Sneak Peek of Eric Gutman’s Goodbye to Jersey Boys First National Tour!
April 27th, 2013
Eric Gutman & John Altieri
Back during the early years of the JERSEY BOYS first national tour, it was marvelous to get a glimpse into life on the road with cast member Eric Gutman’s “Tour This” blog! The rehearsals, the opening nights, going on for so many different roles (including Tommy DeVito & Bob Gaudio), and the reflections of a young actor following his dreams, were awesome!
As the JB first national tour closes tomorrow, Eric has posted a touching goodbye on his blog. Below is an except of this wonderful post:
Well…it’s been awhile. I don’t think I have blogged for well over three years, or longer, about my experience with Jersey Boys. After all, I haven’t performed with the show since January 2010 when I took my last bow back home at the Fisher Theatre in Detroit.I have no reason to write this blog entry, nor do I imagine anyone still “subscribes” to this blog – but I am writing this out for personal therapy more than anything else. If any of you are out there and happen upon it, so be it, and I hope you enjoy it.
I think though, once I publish it, it will be the last you hear from me about Jersey Boys. That being said:
The first national tour of Jersey Boys closes tomorrow, April 28, in San Francisco, the city that started it all for that very same tour. No one from the original cast is still in the show (save for a few amazing tech folk and musicians) and yet, I feel like all of us from the original cast are still on that stage at the Curran Theatre with the current cast for the closing.
For me, Jersey Boys was a blessing. A life-altering show that made me grow as a performer and individual. That show saw me get married and give birth to one of my two amazing daughters. That show saw me travel across the West Coast for a year until I was lucky enough to be transferred to the Broadway company. That show welcomed me back with open arms to the Chicago cast (in an entirely different track) and then, coincidently, back to the tour that started everything for me to finish my incredible run back home.
And I will be honest. It was very hard to leave the show. I still fantasize about getting a call that a company is in desperate need for a Hank or a Norm or whoever, and who better to jump in than Gutman? I have had countless “actor’s nightmare” dreams for over three years that I have been pushed back into the show without rehearsal time.
But perhaps, with the first national company closing, I can move on as well.
Click HERE to read the rest of Eric’s goodbye.
