Jersey Boys Blog

By Pamela Singer, Jersey Boys Blog Special Correspondent

Gather round friends, and listen to a true life fairy tale of romance and intrigue that could only happen in Jersey. Okay, so we’re not talking about the literal Jersey here, but the Jersey Boys land we’ve all come to inhabit and love. Everyone knows that magic happens eight times a week at the August Wilson Theatre, home to Broadway’s phenomenal Jersey Boys. On Sunday, May 26th, that magic was taken to a whole other level, when John “JT” Thomson, Jersey Boys Stagehand Extraordinaire, proposed to uber Jersey Boys Fan and friend, Wanda Libardi, at the matinee performance. You read that right folks. It was AT the matinee, not before or after, but during the show! You ask four guys how it happened, you get four different stories. This intrepid reporter and dear friend to both JT and Wanda was there to witness this special event, and is here to tell all.

Let’s begin at the beginning. La Jolla, California,2004. Our beautiful heroine is on vacation in San Diego. A little musical called Jersey Boys is playing at the La Jolla Playhouse. A longtime Four Seasons fan and actress herself, Wanda sees the show, and falls in love with Jersey Boys, not to be confused with falling in love with her own Jersey boy, which happens later. Back at her hotel, Wanda runs into the fabulous and fearless Jennifer Naimo, who originates the character of Mary Delgado. They talk, realize they know one another from cabaret shows in Williamstown, Massachusetts, and the seeds of a lasting friendship between them are planted. Jen tells Wanda the show may go to Broadway, and Wanda assures her she will be there if it does.

Flash forward to 2005. The show is taking Broadway by storm. Jen is the only female cast member to come to the Great White Way from the La Jolla production. As promised, Wanda comes down to NYC from her home in Pittsfield, Massachusetts to see the show. She and Jennifer become fast friends. Soon, Wanda is spending as much time at the August Wilson as she is in her own home. Her joyous spirit and infectious personality quickly charm the cast and crew, and she is soon part of the Jersey Boy family.I have the great good fortune of meeting Wanda at Jen’s first cabaret, and we become fast friends, too.

Meanwhile, our erstwhile hero, JT, is backstage at the August Wilson, making sure the scenery and props are in working order and running smoothly at every performance. Born and bred in New Jersey, he enthralls everyone he meets with his warmth and humor . A real jack of all trades, JT can do everything Jersey Boys-related except, well, sing “My Mother’s Eyes” for Gyp DeCarlo! JT has worked at the August Wilson theatre for 25 years, but no one could have predicted the phenomena of Jersey Boys. Behind the scenes, the cast and crew are bonding, not only with each other, but with the fans as well. JT and Wanda meet briefly at the stage door, but don’t really get to know one another at that time.

Flash forward again to 2007. Daniel Reichard , Broadway’s original Bob Gaudio, is leaving the show. His going away party is at Cafe Cielo. Wanda attends the party with Jennifer, who introduces her again to JT. While Wanda and JT are talking, Jen is at the bar chatting with cast members. Jen then turns around, and in her inimitable way, looks at Wanda and JT and says “We think you two should go out.” Now, when Mary (“Y is a bullshit letter”) Delgado tells you to do something, you do it! A date is set up for dinner, and the rest, as they say, is history. Sometimes it just clicks with people. As JT recalls ‘”I fell in love with her on our first date.” It took Wanda a little longer to succumb to JT’s charms, ”We became very, very good friends and everything else just fell into place naturally.”

Six years ensue, with lots of trips between the Berkshires and NYC taking place. Rails and roads become second nature to our storied couple. Lives, friends, families and even their dogs become entwined! Hard to believe, but in all that time, JT and Wanda had never seen Jersey Boys Broadway together. Not until May 26, 2013, that is. A seemingly routine Sunday matinee, then suddenly, the whole world exploded.

May 26, 20013, a beautiful Sunday in the midst of a holiday weekend. Wanda and JT arrive at the August Wilson for the matinee, she looking gorgeous in a raspberry colored lace dress, he looking handsome in a dark suit. They take their seats in the orchestra, 4th row center. The show enfolds as always: mesmerizing, enthralling and just plain fabulous. I get there as John Lloyd Young , in great voice, is crooning “Can’t Take My Eyes Off Of You,” and think, ‘How very apt. Is that style or what?!’ And is it me, or does the cast seem even more exuberant than usual?? Probably just my own excitement taking over. The usher is kind enough to find me a seat in the 7th row,the flowers from Jen and me still intact. “Who Loves You” wafts through the theatre. Fittingly, Mary Delgado (Renee Marino) takes the mic and announces a special crew member and his girlfriend are in the audience today. She asks JT how he liked the show. Suddenly, a spotlight falls on JT and Wanda, and a mic is put in his hand. JT stands up and says, “The show was amazing, really amazing, and it’s such a pleasure and honor to work with the cast and crew backstage.”

Pause, and then he continues. “That’s not really why I asked you all here today.” (laughter) He takes Wanda’s hand and continues, “We met through Jersey Boys, Mary Delgado fixed us up, Gyp DeCarlo suggested a restaurant for our first date, and Frankie Valli sang songs for us to fall in love by.”( I’m tearin’ up here already!) He gets down on one knee in the aisle. “Wanda, will you marry me?” A collective gasp goes through the audience. Wanda is so overcome with emotion and can only nod her affirmative answer. The cast throws kisses from the stage, and a few moments go by. “Oh What A Night” closes the show.

Friends, I could go on and on and tell you about the good wishes and congratulations from 1100 strangers and friends in the audience, the meticulous six-month planning on JT’s part that everyone was in on, the backstage champagne toast afterwards by the cast and crew, the gorgeous ring, or the way I felt running through the seats to fling my arms around these two wonderful people in a congratulatory hug. But in the end, these are all extraneous. This is after all, a love story about two people who fell in love in Jersey Boys land, and that’s what matters. To quote the great Frankie Valli “Family is everything.” Let’s keep on chasing the music, and trying to get home.