Jersey Boys is the smash hit jukebox musical that gives us the true, sometimes gritty and always spectacularly entertaining story of falsetto idol Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons. The blue-collar boys in the shiny lurex suits strode onto the scene in 1965, wowing the public for 20 years with hits such as ‘Big Girls Don’t Cry’,’Oh What a Night,’ ‘Walk like a Man,’ and many more. But before fame and fortune comes a difficult, and sometimes not entirely legal, journey to stardom. These blue-collar boys from the wrong side of the tracks became one of the biggest American pop music sensations of all time.
Created by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice, they wanted to create a traditional ‘documentary’ style story of the blue-collar stars and Jersey Boys came from interviews with the surviving members of the band, cemented by Tommy Devito’s addition: “Don’t listen to those guys. I’ll tell you what really happened.”
Since its debut in 2005, Jersey Boys has become a must-see, embedding itself in the Broadway landscape, playing over 3,000 performances and winning 4 Tony’s, proving that the rags to riches, to rags again, story is an ever enduring theme. Jersey Boys is now on tour for the second time.
Told in 4 parts, each member has an act to tell his side of the story, even it if it clashes with the others. We get the real story of Franki Valli and the Four Seasons. From humble beginnings to the thrill super stardom and back again, via loan sharks, jail time, tense dealings with the Mob and the strength of friendship. Sound-tracked by the irresistibly recognizable hits that keep you coming back for more. The Four Seasons sold over 175 million records worldwide, all before they were 30 years old!
The Broadway hit JERSEY BOYS, directed by Des McAnuff, Mark Ballas will reprise his hit Broadway performance as Frankie Valli for the Los Angeles engagement of the tour. Ballas, known for his Emmy nominated work on “Dancing with the Stars,” made his Broadway debut in the role last fall. Critically acclaimed ‘Frankie veterans’ Aaron De Jesus and Miguel Jarquin-Moreland will play Frankie Valli at certain performances during the week. The cast of “Jersey Boys” will also feature Matthew Dailey (Tommy DeVito), Keith Hines (Nick Massi) and Cory Jeacoma (Bob Gaudio) as The Four Seasons, with Barry Anderson and Thomas Fiscella.
Book by Marshall Brickman & Rick Elice. Music by Bob Gaudio. Lyrics by Bob Crewe. Artistic Director Michael Ritchie. Managing Director Stephen D. Rountree. Producing Director Douglas C. Baker. Founding Artistic Director Gordon Davidson. Scenic Design Klara Zieglerova. Costume Design Jess Goldstein. Lighting Design Howell Binkley. Sound Design Steve Canyon Kennedy. Projection Design Michael Clark. Wig and Hair Design Charles LaPointe. Fight Director Steve Rankin. Production Supervisor Richard Hester. Orchestrations Steve Orich. Music Coordination John Miller. Music Director Taylor Peckham. Technical Supervisor Peter Fulbright. Casting Tara Rubin, Merri Sugarman, CSA. Company Manager Jason Pelusio. Production Stage Manager Andrew Neal. Associate Producer Lauren Mitchell. Executive Producer Sally Campbell Morse. Tour Booking & Marketing Broadway Booking Office NYC, Music Supervisor, Vocal/Dance Arrangements and Incidental Music by Ron Melrose. Choreography Sergio Trujillo and directed by Des McAnuff.
Cast: Mark Ballas, Matthew Dailey, Aaron De Jesus, Keith Hines, Cory Jeacoma, Mark Edwards, Corey Greenan, Bryan Hindle, Miguel Jarquin-Moreland, David LaMarr, Austin Owen, Kristen Paulicelli, Leslie Rochette, Andrew Russell, Jenna Nicole Schoen, Dru Serkes, Jonny Wexler, Jesse Wildman, with Barry Anderson and Thomas Fiscella.
Jersey Boys Orchestra: Music Director: Taylor Peckham; Associate Conductor: Cameron Moncur; Keyboards: Patricia Diaz, Cameron Moncur, Taylor Peckham. Guitars: Jacob Chidester, Brian LaFontaine; Bass: Ryan Berg; Drums: Mark Papazian Music Coordinator: John Miller.
The night promises to be filled with music. Here is the list of songs performed:
“Ces Soirées-La (Oh, What a Night)”—Paris, 2000, “Silhouettes”, “You’re the Apple of My Eye”, “I Can’t Give You Anything But Love”, “Earth Angel”, “Sunday Kind of Love”, “My Mother’s Eyes”,“I Go Ape”, “(Who Wears) Short Shorts”, “I’m in the Mood for Love/Moody’s Mood for Love”, “Cry for Me”, “An Angel Cried”, “I Still Care”,“Trance”,“Sherry”,“Big Girls Don’t Cry”, “Walk Like a Man” “December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night)”, “My Boyfriend’s Back”, “My Eyes Adored You”, “Dawn (Go Away)”, “Walk Like a Man”, “Big Man in Town”, “Begin’”, “Stay”, “Let’s Hang On (To What We’ve Got)” , “Opus 17 (Don’t You Worry ’Bout Me)”, “Bye Baby”, “C’mon Marianne” , “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You”, “Working My Way Back to You”, “Fallen Angel”, “Rag Doll”, “Who Loves You?”
About The Cast:
Mark Ballas (Frankie Valli) has captivated audiences on ABC’s Dancing with the Stars for 18 seasons. He’s a two-time champion, nine-time finalist, and 2011 Emmy nominee for his work on the show. Stage credits: Buddy—The Buddy Holly Story, Copacabana, Jesus Christ Superstar, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. He choreographed Pepsi’s Super Bowl commercial starring Sofia Vergara and the Oscar commercial for Shonda Rhimes’ The Catch. He is half of the duo Alexander Jean with wife BC Jean. Their debut single/EP reached #1 on iTunes top music chart. Mark is an accomplished flamenco and electric guitar player. He received his training at The Italia Conti Performing Arts School in London. www.alexanderjean.net
Matthew Dailey (Tommy DeVito) is thrilled to join the Jersey Boys family!. Originally from Denver, CO, Matthew has performed professionally since the age of 9. Most recently, Matthew traveled Spain, Italy, and France in Saturday Night Fever— The Musical. Favorite performances include Cats (Rum Tum Tugger), Seven Brides… Brothers (Daniel/Frank), A Chorus Line (Mike), 1940’s Radio Hour (BJ Gibson), Cinderella (Prince), and Viva Vegas (Elvis). “Special thanks to the entire Jersey Boys team, Dodgers, Merri at Tara Rubin Casting, Craig at Avalon Artists Group, Paul & Alann, my family (especially my Mom and brother). This is for you, Dad.” @mdailey88
Keith Hines(Nick Massi) is overjoyed to hit the road with the Jersey Boys family! Recent Off-Broadway: Cougar the Musical (Buck), Sex Tips for Straight Women from a Gay Man (Stefan). Credits include: Les Misérables (Enjolras, WVPT), Camelot FOUR SEASONS (l–r) Bob Gaudio, Frankie Valli, Nick Massi and Tommy DeVito. The Original Four Seasons. Photo: Courtesy of The Four Seasons. Photos by: Joan Marcus, Jeremy Daniel. Cory Jeacoma, Mark Ballas, Keith Hines, and Matthew Dailey in Jersey Boys. PERFORMANCES MAGAZINE P7 (Lancelot, Pittsburgh Public Theater), 1776 (Thomas Jefferson, Pittsburgh Public Theater), Urban Cowboy (Bud, WVPT), The Crucible (John Proctor), Picnic (Hal). Master’s degree in music, Oklahoma City University (voice: Florence Birdwell), The Studio/NY (Jayd McCarty’s acting conservatory). Eternal thanks be to God for his many gifts and blessings, as well as to my family, Arnold Mungioli, and the gang at BRS/Gage for their ongoing love and support. www.keith-hines.com
Cory Jeacoma (Bob Gaudio). Cory is stoked to be making his national tour debut in a dream show of his Regional: Legally Blonde (Warner, Fulton Theatre), Mamma Mia! (Sky, MSMT). In Lincoln Center’s Sinatra Centennial Concert, Cory was the alternate cast for 16-time Grammy Award Winning Artist Sting. Education: BFA in musical theatre from Pace University 2016. “Thank you to Bob, RSO, JV, Amy, Jodi, J&P, Corbin, DBA, the creative team, and everyone else who has pushed him along the way. This one is for the fam, to whom all of my love goes. SO MUCH love.” Twitter/Instagram: @cocojeacoco
Marshall Brickman (Book). Films (author or co-author): Sleeper, Annie Hall, Manhattan, Manhattan Murder Mystery, For the Boys, Intersection; (as writer/director): Simon, Lovesick, The Manhattan Project, Sister Mary Explains It All. Television: The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson (head writer), The Dick Cavett Show (head writer/co-producer). He has published in The New York Times, The New Yorker, Playboy, and other periodicals and was the 2006 recipient of the Writers Guild of America’s Ian McClellan Hunter Lifetime Achievement Award. Jersey Boys, his first venture into musical theatre, won four Tony’s including Best Musical. The Addams Family, his second theatrical venture (with co-author Rick Elice), ran on Broadway and had national and international tours. He lives in New York City and hopes to die in his sleep, surrounded by his loved ones and attorneys.
Rick Elice (Book) co-wrote Jersey Boys (winner 2006 Tony Award, 2007 Grammy Award, and 2009 Olivier Award for Best Musical) with Marshall Brickman. His play, Peter and the Starcatcher, received nine 2012 Tony Award nominations (including two for Rick), won five (more than any play of the PERFORMANCES MAGAZINE P9 season), and toured across North America. Also on Broadway, Elice wrote The Adams Family (with Marshall Brickman, music and lyrics by Andrew Lippa), which also had productions on tour across North America, Europe and South America. In 2014, The Old Globe presented the World premiere of his new musical, Dog and Pony (music and lyrics by Michael Patrick Walker). Rick is currently writing a musical for Disney Theatricals with Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, based on the film Make Believe, and Superfly (co-written with Seth Zvi Rosenfeld), directed and choreographed by modern dance legend Bill T. Jones. Heartfelt thanks to those whose work in the theatre makes him grateful for the day he was born: Sondheim, Stoppard, Bennett, Prince, Fosse, Robbins, Nichols, Tune, Nunn, Laurents, Stone, Kushner, Taymor, Papp, Schumacher, Schneider, Coyne, Brickman, Timbers, and Rees. Rick thinks about them a lot. He never thought about Jersey much but he does now.
Bob Gaudio (Composer) wrote his first hit, “Who Wears Short Shorts,” at 15 for the Royal Teens, and then went on to become a founding member of The Four Seasons and the band’s principal songwriter. He also produced the hit “You Don’t Bring Me Flowers” for Neil Diamond and Barbra Streisand (Grammy nomination, Record of the Year) as well as six albums for Diamond, including The Jazz Singer. Other producing credits include albums for Frank Sinatra, Marvin Gaye, Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, and the soundtrack for the film of Little Shop of Horrors. Several songs co-written with Bob Crewe have been cover hits for such artists as the Tremeloes (“Silence Is Golden”), the Walker Brothers (“The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine Anymore”), and Lauryn Hill (“Can’t Take My Eyes Off You”). With his wife, Judy Parker, Gaudio produced and co-wrote the “Who Loves You” album for The Four Seasons and one of Billboard’s longest-charted singles (54 weeks), “Oh, What a Night.” A high point in his career came in 1990 whenas a member of the original Four Seasons, Gaudio was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 1995, he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, which hailed him as “a quintessential music-maker.” To this day, Bob Gaudio and Frankie Valli still maintain their partnership on a handshake.
Bob Crewe (Lyricist). “New York was pregnant in the fifties,” says Bob Crewe, “gestating with possibilities.” Crewe and music partner Frank Slay became independent writer/producers when the category hadn’t yet been invented. In 1957 they wrote and produced “Silhouettes” for The Rays, which skyrocketed to #1. Suddenly, producers in demand, they launched Freddy Cannon’s “Tallahassee Lassie” and Billy & Lillie’s “La Dee Da.” Crewe’s 1960’s unprecedented producing success with The Four Seasons birthed a new sound, striking a major chord in American pop. “Sherry,” “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” “Walk Like a Man,” “Candy Girl,” “Ronnie”—all smashes!. When lead Frankie Valli demanded a solo turn, Crewe and Bob Gaudio wrote (and Crewe produced) “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You,” which eventually became the century’s fifth most-played song. Crewe ran hot with artists from Vicki Carr, Oliver and Lesley Gore to Mitch Ryder, co-writing with Charles Fox the soundtrack for Jane Fonda’s film Barbarella. Then his own Bob Crewe Generation, exploded with Music to Watch Girls By. In 1972 Bob was in L.A., where he revived Frankie Valli with “My Eyes Adored You” by Crewe and Kenny Nolan. They also co-wrote Patti LaBelle’s “Lady Marmalade” (#1, July ’75), which was a hit again on the soundtrack of Moulin Rouge (#1, June ’01) by David Ritz.
My highlight of the show was their performances on American Band Stand and The Ed Sullivan Show, where they had it filmed live for the audience to see, this was a smart way to show the technology of that time period.
What a wonderful way to spend an evening, being brought back to a time that was the backdrop to our lives. There is so much spectacular music, songs that bring back specific memories for the young and old. Whatever age you are, you’ll thoroughly enjoy Jersey Boys. (Running until June 24th 2017).
The Ahmanson Theatre
Music Center of Los Angeles County, 135 N. Grand Ave.,
Los Angeles
http://www.jerseyboysinfo.com/
http://www.los-angeles-theatre.com
https://www.centertheatregroup.org/about/press-room/press-releases-and-photos/ahmanson-theatre/2016-2017/jersey-boys-press-kit/
* Note some content was taken off of their site.
