NewsJersey Boys Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons Sing on Stage in New Musical, Oct. 5"Big Girls Don't Cry," "Sherry" and "Oh What a Night" will echo on the stage of the La Jolla Playhouse as the world premiere Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons musical Jersey Boys begins, Oct. 5.
ByErnio Hernandez
October 05, 2004
The California company's artistic director Des McAnuff (Dracula) stages the new musical set to open Oct. 17 for a run at the Playhouse's Mandell Weiss Theatre through Nov. 21.
Christian Hoff (The Who's Tommy) as Tommy DeVito, David Noroña (Love! Valour! Compassion!) as Frankie Valli, Daniel Reichard (Radiant Baby,The Thing About Men) as Bob Gaudio and J. Robert Spencer (Sideshow, Lucky Duck) as Nick Massi star as The Four Seasons in Jersey Boys. The cast also includes Sarah Avery, Tituss Burgess, Marisa Echeverría, Steve Gouveia, Peter Gregus, Donnie Kehr, Jennifer Naimo and Sean Smith.
Jersey Boys centers on the musical group The Four Seasons and how four blue-collar guys — Frankie Valli, Bob Gaudio, Tommy DeVito and Nick Massi — grew to become the singing sensation behind such hits as "Rag Doll," "Sherry," "Big Girls Don’t Cry," "Oh What a Night" and "Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You."
Book writers Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice along with composer Bob Gaudio and Bob Crewe combine to create Jersey Boys with director McAnuff. Sergio Trujillo serves as choreographer, Ron Melrose handles musical direction and orchestrations are provided by Steve Orich.
The design team of Jersey Boys features Klara Zieglerova (scenic), Jess Goldstein (costume), Howell Binkley (lighting), Steve Canyon Kennedy (sound) and Michael Clark (projection). "My first album as a kid was the Four Seasons' 'Sherry.' Along with millions of other people, I fell in love with their sound," McAnuff stated in a release. "After years of being a fan of Bob Gaudio's songwriting, I finally got to know him eight years ago. It became clear to us that The Four Seasons' story, the quintessential rock and roll from 'rags to riches' tale, is highly theatrical."
Director McAnuff has earned two Tony Awards for his direction of The Who's Tommy and Big River. Other Broadway credits include How to Succeed In Business Without Really Trying and A Walk in the Woods. The busy director's slate includes the current Broadway run of Dracula, The Musical, the upcoming Billy Crystal solo 700 Sundays and the planned revival of The Wiz.
Tickets to Jersey Boys at The Playhouse, 2910 La Jolla Village Drive in La Jolla, CA can be purchased by phone at (858) 550-1010 or online at www.lajollaplayhouse.com.
