Jersey Boys
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| Jersey Boys | |
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| The August Wilson Theatre showing Jersey Boys | |
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| Music | Bob Gaudio |
| Lyrics | Bob Crewe |
| Book | Marshall Brickman Rick Elice |
| Productions | 2005 Broadway 2006 US Tour 2007 Chicago 2008 Las Vegas 2008 West End 2008 Toronto 2009 Melbourne |
| Awards | Tony Award for Best Musical Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album |
Jersey Boys is a documentary-style musical based on the lives of one of the most successful 1960s rock 'n roll groups, the Four Seasons. The musical opened on Broadway in 2005, and has had a North American National tour, along with productions in the West End, various US cities, and Melbourne. Jersey Boys won four 2006 Tony Awards, Best Musical, Best Actor (John Lloyd Young), Best Featured Actor (Christian Hoff), and Best Lighting Design (Howell Binkley).
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[edit] Productions
Jersey Boys premiered at the La Jolla Playhouse in San Diego, California in an out-of-town tryout on October 5, 2004 and ran through January 16, 2005[1] The musical opened on Broadway on November 6, 2005 at the August Wilson Theatre starring John Lloyd Young as Frankie Valli, Christian Hoff as Tommy DeVito, Daniel Reichard as Bob Gaudio, and J. Robert Spencer as Nick Massi. Directed by Des McAnuff, the then artistic director at La Jolla Playhouse, the musical uses many of the group's hit songs to tell the turbulent story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons' rise to fame.
The first national tour of Jersey Boys began on December 10, 2006 at the Curran Theatre in San Francisco. On May 3, 2007, that tour's run ended in San Francisco to prepare for its Los Angeles premiere at the Ahmanson Theatre. The next day, a second company debuted at the Curran and ended its run on September 30, 2007, before transferring for an open-ended run at Chicago's Bank of America Theatre. The Chicago production opened on October 5, 2007 with Michael Ingersoll, a Chicagoan, in the role of Nick Massi.[2] The Chicago opening brought Frankie Valli and Bob Gaudio to Chicago and was promoted prominently, including a December 9, 2007 puck dropping at a Chicago Blackhawks game.[3] Meanwhile, the First National Tour continues to make its way across the country.
A special holiday return engagement production played at the Curran from November 20 - December 30, 2007, starring Rick Faugno as Frankie Valli, Andrew Rannells as Bob Gaudio, Bryan McElroy as Tommy DeVito and Jeff Leibow as Nick Massi. The majority of this cast became the original Las Vegas cast, which debuted at The Palazzo Hotel on Saturday, May 3.[4]
The musical made its West End debut at London's Prince Edward Theatre in February 2008. The creative team were the same that brought the production to Broadway. Principal cast were Ryan Molloy as Frankie Valli, Stephen Ashfield as Bob Gaudio, Glenn Carter as Tommy DeVito and Philip Bulcock as Nick Massi.[5]
The production won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Musical.
The Las Vegas production of the show opened to critical acclaim on Sunday, May 3 at The Palazzo Hotel in the newly built Jersey Boys Theatre. Mike Weatherford from the Las Vegas Review Journal said, “Grade A. A crackling musical staging.”[6] Richard Ouzounian from the Toronto Star said, “The Las Vegas premiere of Jersey Boys at the elegant new Palazzo Hotel is a cheering, stomping, hats-in-the-air triumph. This show is a winner.”[7]
It was announced on Australia Day, January 26, 2008, that the Australian Production would open at the Princess Theatre, Melbourne, in March 2009.[8] Since that announcement, the opening of the Australian production has been delayed until July 2009.
The San Francisco/Chicago cast appeared on stage in the 2007 Emmy Awards in a tribute to HBO's The Sopranos.
Due to the huge success of the First National Tour stop at Toronto Centre for the Arts in Toronto, Canada from August 21 to December 6, 2008, an open-ended run began performances on December 12 with a new, mostly Canadian cast that includes Jeremy Kushnier and Jenny Lee Stern from the First National Tour.[9]
[edit] Charity
The West End cast of Jersey Boys appeared as a guest act for the Royal Variety Performance 2008, which was staged at the London Palladium on December 11 in the presence of senior members of the Royal family. The Royal Variety Performance is a gala event held annually at a major British theatre, to raise money for the Entertainment Artistes' Benevolent Fund.[10]
Jersey Boys Chicago has been honored two years in a row at the Broadway Cares event for being the top fundraiser in the Tour category. In 2008, Jersey Boys Chicago raised $220,000 for BC/EFA.[11]
[edit] Cast
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[edit] Musical numbers
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[edit] Response
Ben Brantley of The New York Times wrote, "THE CROWD GOES WILD. I'm talking about the real, mostly middle-aged crowd at the August Wilson Theater, who seem to have forgotten what year it is or how old they are or, most important, that John Lloyd Young is not Frankie Valli. And everything that has led up to that curtain call feels, for just a second, as real and vivid as the sting of your hands clapping together."[12]
Charles Spencer from The Daily Telegraph wrote: "Overpaid, over-sexed and over here, it will, I suspect be some time before London says Bye Bye Baby (Baby Goodbye) to the PHENOMENAL Jersey Boys."[13] Benedict Nightingale from The Times said, “Oh What a Night. There were times when I felt that the performers were making even the Beatles sound somewhat lacking in musical texture."[14] Quentin Letts from The Daily Mail said, “I must say I thoroughly enjoyed it. This is a big thumper of a show with fantastic songs.”[15]
[edit] Recording
An original cast recording was made by Rhino Entertainment, Jersey Boys: Original Broadway Cast Recording (Rhino R2 73271), released in November 2005, and won the Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album.[16][17][18] In February 2008, the album was certified Gold, having sold more than 500,000 copies in the US.[19] In October 2009, the soundtrack was certified Platinum, selling over 1,000,000 copies in the United States.[20]
[edit] Awards and nominations
- Best Musical (WINNER)
- Best Book of a Musical - Rick Elice and Marshall Brickman (nominees)
- Best Actor in a Musical - John Lloyd Young (WINNER)
- Best Featured Actor in a Musical - Christian Hoff (WINNER)
- Best Direction of a Musical - Des McAnuff (nominee)
- Best Orchestrations - Steve Orich (nominee)
- Best Scenic Design of a Musical - Klara Zieglerova (nominee)
- Best Lighting Design of a Musical - Howell Binkley (WINNER)
- Theatre World Award
- Theatre World Award-- John Lloyd Young (WINNER)
- Outstanding Musical (nominee)
- Outstanding Book of a Musical (nominee)
- Outstanding Actor in a Musical-- John Lloyd Young (WINNER)
- Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical
- Christian Hoff (nominee)
- Daniel Reichard (nominee)
- Outstanding Choreography (nominee)
- Outstanding Director of a Musical (nominee)
- Outstanding Sound Design (WINNER)
- Outstanding Musical (WINNER)
- Outstanding Actor in a Musical-- John Lloyd Young (WINNER)
- Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical--Christian Hoff (nominee)
- Outstanding Choreography (nominee)
- Outstanding Director of a Musical (nominee)
- Outstanding Lighting Design (WINNER)
- Distinguished Production of a Musical (WINNER)
- Performer of the Year
- Christian Hoff (nominee)
- John Lloyd Young (nominee)
- Best Show Album (WINNER)
- What's on Stage Award
- Best New Musical (WINNER)
- Best Actor in a Musical-- Ryan Molloy (WINNER)
- Best Supporting Actor in a Musical-- Stephen Ashfield (WINNER)
- Best Set Designer—Klara Zieglerova (WINNER)
- Best New Musical (WINNER)
- Best Actor in a Musical-- Ryan Molloy (nominee)
- Best Theature Choreographer—Sergio Trujillo (nominee)
- Best Director-- Des McAnuff (nominee)
- Best Sound Design—Steve Canyon Kennedy (nominee)
- Outstanding Production of a Musical (nominee)
- Outstanding Direction of a Musical—Des McAnuff (WINNER)
- Outstanding Choreography—Sergio Trujillo (nominee)
- Outstanding Performance by a Male in a Principal Role
- Jeremy Kushnier (nominee)
- Michael Lomenda (nominee)
- Jeff Madden (WINNER)
- Quinn VanAntwerp (nominee)
[edit] References
- ^ Simonson, Robert and Hernandez, Ernio.Playbill News: "Seasons in the Sun: Jersey Boys Opens on Broadway Nov. 6"playbill.com, November 6, 2005
- ^ Hernandez, Ernio (2007-10-05). "Jersey Boys Begins Chicago Run Oct. 5". Playbill, Inc.. http://www.playbill.com/news/article/111684.html. Retrieved 2008-01-18.
- ^ "JERSEY BOYS ROCK THE WINDY CITY". chicagoactor.com. http://chicagoactor.com/blog/blog/2007/10/31/jersey-boys-rock-the-windy-city/. Retrieved 2008-01-18.
- ^ SHNews
- ^ playbill article, Oct. 17, 2007playbill.com
- ^ ReviewJournal.com - News - SHOW REVIEW: Four versions of Seasons' saga told
- ^ TheStar.com | Theatre | Jersey Boys is a hit on opening night in Vegas
- ^ BroadwayWorld Photo Coverage of Australian Production Announcement
- ^ New Cast Announced for Canadian Production of Jersey Boys
- ^ http://www.eabf.org.uk/RVP-PressRelease08.pdf Press release announcing acts for the 2008 Royal Variety Performance
- ^ Gypsy of the Year 20 - BroadwayWorld.com
- ^ Brantley, Ben."Review, Jersey Boys ",The New York Times, 2005
- ^ "Jersey Boys: Let's hear it for the Boys", The Telegraph
- ^ "Jersey Boys at the Prince Edward", The Times
- ^ "First Night: Frankie goes to the West End", Mail Online
- ^ Hernandez, Ernio.Can't Take My Ears Off of You: Jersey Boys Cast Album Will Get Nov. 1 Release From Rhino "Can't Take My Ears Off of You: Jersey Boys Cast Album Will Get Nov. 1 Release From Rhino,"playbill.com, September 6, 2005
- ^ Suskin, Steven."On the Record: Broadway's Jersey Boys and Allan Sherman's My Son, The Box ",November 22, 2005
- ^ Gans, Andrew."Jersey Boys Wins Grammy for Best Musical Show Album,"playbill.com, February 11, 2007
- ^ Gans, Andrew."Jersey Boys Cast Recording Is Certified Gold,"playbill.com, February 14, 2008
- ^ Fuge, Tristan."Jersey Boys Original Cast Recording Certified Platinum"theatermania.com, October 13th, 2009
- ^ Toronto's 2009 Dora Awards Go to McAnuff, MacKenzie, Eternal Hydra, Sound of Music
[edit] External links
- Jersey Boys at the Internet Broadway Database
- Official Jersey Boys Website
- Official Tour Website
- Official Chicago Website
- Official London Website
- Official Melbourne Website
- Official Toronto Website
- Official Vegas Website
- Official Ticketing Website
- Jersey Boys Blog has interviews, photos, videos, music, all the latest news, and a fan forum.
- Stephen Gately wanted to appear in Jersey Boys
- Official Secondary Ticketing Website
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