Jersey Boys Blog

Joel Markowitz of DC Theatre Scene has a fabulous in-depth Q&A with Joseph Leo Bwarie and Matt Bailey, who play legends Frankie Valli and Tommy DeVito in the national tour Jersey Boys now at The National Theatre in Washington, DC. The actors talk about their roles, their training and careers, their JB auditions, and more. Here’s a preview:

Joel: Tell us about yourselves

Joseph: I am not from Jersey. I am a native Californian. In fact, the four actors playing the Seasons in the touring company are all west-coasters. Matt, Steve, and I all hail from California and Josh is a Colorado native. And as far as vocal training and theatre experience, I have had my fair share, and have enjoyed every step of the way.

Matt: Born and raised in Palo Alto, California, I didn’t really get into “formal” stage performance until I got to college (at the University of Arizona). I always loved to sing, and have always had a passion for music, but it wasn’t until I was about 19 or 20 that those things took on a life of their own. I started to take voice training from the opera department, and began performing in a comedy and improv group, which I think is responsible for immediately ridding me of stage fright. Something about having to be on your toes at all times during short sketches and improv games really whips you right up into focus. From there, I entered the Acting and Musical Theatre program (I wanted to do both), and the rest you could say is history. I’ve been working out of New York for almost 6 years now, and I’ve had the pleasure of performing all over in the country in plays and musicals. You wouldn’t know unless I told you that not only are my ears different (though I’m no Stephen Colbert) but my feet are a size and a half different as well. My mom would just say I was “one of a kind”….ha.

Joel: What is Jersey Boys about from the point of view of your characters?

Joseph: Frankie’s point of view is just that – his recollection of the accounts that define his life has a performer and a person. Each original member (Tommy, Nick, Bob, and Frankie) takes a turn at telling their side of the story – their version. So, it is all fact, but the facts are chosen by who is speaking.

Matt: Jersey Boys is Tommy’s way of not only telling the mostly unknown tale of the Four Seasons and their history, but also setting the record straight from any tall tales people might have heard about him or any of the guys. Tommy is concerned with the band getting credit for what they deserved. They worked so hard for so many years, and got lost a little bit in the shuffle of popular music because of the Beatles, and a lot of what was going on in the 60’s. They weren’t as glamorous or decorated as many of the bands of that time (in fact have still only won few awards to this day), but finally were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, a no-brainer if you look at their discography and hit list. Tommy is concerned with getting that respect in the end; that they were ultimately one of the greatest bands of their day, even if they weren’t able to flaunt it at the time.

Joel: How much of Matt and Joseph are in the way you play Tommy and Frankie?

Joseph: Joe is in every role I have ever played – some aspect of me. I think it is inevitable. Are Frankie and Joe alike? When it comes to the die-hard passion for music, and singing the song in the most honest, emotional way – yes. So, the struggle that Frankie the performer goes through is something that Joseph Leo the performer goes through.

Matt: It’s impossible to play a role outside yourself, I can only bring to the role what is inside me. However, that’s not to say that Tommy DeVito and I have ANYTHING in common other than playing the guitar Every Tommy in every company of Jersey Boys will be different, because the traits I instill into him are mine – MY sense of humor, the way the music feels in MY body, the way that MY Tommy swaggers when he walks, etc. Every actor will bring out those things in Tommy differently.

We are all blessed to have such wonderful text to work with (thanks to Rick Elice and Marshall Brickman), and a lot of the character of who Tommy is in the show is right there on the page, before I even open my mouth. We all have a distinct voice in the show. Tommy is a leader, and he’s never afraid to put himself in the middle of everything and make his opinion known. He wants to be in control of his own fate, which often times comes out as him being mean or manipulative.

I can’t say I have as short of a fuse as Tommy does, but I think I can relate to the controlling part of him because – in the business of acting (and ultimately the business side is a larger chunk than we’d like to admit) – we want to be in control of our careers and where they are going. Because entertainment is not an industry where you get things by sitting on your hands, you have to be a go-getter and have the drive and will to keep going to succeed. So in that respect, I know EXACTLY how Tommy must have felt as he struggled to get gigs early on in his career and playing empty bars for no money. Everyone has to start somewhere!

Visit DCTheatreScene.com to read the entire interview with Joseph & Matt!