June 12, 2007

What’s It Like For The JB National Tour To Play The Four Seasons?

June 12th, 2007

Jenelle Riley of Backstage.com has an in-depth Q & A with Erich Bergen, Michael Ingersoll, Christopher Kale Jones, and Deven Ma> She finds out how the four actors have banded together to play the Four Seasons in the national tour of Jersey Boys.

Headlining the tour is a quartet of actors ages 21 to 36, and though they weren’t alive at the height of the Four Seasons’ popularity, they manage to uncannily capture the essence of their real-life counterparts. As Valli, the little crooner with the big falsetto, Christopher Kale Jones eases flawlessly into the shoes of John Lloyd Young, who took home the best actor Tony in 2006 for playing the role on Broadway. The Broadway production also won a Tony for Christian Hoff as Tommy DeVito, the man who brings the group together and then threatens to tear it apart with his gambling debts and temper. In the tour the role is brought to life by Deven May, a charismatic actor who won an Ovation Award for originating the title role in Bat Boy: The Musical before taking that show to New York, earning Drama Desk and Lortel nominations, and London. Michael Ingersoll, who has also played Bat Boy in his lengthy stage career, is heartbreaking as the often-overlooked Nick Massi. And 21-year-old Erich Bergen endures his share of good-natured ribbing from his castmates offstage but shines onstage as songwriter Bob Gaudio.

Jersey Boys marks the first national tour for the four lead actors — though they’re quick to point out that with long stays in each city and advance word of mouth already filling houses, it’s not a typical tour. As May puts it, “This show brings the Four Seasons to a whole new generation. From 7 to 75, people are coming in and loving the show. And I couldn’t be happier for everyone.”

Check out this preview from Backstage.com:

Back Stage: How did you research your characters?

May: We actually had a few days of dramaturgy at the beginning of our rehearsal process. Three to four days of table work, just going through the time period and understanding how percentage rates have changed since the ’60s to now. The $150,000 that Tommy owes in 1964 would be, like, a million dollars. We listened to ironworkers to get the dialect and found out really what the popular drink was at the time and all the things that were in fashion at the time. We even read through the history, crimes that took place at the time. I actually had the good fortune to read Tommy DeVito’s unpublished autobiography. Hopefully, it will come out sometime soon. For me, that was a really great educational tool, to get to know who Tommy was.

Bergen: We’re in such a different age as far as what materials are available to us that we were able to do things like go on YouTube and watch great old clips. In fact, Allison [Horsley], our dramaturg, gave us a list of websites to research these things. As far as researching the Four Seasons themselves, finding various clips and videos was very, very easy. It was fun to watch, because here are these four guys who were extremely uncomfortable in front of the camera, suddenly thrown into the spotlight on Ed Sullivan and American Bandstand.

Ingersoll: With Nicky, there’s not a lot out there, for a couple of reasons. First of all, when he was in the band and the limelight, they were going to great lengths to cover up most of his background. He was the oldest — I think he was 35 when “Sherry” hit — but the reason he was so old was because he’d spent years in prison. Between he and Tommy, collectively, they spent 18 years in prison. They were trying to mask this because that doesn’t sell to teenagers. So it’s hard to find records about what they did before the band because they squelched them.

Jones: When I was preparing to audition for the show, I did watch a lot of Sopranos. I did not grow up on the East Coast and was not familiar with the accent as much, so I thought it would be a good way to learn.

6 Comments »

  1. Thanks for posting this interview. It’s nice to hear their path to the the show. And since it mentions it at the end, Congrats has to go out to Chirs and his new fiancee on their engagement.

    Comment by Mike — June 12, 2007 @ 4:16 pm

  2. I love those guys. I’m glad their rapport comes across so well in the interview!

    They’re so (lovingly) mean to Erich Bergen. I love that, too. ;)

    Comment by Leanna — June 12, 2007 @ 4:21 pm

  3. Spending so much time in SF watching and meeting with the 1st tour before they left for New Haven, CT was very valuable. We all learned a lot from them, especially from the stage door meetings, public appearances and chats with their ensemble, swings and the lead actors.

    Deven, Erich, Michael and Chris are one group reliving the true spirit of the Four Seasons and sharing the lives, successes, loves and pitfalls that all big name musical groups experience with us. Also, most of the audience don’t really remember that Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons had a hand in overpowering most of the “British Invasion”!

    The 1st cast in LA are perfect for each other and their chemistry on and off the stage is just unreal! How often do you see a major Broadway cast getting along with each other so well? I’m glad that LA is embracing and loving them as much as SF did, and possibly even more because the entertainment market is larger there!

    Comment by Mike B. Magbaleta — June 12, 2007 @ 6:02 pm

  4. Wow, what a great interview! These guys were so candid in it. I only wish I could’ve watched it instead of just reading it. They’re funny guys and share an adorable love of each other.

    Comment by Lauren — June 13, 2007 @ 12:18 pm

  5. What a great interview. The story or people coming together is fascinating. That’s also the reason why the first act of Jersey Boys is so great.

    Erick is right when he says that the Four Seasons looked stiff in front of the camera. They really never came across that well on TV, except for certain performances on the Mike Douglas show (and one Murray The K Special) which is one of the few shows where Frankie, and occasionally Bob, Tommy, and Joe would chat with Mike Douglas. But in concert it was an entirely different story. With the exception of Bob, just as he is depicted in the play, Frankie, Tommy, Joe, and Nick were natural born entertainers. They loved singing, playing, and joking around on stage together before a live crowd and weren’t stiff at all (except for dancing where they all qualified as stiffs but thankfully there wasn’t much of that).

    Comment by David Cace — June 14, 2007 @ 7:23 am

  6. The most salient feature in this illuminating interview is the humility & gracious humanity of the performers. That amazingly talented artists –such as the caliber of Deven or Erich — share their struggles to find employment and the eventual triumphs in the pursuit of their profession, heightens & mirrors the drama/ thrill of the production. Just as the audience cheers for success of the Four Seasons, I can’t help but feel teary-eyed & excited for these actors as each wonderful review mounts. May these deeply deserving actors, & all of their castmates, continue to enjoy rewarding, creative opportunities long after the end of their roles in Jersey Boys! With appreciation for the gift of their artistry. Congratulations!

    Comment by Francine — June 20, 2007 @ 4:22 am

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