Jersey Boys musical currently performing at Durham, NC from October 30 to November 18, 2012. One of the Jersey Boys musical main cast, Jason Kappus was interviewed by Dathan Kazsuk, Design Editor- Triangle Business Journal. Here is the interview below which revelas more about Kappus’ interests, future plans and so on.
Kappus, who’s admired the Jersey Boys since he first saw the show, is honored to be a part of this cast, which will be performing at the Durham Performing Arts Center from Oct. 30 – Nov. 18. Kappus has been in such successful Broadway performances as Legally Blonde, American Idiot, Hairspray and West Side Story.
Prior to a performance of Jersey Boys in Syracuse, N.Y., I was able to catch up with Kappus for a quick phone interview.
Question: A lot of people aren’t familiar with the story of The Jersey Boys. We all know the songs of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, but what about their history? Is this detailed in the performance?
Kappus: “Everybody knows this music to one degree or another. Even younger people come to the show and they’re like, ‘Oh, I didn’t know that was a Four Seasons’ song.’ Most people come for the music, and what they don’t realize is that the story is absolutely amazing.
“They weren’t some bubble-gum happy group. They had mob connections. Gambling debts. They were in and out of jail. These guys were really from the rough streets of New Jersey. Their rise to fame was really more of a rise and fall and rise and fall – it’s just an amazing story with what they went through. Even a lot of Four Seasons’ fans who grew up with the music didn’t know all the stuff they went through.”
Question: You play the role of legendary songwriter Bob Gaudio in The Jersey Boys. Gaudio wrote such Four Season classics as “Sherry,” “Walk Like a Man” and “Big Girls Don’t Cry.” Was it intimidating playing a role such as his?
Kappus: “It’s a little intimidating. Especially considering the fact that Bob was present at all my final callbacks, and in our tech rehearsals. It was strange being in a room watching me try to be him. What was nice is that they told me before my final audition that the person Bob cares about the least in the show is Bob … and that it’s his wife that you need to impress.”
Question: And impress he did, landing the role of singer/songwriter/keyboardist Bob Gaudio. The Jersey Boys features a whopping 33 songs during the performance, so Jason is bound to have a favorite song to perform live.
Kappus: “I love (the song) Beggin’. It’s actually not just one of my favorite songs in the show, it’s actually just one of my favorite songs. That one is just great. I also like the song Cry for Me, which is a lesser-known Four Seasons’ song. It’s the first time in the show that we all sing together, which is an exciting moment.”
Question: Being on the road for must have its ups and downs. What are some of the cons of being on the road?
Kappus: “Generally speaking, the hardest part about touring is being away from your loved ones and your family. Which for me, I circumvented that because I brought my wife and my dog with me. I have my family on the road, so that’s very nice. After that, I always say the worst part on the road is hotel Internet.”
Question: And the best part?
Kappus: “We get paid to tour the country. We get to go to all these great cities, most of which I have not been to before.”
Question: Is there a stop on the road that you really enjoy? Possibly stops in your hometown of Seattle?
Kappus: “Being from Seattle, it’s always my hope that we’ll be going through there – which I found out we will be. So that’s exciting for me. We had a great time in Dallas, Kansas City and Atlanta as well.”
Read the complete interview {Via Triangle Business Journal}
Jersey Boys musical tour will be visiting Seattle, WA from April 04 to May 11, 2013. Buy Jersey Boys Durham NC Tickets Online at discounted prices.
Jersey Boys Musical in London is a standing production at Prince Edward Theatre. Jon Boydon is now in his third year playing tough guy Tommy DeVito in the Olivier Award-winning West End production of Jersey Boys. A veteran of We Will Rock You, Boydon, soon to be 36, is now juggling playing a Four Season with the demands of fatherhood to son Deacon, who is 18 months old. Here’s a sneak peek of his Broadway.com interview about keeping the long-running role fresh, family life, and his upcoming gig at London’s100 Club to promote his debut album, Three Four.
Jon Boydon Jersey Boys London
Here is the Sneak Peek of the Jon Boydon’s Interview on Broadway.com:
You’ve done two and a half years in Jersey Boys and counting: You must be very happy there.
At the moment, I’m [signed on] till March 2013, and I did two years on We Will Rock You previously. But, you know, to be in a position where you contemplate staying on for a third year just goes to show the draw that our show has and, for performers, that it has such a rich book. You don’t feel saturated or bored the way you might in another show.
Maybe you’ll become the London equivalent to someone like Howard McGillin, who played the title role in The Phantom of the Opera more than 2,000 times.
Let’s hope we have that long a run [laughs]!
How did the role of Tommy fall into place for you?
Once I started toying with the accent and the voice and the physicality, it all began to make sense—and it helped that I turned up at the audition wearing a good suit!
You’ve clearly developed a rock ‘n’ roll niche for yourself on the West End.
I do seem to have got away with not doing any serious musical theater, though I’m not sure that’s really my thing anyway. I haven’t trained and I don’t have that history of the Les Miz/Phantom/Cameron Mackintosh-musical vocal sound. I just kind of do what I do—a lot of the time with a guitar on my lap! [Laughs.]
Read the complete interview {Via Broadway.com}
Buy Jersey Boys Prince Edward Theatre Tickets online. Avail $10 OFF on Jersey Boys London United Kingdom Ticket Orders of $250 or more by using code SUMMERFUNTN at Checkout.
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.
Nick Cosgrove in Jersey Boys at Chicago's Bank of America Theatre
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 – 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!
