Tony-winning musical Jersey Boys will celebrate this year’s holiday season with the release of their new Christmas album. Seasons Greetings: A Jersey Boys Christmas features Tony winner John Lloyd Young, current Broadway star Jarrod Spector and cast members from around the globe singing a selection of Christmas classics in the style of The Four Seasons. The Rhino record is set for digital and physical release on October 4.
Jersey Boys Christmas - Featuring Tony Winner John Lloyd Young
The holiday album features performances by six stars from various Jersey Boys casts, including Joseph Leo Bwarie (national tour), Travis Cloer (Las Vegas), Rick Faugno (Las Vegas), Bobby Fox (Australia), Ryan Molloy (London), Jarrod Spector (Broadway) and John Lloyd Young, who won the 2006 Tony Award for his portrayal of Frankie Valli in the original Broadway production.
A Jersey Boys Christmas was produced by Bob Gaudio, a founding member of The Four Seasons and the group’s principal songwriter, who also produced the show’s Grammy-winning original cast album. Jersey Boys arranger Ron Melrose served as musical director and arranger on the project, and the album was engineered by Pete Karam, who also won a Grammy for his work on the Jersey Boys original cast recording.
Jersey Boys is the first Broadway show to release a holiday album. It includes holiday favorites like “Joy To The World,” “Winter Wonderland” and “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.”
According to press notes, “Many of the melodies and choral harmonies that catapulted the quartet from the streets of Newark into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame are woven into classic holiday songs on ‘Season’s Greetings: A Jersey Boys Christmas.’ Listen for hints of ‘Come On Marianne’ and ‘Oh What A Night’ in the album opener ‘Joy To The World/O Come, O Come, Emmanuel’ plus traces of ‘Bye Bye Baby’ in ‘Winter Wonderland.'” The album will also include a new arrangement of “O Holy Night,” a song that the Jersey Boys cast recorded in 2006 and was featured on a Christmas album to benefit Broadway charities.
Here’s the track listing for “Season’s Greetings: A Jersey Boys Christmas”:
Joy To The World/O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
Winter Wonderland
Little Drummer Boy
Santa Medley: (Santa Claus is Coming to Town/Here Comes Santa Claus/I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus)
O Holy Night/Rise Up Shepherd
God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen
Jingle Bell Rock
A King Is Born
Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
White Christmas
I’ll Be Home For Christmas
Angels From The Realms Of Glory
Silver Bells/Silent Night
Do You Hear What I Hear?
Breath Of Heaven/We Three Kings
Carol Of The Bells/Angels We Have Heard On High/Auld Lang Syne
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. Jersey Boys is the winner of the 2006 Best Musical Tony Award®, the 2006 Grammy® Award for Best Musical Show Album, the 2009 Olivier Award for Best New Musical and the 2010 Helpmann Award for Best Musical (Australia).
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Jersey Boys London has extended its booking period by 6 weeks – tickets are now on sale to 29 May 2011.
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)’.
In “Jersey Boys” there are three amazing women who play many roles. Three talented women are cast in as many as 17 parts each in the popular musical that hit the Bass Theatre stage Wednesday night on the University of Texas campus.
Denise Payne is cast as “Francine Valli” – but also plays 17 other female characters. Alayna Gallo is “Lorraine” – and plays 15 other parts. Kara Tremel plays the role of “Mary Delgado” and 11 other women. Together, their combined energies and charisma help make the hit production pop.
Thursday afternoon the women gave a behind-the-scenes tour, and talked about the frenetic pace of costume changes, wig switch-overs and the fun they have being part of “Jersey Boys.” According to Tremel, even their own parents don’t know them at times when they’re in character.
“Usually a lot of people don’t realize there are only three women in the show until the final number where the whole cast comes out, and everyone’s like, ‘Wait a minute – where are all the girls?’” Tremel explained.
“It’s just us!” added Payne, smiling.
When asked what it’s like to play a huge amount of characters, all three agreed they love it, but it’s the crew who helps them keep things straight and in order, lest they forget which character goes out on stage when.
“I personally love it. It keeps it fresh. You’re always playing something else,” said Tremel. You always have to be on your toes and you’re not kind of just doing the same character throughout the show. You can change it up and play around and play with your fellow actors.”
“What helps keep it straight for me are the dressers,” said Gallo. “If I put on the wrong costume, and do a character that doesn’t match it — it’s not going to work out. So the dressers say, ‘Hey, it’s this costume.’ ‘Oh, I know what I’m playing now.’”
“When I first joined I had cue cards to try to remember my next role,” Payne explained. “I was trying to make a story line in my head. And then I realized day one ‘just go in the quick-change booth and they’ll hand you the costume you wear next,’ and it was, ‘Oh, good, good. Just hand me my costume.’”
“Fashion changed so much, in the ‘50s, ‘60s and ‘70s – that’s why we have to have so many different costumes,” said Alayna.
The girls operate out of two different dressing rooms, one placed backstage on each side. The trio said it’s the crew who does so much of the work to make the show run smoothly, before and during the show.
“Usually the crew comes in an hour before ½ hour, when the cast arrives,” said Tremel. “The cast arrives ½ hour before curtain. And they come in and basically prepare everything. They’ll set up costumes. They’ll get all the props set up, all the pieces that have to go on, so everything is ready for the time when we come in,” said Tremel.
“But there is so much prep,” said Payne. “For all these costumes, they steam all of them. They’re shining shoes. In every single show, they do that. They’re such an incredible crew. We have our own crew and we pick up local crew in the city. It’s kind of like a crazy little world back here,” said Payne.
“They wash dishes. They clean off the piano,” Tremel added.
“And even throughout the show, as we get finished with one thing, as soon as we’re done with one thing, as soon as we’re done with that, they’ll take it and they’ll start prepping it for the next show, so it’s like a constant thing,” said Gallo.
Tremel summed it up best when she said, “It’s a well-oiled machine.”
Jersey Boys runs through September 5 at the Bass Concert Hall on the UT campus, 2300 E. 23rd St. Performances are Tuesday through Friday at 8 p.m. Saturdays feature a 2 p.m. matinee and 8:00 evening show. Sunday shows are at 2:00 and 7:30 p.m. Buy Jersey Boys Austin TX Tickets for all Bass Concert Hall performances.
The Tony and Grammy Award-winning musical Jersey Boys has extended its booking period through to 2 Jan 2011.
The musical, now in its 4th year, opened on Broadway at the August Wilson Theatre on the 6 Nov 2005, following previews from the 4 Oct.
Jersey Boys is the story of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons: Frankie Valli, Bob Gaudio, Tommy DeVito and Nick Massi, about 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. They wrote their own songs, invented their own sounds and sold 175 million records worldwide – all before they were thirty.
The cast of Jersey Boys currently features Jarrod Spector (Frankie Valli), Andrew Rannells (Bob Gaudio), Dominic Nolfi (Tommy DeVito) and Matt Bogart (Nick Massi).
Jersey Boys is produced on Broadway by Dodger Theatricals, Joseph J. Grano, Tamara and Kevin Kinsella, Pelican Group, in association with Latitude Link and Rick Steiner/Oshen/Staton/Bell/Mayerson Group.
Jersey Boys debuted at the La Jolla Playhouse, running from 5 Oct 2004 through to 16 Jan 2005, with an opening night on 17 Oct 2004. It became the most successful production in the history of the playhouse, extending three times.
