Jersey Boys Blog Visits Broadway, October 2009!
November 12th, 2009Back in July, following our Chicago JB experience, Tech Half and I “rediscovered” JERSEY BOYS in the Windy City. Could we rediscover it again in New York, three months later? It could happen. It did happen!
Picture this: A conference in Queens beginning on Friday, October 23. A red-eye from Vegas landing early Thursday morning–and a trip to the August Wilson Theatre that same evening!
Thursday evening before the performance: A marvelous welcome from all four JERSEY GIRLS–Bridget Berger, Heather Ferguson, Katie O’Toole, and Sara Schmidt–during their JBB EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW that will be appearing soon on the blog!
The performance–absolutely spectacular! The chemistry of the four guys with four different versions–magnificent!!
This was our first time seeing this group of JERSEY BOYS together–Dominic Nolfi as Tommy DeVito immediately took charge as the boss, with his charm, charisma, and his gorgeous voice on “Silhouettes”! Tommy wasn’t exaggerating when he said, ‘This kid who sings like an angel and hangs around the clubs.” Jarrod Spector as Frankie Valli? Angelic, natural, and flawless as a vocalist! As an actor, it was incredible to see Jarrod go from the unsure kid in the nightclub, to the mature, successful musicmaker facing life’s ups and downs. As the compulsive Nicky, Matt Bogart gives Nicky a new edge. When Matt stated, “I’ve been quiet up until now,” the audience was in for Nicky’s side of the story! As young Bobby, Jake Speck makes you believe he is the super young, talented songwriting genius (and an amazing voice on “Cry For Me”), who eventually becomes a dynamic musical powerhouse in his partnership with Frankie.
The rest of the cast? Absolutely outstanding! Peter Gregus had the audience howling in his Bob Crewe potrayal; Kris Coleman–amazing in his many roles and that voice? Truly a gift from God–wow! Also loved seeing Erik Bates as Hank Majewski and he is beyond perfect as Mika! Russell Fischer as Joey–hilarious! As Gyp DeCarlo and Norm Waxman, Mark Lotito and Miles Aubrey were respectively spot-on!
Also a big-shout out to the Jersey Girls! Bridget Berger tells Frankie like it is as the feisty Mary Delgado; Sara Schmidt’s lead in “My Boyfriend’s Back”–another Wow! of the evening; and Heather Ferguson shines as Lorraine, especially when she calls it a day with Frankie! And, a special treat–We had the opportunity to see swing cast member Katie O’Toole do a terrific job as Francine and as the lead Angel on Saturday night! (Oh, yeah, following all that conference hoopla, we made it back in the nick of time to see another spectacular performance on Saturday!!)
This makes me want to see JB on Broadway even more! Can’t wait to make the trip there.
Comment by Rose — November 12, 2009 @ 9:53 pm
Me too, Rose. I always enjoy reading about JB Blog’s experiences at our favorite show! Hope to make it back to Broadway in 2010!
Comment by Karen — November 12, 2009 @ 11:43 pm
I attended my first JB show August 23 2009 while on a trip to New York City. I sat front row and totally loved the the music , and found myself wanting to go back the next night.
Jarrod Spector gave an amazing performance ,as did the rest of the Jersey boys.
Sarah Schmidt was great also, and hats off to the Jersey Girls.. Great job ladies !
The Jersey Boys show was the highlight of our trip.
Thanks Jesrey Boys – Broadway..
Comment by Canadian Guy — November 18, 2009 @ 9:07 pm