Audience’s Enthusiam and Jersey Boys’ Success
March 9th, 2010
Palm Beach Daily News Arts Editor Jan Sjostrom has a terrific interview with JERSEY BOYS’ writers Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice, original Four Seasons’ member Bob Gaudio, and JB national tour cast meber Ryan Jessie (who plays Gaudio). All agree that the show’s phenomenal success is driven by the audience’s enthusiasm.
“What we’re doing is their lives, with all the warts — the squabbling, the jealousy, the anger and the disloyalty,” Brickman said. “It’s very Shakespearean in a way.”
What set the group apart was Valli’s steely falsetto. “No matter how you twist and turn it, if you did the identical harmonies and everything we did, without Frankie it would not sound like the Four Seasons,” Gaudio said.
Ryan Jesse, who plays Gaudio in the national tour, said he’s bowled over nightly by audiences’ enthusiasm for the show. “It’s astounding, I can’t believe we play for 1,800 to 2,200 people night after night and they all go crazy for the show,” he said.
Two of the musical’s biggest fans are Gaudio and Valli. “I don’t know how much happier two guys could get seeing their life stories up on stage,” Gaudio said.
Visit PalmBeachDailyNews.com for the full interview.
