March 31, 2010

On the Road with Jersey Boys National Tour’s Bob Crewe–Jonathan Hadley!

March 31st, 2010

Lawrence Toppman has posted a really interesting interview with Jonathan Hadley, JB national tour’s Bob Crewe, who is also a native of Charlotte! Along with talking about playing the flamboyant producer, Hadley discusses his amazing theatre career. Here’s a preview:

Well, let’s see. A guy in his 30s, about six feet tall, who is… er… flamboyant, as we used to say euphemistically in the 1960s. “Flamboyant” in the sense of Liberace, who was his musical contemporary. That would be Bob Crewe, producer of most of the Four Seasons’ hits and the fifth wheel on their train to riches and fame.

We’re also looking at an amiable actor who’s actually 46 and thrilled to find himself wearing tailor-made clothes in a role that wasn’t tailor-made for him but might have been. That would be Jonathan Hadley, who has come back to Charlotte for three weeks with the national “Jersey Boys” tour.

He’s used to playing characters who could walk into the theater at any moment in real life: He was Marvin Hamlisch in “A Class Act,” the musical about “A Chorus Line” lyricist Ed Kleban that was Hadley’s Broadway debut in 2001.

The real Crewe said after “Jersey Boys” opened that “the way they portray me… is totally not like me. I know it plays well as a kind of comic relief. I’ve been a bisexual man all my life, but I always had girlfriends and guys in my corner, so to speak.”

Says Hadley, “The character can’t be so outrageous that four blue-collar kids from New Jersey wouldn’t deal with him. They say in the script he’s got the best ears in the business, and he turns out to be a lyricist, a manager and a producer. So the rest is icing on the cake.

“These people aren’t saints, but you don’t want to make fools of them. That’s why (singers Bob) Gaudio and (Frankie) Valli are there for the casting; they want the whole picture to be satisfying. Gaudio is still very hands-on about making sure the Four Seasons sound is as intact as possible, so everyone sings backup backstage.”

Does Hadley have solos?

He laughs. “Not here. After being in the business so long, I’m happy to let the young kids sing all the high stuff!”

Visit CharlotteObserver.com for the full interview with Jonathan Hadley!

1 Comment »

  1. In April, 2009, I saw the touring cast in Fort Lauderdale, many miles from my New York home, and as I was leaving the theatre, heard a voice yell “Howard”. Lo and behold, it was Jonathan, who had recognized me from having seen him on Broadway during a Peter Gregus hiatus! Normally, it happens the other way around! Great to read about the background of this talented actor.

    Comment by Howard — April 2, 2010 @ 4:57 pm

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