puzzle. So, if they’re more tired, more excited, if they are rowdy, if they’re a little timid, then they add to the production in one way or another, which makes it different every single night. But, I call BS on actors that are like, “Um, it’s not different, every…” No. It is different. Totally different every single night.
Read the complete interview {Via BroadwayWorld.com}
Jersey Boys opens at the Durham Performing Arts Center on October 30, and runs through November 18, 2012. Buy and Get $10 OFF on Jersey Boys Durham NC Ticket Orders of $350 or more by using code #SpringSavings at Checkout!
Jersey Boys Broadway Box Office Update – Week May 13, 2012
Jersey Boys Broadway grossed $937,635 and had a 88.4% attendance rate, about 0.7% more than that of the previous week. The 38 shows on the boards grossed $25,244,974, about 0.71% more than that of the previous week’s totals.
Below are the Top 10 Grosses from BroadwayWorld.com for the week ending May 13, 2012.
1. The Lion King – (MINSKOFF) $1,717,281
2. The Book Of Mormon – (EUGENE O’NEILL) $1,598,593
3. Wicked – (GERSHWIN) $1,579,314
4. Evita – (MARQUIS) $1,529,144
5. Spider-Man Turn Off The Dark – (FOXWOODS) $1,218,638
6. Nice Work If You Can Get It (IMPERIAL) – $1,092,937
7. Jersey Boys – (AUGUST WILSON) $937,635
8. Death Of A Salesman (ETHEL BARRYMORE) – $934,861
9. Newsies – (NEDERLANDER) $931,370
10. The Phantom Of The Opera – (MAJESTIC) – $800,916
{Via BroadwayWorld.com}
Tony Winner John Lloyd Young Returns to Broadway’s Jersey Boys July 3
The actor and singer who won a Tony Award in 2006 for his role as Frankie Valli will rejoin the Jersey Boys Broadway show from July 3 through Sept. 30. He is the lead singer on the Grammy-winning, certified-Platinum Jersey Boys original Broadway cast album. Since leaving the show, Young, who also sang on the original cast album, played Marius in” Les Miserables” at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles and guest starred on “Glee.”
Jersey Boys Broadway Musical, has announced the return of John Lloyd Young who won a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for his role as Frankie Valli. Young will again perform the role of Frankie Valli on Broadway for a limited engagement from Tuesday, July 3 through Sunday, September 30, 2012.
Jersey Boys musical is based on the life story of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons, and chronicles the lives of a group of blue-collar boys from the wrong side of the tracks who became one of the biggest American pop music sensations of all time.
The Broadway cast also includes Matt Bogart (Nick Massi), Quinn VanAntwerp (Bob Gaudio) and Andy Karl (Tommy DeVito) as The Four Seasons; with Peter Gregus and Mark Lotito. The cast also includes Miles Aubrey, Erik Bates, Jared Bradshaw, Cara Cooper, Ken Dow, John Edwards, Russell Fischer, Katie O’Toole, Joe Payne, Jessica Rush, Dominic Scaglione Jr., Nathan Scherich, Sara Schmidt and Taylor Sternberg.
Jersey Boys is written by Marshall Brickman & Rick Elice, with music by Bob Gaudio, lyrics by Bob Crewe, and is directed by two-time Tony Award-winner Des McAnuff and choreographed by Sergio Trujillo.
Buy Jersey Boys New York NY Tickets in advance to watch your favorite Jersey Boy John Lloyd Young Live! Get $10 OFF on Jersey Boys Virginia/August Wilson Theatre Ticket Orders of $350 or more by using code #SpringSavings at Checkout!