Casting Director Merri Sugarman Shares Secrets of Finding the Perfect ‘Jersey Boy’ (and Girl)!
February 3rd, 2012
JB First National Tour Four Seasons: Michael Lomenda, Joseph Leo Bwarie, Preston Truman Boyd, and John Gardiner (Photo Credit: Joan Marcus)
The JERSEY BOYS national tour production runs through Feb. 19 at Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall in Fort Myers and Chris Silk has a fabulous behind the scenes look at what it takes to find the perfect actors for the hit show with casting director Merri Sugarman! Ms. Sugarman shares some secrets and admits that JB is the most consistently challenging show that she has had to castl
When Merri Sugarman sits down to cast a “Jersey Boy,” she’s not just looking for a singer. She’s looking for a singer, an actor, a dancer and most of all – “guys who have a swagger in them.”
“The toughest part is finding actors who have the combination of singing, dancing and acting,” Sugarman, a casting director at Tara Rubin Casting in New York City, said. “You can’t fake it here.”
There’s also the Jersey Girls – the three female leads who play about 50 characters and make more than a dozen costume changes each during the show.
“They’re the unsung heroes of the show,” Sugarman said.
Even though there’s just three of them, the search can be – and is – just as difficult.
“We take a painstaking amount of time with our girls because they have to do so much,” Sugarman said.
Visit NaplesNews.com to read the entire interview.
