Couldn't find a thread for this one, but just had to share it. I was in the Mezzanine on Wednesday night and the fellow to my right (whom I did not know) was on his Blackberry virtually the ENTIRE show. It was a challenge watching the show with one eye and reading his e-mails with the other!!
Jersey Boys Bulletin Board » Jersey Boys Bulletin Board
UNUSUAL EXPERIENCES DURING THE SHOW
(21 posts)-
Posted 5 years ago #
-
the middle-aged caucasian man next to me in costa mesa covered his ears everytime chris sings..i'm not sure if it was too loud for him or he didn't like chris' singing voice. i didn't ask.
Posted 5 years ago # -
LOL Howard. What are some people thinking? (and did you get any good gossip?) boy0210, your story reminds me of something I overheard at the show once..."I never really liked Frankie Valli's voice". People like these really want to make you scream.
Posted 5 years ago # -
Well, *I* never really liked Frankie Valli's voice (and still don't), but I still like the show. ;)
Posted 5 years ago # -
You know, Leanna and Melissa, I am almost afraid to say so, but a good friend of mine who saw the show in LA thought Chris's voice was better than Frankie's in his prime. She had always thought Frankie was "too whiny". She, too, enjoyed the show.
Posted 5 years ago # -
to be honest, i like frankie valli's songs but like leanna, don't care much for his voice. love the show, though. and howard, i'm afraid i agree with your friend, ckj's voice is a vast improvement on the original. sorry, frankie valli fans.
Posted 5 years ago # -
My parents and aunt have said the same thing (my parents have seen Chris Jones and Jarrod Spector; my aunt has only seen Rick Faugno). None of them really cared for the real thing and they grew up during the heyday of the Four Seasons. Yet they all enjoy the show thoroughly.
I think a lot of it has to do with getting these musical theatre actors who are trained to sing like this 8 (or 6) times a week -- if you sounded like Frankie your voice would blow out having to do this so frequently. And if you sounded like Frankie you'd probably have a hell of a time being cast in other things. ;)
Not be down on the real Frankie; none of us would be here if he didn't already have a huge following and did everything he did back in the day -- but "I like Jersey Boys but not the Four Seasons" doesn't seem to be a rare sentiment.
Posted 5 years ago # -
I just got a dvd of Frankie in concert from '92. He has the habit of licking his lips a lot which was driving me batty! I really like the original Four Seasons stuff as Frankie sounded great back then. I didn't enjoy this concert dvd as much as I thought I'd would. I guess my brain got used to CKJ as Frankie and when it wasn't it was a let down. I so much love Chris' Fallen Angel a lot more than Frankie's version of it in the concert setting. I had to agree with a lady whom I overheard at the theatre that said that CKJ was better than Frankie. This reminds me of something funny or I found it funny anyway. Taylor Sternberg was u/s Brandon's roles the last matinee of the final day in Costa Mesa and those of you who don't know Taylor in person or seen him in person anyway he's probably about 5'5" or 5'6". Brandon's much taller than this. Anyway Courter was doing his role as Joey. Taylor comes on the stage as the sherriff in OH to "arrest" the Seasons. I heard a lady next to me ask her friend if that was Joey and the other lady replied, "Yes." I was cracking up inside because it wasn't Joey. It was Taylor not Courter. They're both short but two different actors. I told this to Courter at the door I exited through as he was collecting money for BC/EFA and he found it funny too. He said that people get him and Taylor mixed up all the time. Taylor was like whatever about it when I told him.
Posted 5 years ago # -
but back to the topic, there was a woman in la who warned me before the start of the show that she's from jersey and she would be loud. And boy, loud was an understatement. She would yell "You go, (name of a Season)!)" or "That's what i'm talkin'!!" and "f***in' A!!" Her male companion was shush-ing her but to no avail. Luckily, i was able to move to an empty seat three rows down. Didn't see what happened, but she disappeared before intermission and didn't come back till towards the end of the show, still commenting on the show but much quieter this time. Saw her again on the way out, dancing and singing. Somebody had an "Oh, what a night!" evening.
Posted 5 years ago # -
Gah! I hate it when people think they're at their kids' dance recital.
That reminds me of a guy who I had the misfortune of rushing with (although he was a few seats down) who laughed loudly at everything and with like a 10-second delay. He also stomped his feet. I have no idea where he went in Act 2 because he was nowhere to be heard...well, maybe he was still there, but someone had told him to pipe down. It was my first time seeing Ryan Quinn West as Bob, too, and I was trying to pay extra attention.
Posted 5 years ago # -
Off-topic but related to some of the above, so what the heck. I was at a performance of an xlnt Beatles tribute band called the Fab Four. This particular night was aimed at real Beatle fans because they were going to perform the Revolver album in it's entirety, plus other stuff. Just before they came on, I overheard a girl near me say, "The only Beatle song I know is Yellow Submarine."
I have no idea what she was doing there.
Posted 5 years ago # -
Just for the record, I knew someone who saw the show and he said that he never much liked Frankie Valli's voice, but he seemed to enjoy the show.
Posted 5 years ago # -
Howard...I have mezzanine seats for the June 6th performance. I believe Row J, center...how's the view from there? First time I saw the show, we were in Row X, then I sat in Row C (so very close, but oh so wonderful!). I tried to get Orchestra tickets for that night, but nothing was available in the affordable seats (i.e., non-premium) so I ended up in the mezzanine.
Would love your feedback...
Posted 5 years ago # -
Jersey Boys stands on its own, but it's disrespectful to acting to say it "doesn't matter" if the actor playing Frankie sounds like Frankie. It might not matter at the box office, or to your Aunt Mabel, but it should matter to an actor.
Whether you like Frankie's voice or not, a self-respecting actor should sound like the real-life person they're portaying. If they can't, maybe it's not their fault, but they're playing Frankie, so they should sound like him. The real Frankie had a signature sound, and if high-quality is the goal, then authenticity should be, too. JLY, Travis Cloer, Jarrod Spector and Michael Longoria are all somewhere in the ballpark to spot-on, and rationalizing why some actor doesn't sound like Frankie is not an acceptable excuse for falling short on authenticity. If you were playing Harvey Fierstein, no one would let you get away with not sounding like him when you speak, why should an actor playing Frankie get away with not sounding like him when he sings??
Posted 5 years ago # -
Helen, this is the second time I've sat in the Mezzanine, but the first time in or near the front. The view and sound were excellent, and one could see absolutely everything. I believe on my last time further back the view and sound were also fine--but it was over a year ago.
The biggest issue is that it takes time to get down the stairs to the lobby with the crowds. I was with three friends (seated two and two), and by time we all got down, obtained our coats (cold night & long line at the coat check) and went outside, we missed nearly everyone at the stage door, seeing only Michael, Travis, Peter, and Sara. (Michael did save the day by posing for pix with my out-of-town friends and answering their questions so graciously--but they were also looking forward to meeting Jennifer and Christian.) This is the very first time with friends that we went to the stage door (some friends don't wish to), and didn't see nearly everyone. So that's the trade-off, but the view and sound were fine.
And probably not as important, but the actors do play to the orchestra crowd, even in the finale. They look around, but doubt that they can really make eye contact with anyone in the Mezzanine.
It'll be a nice night, Helen, but prepare for a slow go downstairs, and hold onto your coats if you wish to exit quickly. Take care and enjoy the show.
Posted 5 years ago # -
I have sat in the mezzanine several times. The move downstairs can be a bit slower although if you don't need to stop by the restrooms or coat check, you can take the mezzanine exit that leads right to the street (and stage door!).
I somehow missed several of the cast at the door on November 29th- perhaps because they were inside collecting for BC/EFA; Michael was a bit delayed coming out that evening since it was his first official night as the lead Frankie and I imagine he had visitors backstage (as well as the first night that the lights were back on), but then emerged, (greeted me by name, which was nice) and stayed until everyone had gotten their chance for pictures and chatting.
Posted 5 years ago # -
Helen, I sat in Mezzanine Row M and Row N on two separate occasions. Both were great. Sure, nothing is like being front orchestra, but I'd be happy doing SRO at Jersey Boys if I had to. I agree, go out the mezzanine exit doors (on the left if you are facing the stage). They lead right to the street.
Posted 5 years ago # -
I have to agree with Tally. Personally, I think it is disrespectful for any of us to discount the talent of Frankie Valli or any of the members of The Four Seasons. Music, voices and the interpretation of them changes over time, but the actors who portray Frankie Valli, Bob Gaudio, Tommy Devito and Nick Massi in Jersey Boys are striving to give the audience the closest representation of The Four Seasons every night. After all, none of this could have happened...without them. Right?
Wasn't there a thread here once regarding another thread on Broadway World that offended many of the JBBB members because of the way some people wrote about Jersey Boys and members of the cast? Maybe that idea should be revisited with respect to The Four Seasons.
Oh, and Helen, I've been in the Mezz before (Row B, center) and it was an awesome seat. I stayed through the band encore at the end and I didn't miss anyone at the stage door. It just depends on how quickly specific cast members needs to get away on any particular evening.
And, as far as unusual experiences go -- I had a similar one to Howard's. Two girls sitting next to me in row B of the Orchestra were text messaging each other almost the whole time. Anyway, during intermission they were telling their mothers that "the last guy in the group" (Daniel) kept staring at them and looking down the girls' shirts. Of course, I wanted to say to the mothers -- "No, if anything it's because your daughters were text messaging each other the WHOLE time."
Posted 5 years ago # -
These are instances where you need to forego zipping up the lips and just say it. ;)
Posted 5 years ago # -
Helen, my one and only visit to the August Wilson I was seated in the Mezzanine, row C. We thought they were excellent seats, and I could have sworn Christian gave us a "look" - long story, but I doubt he could see us, but he knew we would be there and where we would be seated, even though we had never met him. Now that I know that the actors actually do that, I am convinced it wasn't my imagination. As for leaving the theatre, it does take time from there, but like Audrey said, if you don't have to go back to the lobby, take the side door straight to the street.
Posted 5 years ago # -
Going along with what Tally said...........JLY commented somewhere that when your playing someone (especially if their still with us) you had better get it right!
Posted 5 years ago #
Reply
You must log in to post.