Jersey Boys Opens in London March 18, 2008!
July 10th, 2007Theatermania.com reports that Jersey Boys, the Tony Award-winning hit musical that tells the story of legendary vocal group Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons and features their classic hits, is planning a wintertime move to London’s Prince Edward Theatre. It will open in the West End on March 18, 2008, following previews beginning February 28. No casting for the London production has been announced.
Yay! This is very exciting. I hope JLY opens it up!
Comment by Yvette — July 10, 2007 @ 12:21 pm
Hi Yvette,
No offense, but my vote is for RF – Rick Faugno – to open in London. I believe it is Rick’s time to shine…. You have to see him to believe him.
Thank you.
Comment by Angel — July 11, 2007 @ 1:51 am
After seeing Jersey Boys five or six times with JLY, I could never have imagined anyone else in the role. And no doubt, John Lloyd has earned his stripes by helping make the show the enormous success it is, and encouraging fans to return with his unbelievable availability, humility, and graciousness.
But then I saw Chris Jones and Travis Cloer in the role of Frankie, and can appreciate how all three enormous talents bring something different to the table. Chris’s voice has tremendous passion and power, and while not an exact clone of Frankie’s, gave the audience absolute chills as he finished CTMEOY; his dancing skills and acrobatics onstage in “Beggin’” are mind-boggling. Travis’s acting talents come alive like nothing else in Gyp’s basement and in his “bunny on TV” monologue.
We also can’t necessarily base our judgment on one or two TV clips. Seeing Chris on The Tonight Show gave only the smallest hint of how great a performer he is; indeed, I hope some future promos show him doing CTMEOY and Beggin’, where he really shines. And we are so used to seeing JLY as Frankie on the earlier promos, that for a few minutes, it takes getting used to a new Frankie physically, so that we may not focus as much as we should on the performance.
So, while JLY has undoubtedly earned the opening night in London, I think any one of our Frankies will shine in the role, albeit in his own way.
Comment by Howard Tucker — July 11, 2007 @ 9:38 am
Let’s hear it for some great British talent who can not only do justice to this show but also the accents.
Comment by Leanna — July 11, 2007 @ 9:54 am
‘…his dancing skills and acrobatics onstage in “Beggin’†are mind-boggling’
I completely agree, Howard.
Hi Angel. I am going to see Rick Faugno on Saturday. I’m excited for that.
Comment by Yvette — July 11, 2007 @ 1:21 pm
I agree with Howard. That whoever opens as Frankie, they will do the role justice and his portrayal will be inspiring.
Comment by A — July 11, 2007 @ 1:48 pm
Rick Faugno, Chris Jones, Jarrod Spector, David Norona?????, John Lloyd Young, John Michael Dias, and possibly undiscovered talent?
What a lineup of actors (wished I could have seen more of the alternates or understudys…..) that have honored Frankie Valli with their portrayals of his musical legacy.
I’m sure that the accents will disappear (watch House, the sitcom…..) due to the Four Seasons being an American group. I hope that when the World Tour starts, the “new” fanbase will contribute their experiences with the World Tour cast on Jersey Boys Blog.
Comment by Mike B. Magbaleta — July 11, 2007 @ 2:26 pm
I, myself, am a Rick Faugno fan and have seen Jersey Boys (4) times. Rick is absolutely awesome ! His dancing prowess and singing ability are fantastic and such pleasure to watch. For that reason, we try to watch Jersey Boys either on Tuesday evenings or Sunday evenings because those are the nights he perform.
Comment by Mila — July 11, 2007 @ 4:04 pm
As I noted under another post, anyone who might be interested in being part of a fan group traveling to London, please email me [email protected].
Comment by Audrey — July 11, 2007 @ 5:51 pm
Hi Yvette,
Am excited you’re watching Rick – but he’s on Sunday & Tuesday evening only. Please let me know your thoughts after you’ve seen his performance. I guarantee you – you will rank him as #1 Frankie. Sorry for the hype – just can’t help it. You know how Jersey Boys brings out the ultimate fan in us.
Thanks for catching his gig.
Comment by Angel — July 12, 2007 @ 1:57 am
John Lloyd Young is Frankie. His performance made the critics take notice of the show before the fans demanded it. If he doesn’t open in London, it should be because he has something else to do.
Comment by L — July 12, 2007 @ 6:52 am
It is true that John does an amazing role as Frankie. However, he may want to expand his options and want to be known as something else besides Frankie. As an example, Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter in the Harry Potter films) recently appeared in the play Equus and filmed the movie December Boys. He wished to be known as Harry Potter, but something else also.
Comment by A — July 12, 2007 @ 8:38 am
Its coming to London, lets have a London based actor doing it! We have talented actors here too you know!
Comment by StuL — July 12, 2007 @ 8:50 am
Agree with Stu — Jersey Boys doesn’t have to follow the Wicked model!
Comment by Leanna — July 12, 2007 @ 9:49 am
Angel, have you seen any other Frankies except for Rick?
Comment by Howard Tucker — July 12, 2007 @ 10:52 am
For a Broadway actor to open on the London stage is a huge honor. JLY mentioned in an interview awhile back that he would welcome that opportunity. I hope he gets his wish. Christian Hoff also mentioned he would like to perform in London.
Comment by LindaL — July 12, 2007 @ 2:36 pm
I am not sure if Christian would take it, with his rumoured Pal Joey run. I read that JLY would love to open in London, but if he receives an offer that is better in his eyes, he might take it. I think it would be interesting to see a British man play Frankie, see if there is a difference from the American Frankies.
Comment by A — July 12, 2007 @ 2:56 pm
Ahmanson: 2,115
http://www.musiccenter.org/rent_at.html
Comment by Leanna — July 12, 2007 @ 3:30 pm
Hi Howard,
Yes. I saw Chris twice. He is quite good. And JLY on videos only – unfortunately. How about you? Have you seen Rick? Would love to hear your review.
Perhaps I was out of line by ranking them. Sorry about that. I realized it’s not a good thing to do that. They’re all great artists. What was I thinking? I was just carried away…
Anyhoo, I really think Rick’s great – and just so you know, I’m not his agent
Have a nice evening
Comment by Angel — July 13, 2007 @ 1:20 am
Haven’t seen Rick yet, Angel, but business does take me to the West Coast periodically—and San Diego/La Jolla frequently, so I’ll make it a priority. Chris himself has very, very kind things to say about Rick.
Had to laugh when you said you weren’t Rick’s agent! When I worked for an ABC-TV station (as an accountant) a thousand years ago, a very strong letter to a local newspaper blasted the station for not renewing the sports anchor’s contract. When I called the anchor congratulating him on such strong viewer support, his response was, “Well, thanks, but it was my sister-in-law who wrote the letter!”
I am serious, though–I shall make it a point to see Rick, based upon your comments! But, Angel, you’ve now set my expectations very, very high–so, anything less than absolute perfection from Rick, you and I will need to talk!!! (LOL)
Comment by Howard Tucker — July 13, 2007 @ 9:31 am
I’ve seen Rick perform once and he is terrific. He has a great natural falsetto and his acting is very good, especially during Fallen Angel. As respects the difference between British & U.S. actors, there is none in my opinion. I saw Miss Saigon in London when it originated. It’s about Americans and the British cast displayed nothing British about themselves. It was fabulous. British or U.S., it doesn’t matter to me as long as they are talented. Can’t wait!!
Comment by LindaL — July 13, 2007 @ 11:40 am
Miss Saigon is a sung-through score. No dialogue. Big difference.
Also, isn’t Lea Solonga from the Philipines? They couldn’t find many Asian performers for Miss Saigon in England and had to look all over the world to find Kims, and much of the ensemble. Miss Saigon is a bad example.
Comment by tally — July 13, 2007 @ 12:57 pm
Yes, they found Lea Salonga in Manila. However, after a while they didn’t have to do that — the reason they looked all over the world was also due to their unfamiliarity with Asian performers in general.
I agree that it’s much easier to “hide” an accent in a sung-through score. There is a ton of dialogue in Jersey Boys and the accent can be hard for non-Jerseyite Americans, let alone non-Americans.
Comment by Leanna — July 13, 2007 @ 1:23 pm
Color me selfish – I feel like JLY belongs to NYC, I would hate to see him go! However, he does deserve to have it if he wants to go..can’t take that away from him! Had the opportunity to see Travis play Frankie last night, he was really very good.
Comment by Lori — July 13, 2007 @ 1:49 pm
Hi Howard,
Thank you in advance for taking time out to see Rick. I’m confident he’ll deliver. Thank you for the funny story about the anchor. Made me laugh too.
Well, I better sign off. Catch you later!!
Comment by Angel — July 13, 2007 @ 4:07 pm
Lori, you saw Travis go on as Frankie last night? Isn’t JLY back from vacation?
Comment by A — July 13, 2007 @ 4:56 pm
I was actually referring to Jonathan Pryce not Lea Salonga since she is not British.
Comment by LindaL — July 13, 2007 @ 11:40 pm
But Jonathan Pryce’s character wasn’t American. The Engineer is supposed to be Asian (or Eurasian).
Remember the whole issue about Pryce being cast in the role in the first place? The main reason why he almost didn’t come to Broadway was partly due to his being British/not American, and largely to do with the fact he wasn’t remotely Asian.
Have you noticed that most, if not all Engineers that followed were Asian or Asian-American?
There are only 3 roles in Miss Saigo that are American: Chris, John & Ellen. All were played by Americans in the original Broadway cast. I also recall seeing the original English actors in London…thought that they were fine, but wasn’t overly convinced at how succesful they were at the accent, even in sung-through score. I did prefer the original West End Chris to the original Broadway Chris…but I liked replacement, Will Chase, on Broadway the most.
Comment by tally — July 14, 2007 @ 5:46 am
Hi Howard,
Me again. Just wondering how will I know when you’ve seen Rick? Do I check this post regularly? Or maybe a new post will appear about your West Coast trip? If you could add an Interview for me, that would be really, really great.
And just so you know, would love to buy you a cup of coffee with some home made Kahlua cupcakes when you’re in town. (It’ll be my first time to make them but it’s my mom’s recipe – so don’t worry – I’ll make sure and try them first).
Well, I gotta go. There’s shopping to do.
Comment by Angel — July 14, 2007 @ 6:15 pm
David Norona should play Frankie Valli.
Enough said.
Comment by Mark Brown — July 14, 2007 @ 11:14 pm
Hey Angel. Actually saw the originals tonight, with Domenic Nolfi standing in for Daniel Reichard. My direct e-mail is [email protected]. Perhaps you can also give me yours and we can communicate directly.
Looking forward to the cupcakes. The lettuce and tomato diet just ain’t working for me! Thanks Angel.
Comment by Howard Tucker — July 15, 2007 @ 12:50 am
hey Mark…if they bring David Norona to London, they will also have to bring over Steve Gouveia…and NOT to play Nick.
Comment by neddy — July 16, 2007 @ 5:47 pm
A- JLY was out sick last Thurs. night,after vacation, Travis was on for him and he really was wonderful
Comment by Lori — July 17, 2007 @ 9:57 am
Rick Faugno is utterly amazing as Frankie. I literally could not take my eyes off him whenever he came on stage. Mesmerizing. I hope they get him over to London for opening of Jersey Boys. Rick is a major talent.
Comment by Bloggy — August 29, 2007 @ 1:55 am
Bloggy – Thanks for the comment about Rick. Yep..I’m with you when you said he is utterly amazing. I love his interpretation of Frankie, his voice, and most of all, his dance moves. Too bad yesterday, Tuesday, was his last performance at Ahmanson because their touring group will be going to Sacramento. Will surely miss him.
Oh well…can’t wait for his next schedule. Hopefully it will be announced soon.
Comment by Mila — August 29, 2007 @ 2:56 pm
Does anyone know the cast for this production?
Comment by Sophie — September 17, 2007 @ 4:15 am
It’s not been announced yet, but Jye Frasca will understudy Frankie Valli.
Comment by Leanna — September 17, 2007 @ 12:20 pm
When is it due to be announced?
Comment by Sophie — September 18, 2007 @ 4:22 am