Just last month the hit show Jersey Boys celebrated its 1000th performance at New World Stages in New York City. The musical, which won The Tony, Grammy and Olivier Awards, opened at the intimate off-Broadway theater in November 2017. Before moving to New World Stages, the show played on Broadway for 11-years and 4,642 performances.
Jersey Boys tells the story of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons. We experience their evolutionfrom their scrappy beginnings in Belleville, New Jersey to selling more than 100 millionrecords with hits like “Sherry,” “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” “Oh What A Night,” “Walk Like A Man,” “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You,” “Working My Way Back To You” and on and on.
Just as important to the telling of the tale are the women who helped make the group thrive and grow.Dianna Marie Barger,Tristen Buetteland Michelle Rombola are three talented multitasking performers who play all the women in Jersey Boys. And there are dozens of female characters. “I always imagine that the audience must be stunned when they see that there are only three women in the show,” says Barger. In addition to playing Frankie Valli’s daughter and other characters Barger is also a swing who has to step into multiple roles last minute. She is also the show’s dance captain.
“I’ve never counted how many characters we play but as the swing I get to play them all at some point which is really challenging and really fun,” adds Barger who joined the Jersey Boys touring company with Buettel and Rombola at the same time. They are now performing all together again with the New York company. “Every time I go on I feel that I’m constantly discovering new things about the other tracks.”
It has been said that between them the women of Jersey Boys play over 52 parts. “All in all, I think we might playover52 characters,” says Buettel who herself has 21 roles.“The show moves so fast, it’s fun and exhilarating getting in and out of characters. We wouldn’t be able to do it without our incredible wardrobe team.”
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The team back stage, making the performance on stage so seamless, is a finely oiled machine. “The show is put together so well with our fabulous book, direction, choreography, costumes, and remarkable cast,”says Rombola who herself plays 17 characters in the show. All that work behind the scenes makes it easy for me to know exactly who I am the second I step on stage.”
Talk about a quick change. During each performance Rombola has a total of eight seconds to transform herself into another character.“I do that change every night, and it is both absolutely crazy and calmly routine,” she says. “Our wardrobe girls are so much fun and I love doing the show with them.”
How does Rombola do that eight-second quick change? It takes some serious choreography.The character playing Bob Gaudio helps unzip her dress as she takes off her shoes. Then Rombola runs off stage and throws her shoes and dress to the wall as one dresser takes off her wig. Then she dives into her other wig and throws her hands behind her for her robe. The wig gets pinned in by a second dresser. Meanwhile the robe gets velcroed in the front by a third dresser.
“Then I just grab my [prop] glass of whiskey and go right on stage,” explains Rombola. “Those eight seconds are also filled with lots of giggling based on whatever slightly weird thing happened, like the time I chucked my shoes so hard against the wall they banged the prop shelf above. We really do have fun.”
Jeryl Brunner: Dianna, what a multitasker you are playing so many characters plus being a swing and dance captain. What would you like people to know about what you do?
Dianna Marie Barger: I could go on and on about how important swings and dance captains are. As a dance captain I have tons of responsibility, but I also have the pleasure of teaching people the show and watching them succeed.Being a dance captain/swing is very difficult and very rewarding, especially during the pandemic.At this moment they are going above and beyond in order to maintain the integrity and safety of shows. I think folks outside of the theater community are finally learning just how important we are and that recognition feels really good.
Brunner: How do you get ready to do Jersey Boys?
Tristen Buettel: Before the show I try to warm up physically and mentally.I do a vocal warm up, some stretches and then I like to write down one little piece of inspiration for the show. It could be something specific I want to remember. Or just sitting in gratitude that I get to be a part of a show I am so proud of in effervescent New York City.
Michelle Rombola: I always have a coffee before the show. Otherwise, sprinting across the backstage for my various quick changes is just too hard. Chit chatting with the girls in the dressing room while putting on our makeup is also a ritual. It’s a time to decompress, taking whatever stress there was during the day and setting it aside, getting ready to put all our energy into the show. We have a great dressing room vibe and it really helps me get in the right head space for the show.
Barger: Getting a good night’s sleep is the most important thing I can do to feel ready for the show.I always warm up my voice, but my favorite part of warming up is foam rolling.I love, love, love foam rolling, using the Melt method or trigger point therapy. I find it’s an easy way to combat tension from repetitive motion. Also, I eat a slice of pizza at intermission almost every day.I feel like it’s become my inspiration for act two.
Brunner:Dianna: Can you share when you first got cast in Jersey Boys?
Barger: I joined the touring company in 2017 and then was asked to join the New York company in 2018.I remember being at a bit of a crossroads in my life and booking Jersey Boys was such a gift at that time.
I was in a place where a lot of actors find themselves at some point in their career. I hadn’t worked in a little while and I was wondering if I stilled loved theater, was still passionate about this industry and if I was even good enough.During the grueling four-day audition process forJersey Boys, I could feel myself getting more and more excited about this show. I realized just how much I still loved this work.Being a swing and dance captain for this show has been one of the most difficult things I’ve ever done. But it also taught me a lot about myself and helped to expand my understanding of my capabilities.This show really reignited my love for theater. I’m so grateful for everything Jersey Boyshas taught me.
Brunner: What is it like to play all those roles?
Barger: The details of the backstage traffic can be the most difficult part. Dressers are so, so important.All of our costume changes are highly choreographed and without our amazing dressers none of us would make it on to the stage.When I’m on, there are a few extra quick changes in the show to accommodate the condensed tracks so I have to go from a bored diner waitress to Frankie’s troubled daughter to Frankie’s savvy girlfriend in a matter of minutes.
Sometimes the frantic pace actually helps to fuel the scene, but a lot of the time I feel like I need to work against it.The trick to being present and successful in a scene is to connect with your scene partner. Someone is usually pinning my wig and buckling my shoes up until the very moment that I enter as Lorraine. But as soon as I look at Aaron, I feel totally calm.
Brunner: Can you share an unexpected moment performing in Jersey Boys that really touched or surprised you?
Buettel: Someone at the stage door took off her Gucci pump and asked me to sign it.I was 21 and never had even stepped foot into a Gucci store, let alone put a Sharpie to a Gucci shoe before.It was a moment I’ll never forget. There are some super fans of the show and it’s incredible how much they love it.
Barger: About a week or so after our reopening [after the shutdown], I received a lovely message via Instagram from a woman who saw the show after the death of her brother.She described how the Francine moments made her feel her brother’s presence and how the universal expression of love, loss, and grief in the show helped her understand what she and her family had gone through.
I was stunned and humbled.My time onstage as Francine is so short that it can be easy for me to forget the seriousness of those moments and the deep impact it can have for the audience.This woman’s message was a good reminder of the power and importance of connection. And how theater can provide those things.
Rombola: I had someone write to me about how touched they were watching Mary on the staircase during the song, “My Eyes Adored You.” They relayed to me how much it meant to them because of their personal experiences. It reminded me how powerful even the smallest moments in the show can be. This connection we make with the audience is the true beauty of live theater.
