Jersey Boys Blog

John Fleming, St. Petersburg Times Performing Arts Critic, recently had a few words with Jersey Boys’ Director Des McAnuff from London, where he is preparing the West End production of JB, which opens March 18. Here’s a preview of what McAnuff had to say: Fleming: It’s unusual in how popular Jersey Boys is with men. [...]

Photos 1-10 courtesy of Walter McBride at BroadwayWorld.com; photos 11-18 courtesy of Walter McBride at BroadwayWorld.com. The Farnsworth Invention, a play directed by Jersey Boys’ Des McAnuff, opened at the Music Box Theatre on Monday, December 3rd! We saw it in previews back on October 20 and give it two thumbs up! The story, stars [...]

Paul Hogins of the Orange County Register has an in-depth story about the success of Jersey Boys that includes interviews with Frankie Valli, Bob Gaudio, Des McAnuff, and Erich Bergen. Valli had only one request about the show, which aimed to tell the story of the rise and fall of his legendary pop group, The [...]

The Chicago Sun-Times Entertainment section has an amazing array of features today on Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons and Jersey Boys–the Tony Award-winning musical that will have its official opening at the LaSalle Bank Theatre next Sunday. Chicago Sun-Times Sunday Show Editor Miriam Di Nunzio’s interviews with Frankie Valli, Bob Gaudio, Rick Elice, and [...]

Theater critic Chris Jones has an in-depth feature on Frankie Valli in today’s Chicago Tribune. Jones talks to Valli, in addition to Bob Gaudio, about the creation and phenomenal success of Jersey Boys and their career’s ups and downs over the last 50 years. Jones has also included interesting insights from Des McAnuff and Rick [...]

Theatermania.com reports that Des McAnuff will direct the Broadway production The Farnsworth Invention. Hank Azaria and Jimmi Simpson will star in Aaron Sorkin’s play that will begin previews at the Music Box Theatre on October 15, with an official opening on November 14. Additional casting will be announced at a later date. The play centers [...]

Wow! It’s a big day for birthdays in the Jersey Boys family! Along with Tommy DeVito, Des McAnuff is celebrating his 55th birthday today! In addition to directing the 2006 Best Musical Tony Award winner, Jersey Boys, Des has won Tonys for directing Broadway musicals Big River and The Who’s Tommy. He has also produced [...]

Paul Hodgins of The Orange County Register spoke to director Des McAnuff and pop icon Frankie Valli about why Jersey Boys is a hit. This blockbuster is a straightforward bio-play about Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, and written by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice with the blessing of Valli and the group’s songwriting genius, [...]

According to NCTimes.com staff writer Pam Kragen, San Diego Opera’s production of Wozzeck is a first in many ways. Along with this production being the first time Alban Berg’s dark expressionistic opera has been staged in San Diego, it’s the first time two-time Tony-winning director Des McAnuff has staged an opera. To bring Wozzeck to [...]

Pam Kragen of NCTimes.com reports that as of Sunday, April 15, La Jolla Playhouse Director Des McAnuff leaves the institution he has run for nearly 20 years to return to his childhood home of Canada. McAnuff, 54, will serve as one of three artistic directors for the Stratford Festival of Canada, North America’s largest classical [...]

Toronto Star Theatre Critic Richard Ouzounian reports that the biggest hit on Broadway is coming to Toronto – the only questions are where and when. The Star has learned that Aubrey Dan and his Dancap Productions have snared the rights to Jersey Boys, the 2006 Tony Award winner for Best Musical. The show’s director, Scarborough [...]

In Forbes’ “The Tastemakers” series, reporter Joshua Lipton focuses on the performing arts. Lipton notes that there is a special magic and immediacy of live performance that continues to draws theatergoers to the hushed houses on Broadway. In fact, the Great White Way raked in $906 million in 2006, the most ever in the history [...]

In today’s San Francisco Chronicle, Jersey Boys director Des McAnuff and co-author Marshall Brickman have written letters to the editor about their recent misunderstanding. An Excerpt from McAnuff: …Marshall and Rick went off and wrote a fabulous script while, simultaneously, my creative team designed and planned a production of which I am truly proud. While [...]

Looks like Jersey Boys director Des McAnuff and co-author Marshall Brickman may have had a bit of a misunderstanding recently. It began after a February 14 article in the San Francisco Chronicle about the three actresses who play the girls in the national tour of Jersey Boys. In the article, Director Des McAnuff explains why [...]

In a recent issue of the Los Angeles Times, Irene Lacher spoke to La Jolla Playhouse’s Artistic Director Des McAnuff, who will be taking his final bow on April 15 to become one of three Artistic Directors at Canada’s prestigious Stratford Festival. After two stints at the helm of La Jolla Playhouse — from 1983 [...]

On his blog, Christian Hoff provides photos and a story about the recent San Diego Theatre Critics Circle’s 2006 Craig Noel Awards, held January 29, 2007, at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego in La Jolla that honored Des McAnuff. McAnuff not only won an award for his direction of the musical The Wiz, [...]

BroadwayWorld.com and NCTimes.com report that La Jolla Playhouse Artistic Director Des McAnuff was the leading honoree Monday evening (January 29) at the San Diego Theatre Critics Circle’s annual presentation of the Craig Noel Awards for Theatrical Excellence. Along with winning an “Outstanding Musical” award for his direction of the musical The Wiz, McAnuff was given [...]

Christian Hoff reports on his blog that he’ll be away from Jersey Boys through Tuesday because he will be presenting director Des McAnuff with the first ever Des McAnuff Artistic Visionary Award in California. Each January, the Critics Circle hosts a lavish awards ceremony at which honors are handed out. The number of categories and [...]

Karen D’Souza of the Mercury News has a great interview piece with Jersey Boys’ director Des McAnuff and book writers Marshall Brickman and Rick Ellis. Jersey Boys, the 2006 Tony Award winner for Best Musical, kicks off its national tour Sunday at San Francisco’s Curran Theatre. The director and the writers talk about how the [...]