November 26, 2007

Costa Mesa Can’t Take Their Eyes Off Jersey Boys!

November 26th, 2007

By Lauren Avila, Jersey Boys Blog Special Correspondent

Since opening on November 13th, Costa Mesa has welcomed and admired Jersey Boys! The “Sherry” cast gave a marvelous performance the night after Thanksgiving to a packed house. Segerstrom Hall in the Orange County Performing Artscenter seats approximately 3,000 patrons. Therefore, any praise for this show and its cast would surely be heard in enormous volume. This is an understatement! Audience members showed their appreciation with plenty of applause, laughter, and cheering. Among the moments that got this was the Variety Trio’s doo-wop entrance. Opening the show was the comical Deven May as Tommy DeVito. May captured the crowd with his humor and wit resulting in contagious entertainment. Eric Gutman amused everyone with his Hank Majewski. Unlike the onstage audience, “I Go Ape” received laughter and a round of applause.

Erich Bergen played a calm and relaxed Bob Gaudio with innately talented vocals. Plus, he stirred the viewers unending chuckles and incessant ovations. John Altieri also won over audience approval as Bob Crewe especially with the build-up to “Walk Like A Man.” Steve Gouveia captivated spectators as Nick Massi. He was a hit with his Gyp’s basement rant and his final monologue. Christopher Kale Jones enthralled the people as Frankie Valli. “Sherry” and “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You” were amid the crowd’s favorite numbers. Other standout performers were Holly Ann Butler as Lorraine; Jamie Karen as Mary; and Courter Simmons as Joey. The whole cast was wonderful overall.

As a part of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS fund-raising, the “Four Seasons” campaigned for donations and cast members collected in the lobby. Christopher Kale Jones gave backstage tours to patrons as a part of this worthy cause. According to a cast member, the “Sherry” cast is doing very well in their efforts to raise money. In fact, they’re apparently coming close to beating their previous record.

Eric Gutman celebrated his birthday that night. Happy Birthday, Eric! I had the pleasure of talking with the lovely Holly Ann Butler who is pleased to be a part of the company. Christopher Kale Jones seems as happy as ever! Joined by his wonderful wife, Jenna, at the stage door, he says he’s enjoying the tour. Erich Bergen and Steve Gouveia both seem equally joyous. They’re all doing well. Best of luck to them for the rest of their voyage.

Thank you to the National Tour for their time and graciousness. Thanks, of course to Jersey Boys Blog for another great opportunity.

6 Comments »

  1. Lauren, that was a good article. It gives us “East Coasters” a chance to get to know the west coast tours a little better! It was also nice to meet you in New York at the benefit and visit afterwards at the lounge in the Marriott:)

    Comment by Lulu Thompson — November 27, 2007 @ 5:49 pm

  2. Great article! I’m going down to Costa Mesa this week to catch a show, but since I’m coming from Los Angeles, I expect there’ll be a lot of traffic. I don’t think I’ll have a lot of time to search for the stage door before the show (which is what I did at the Ahmanson Theatre), so I was wondering if you could tell me where the stage door is? I’d really appreciate it! Thanks!

    Comment by Wendy — November 28, 2007 @ 3:24 am

  3. Thanks Lulu! It was a pleasure to meet you as well.

    Thank you Wendy. It’s sort of an odd stage door. In between Segerstrom Hall and the Concert Hall is a courtyard, walk through this along the Segerstrom building (to the left). You’ll be walking down a main street until you find a ramp leading up (w/ stairs coming from the other side.) At the top landing there’s a glass wall w/ a glass door that says “Stage Door.” Congrats, you’ve successfully found the stage door. There might be an easier way to get there but that’s the way I did it. Good luck! Please say hi to them for me.

    Comment by Lauren — November 28, 2007 @ 12:26 pm

  4. Hey Wendy —

    Word of advice if you are driving to Costa Mesa – go eeeeeearrrrlllly!

    I left Santa Monica at 5:20 last night, and ended up getting to the theater at 7:40. Ugh!

    Have a great time at the show!

    Comment by Carla — November 28, 2007 @ 4:01 pm

  5. Thank you very much, Lauren and Carla! I’m leaving from UCLA, so I’ll go extra early.

    Comment by Wendy — November 28, 2007 @ 4:56 pm

  6. Thanks again, Lauren and Carla! I went to the stage door before and after the show and it was a lot of fun. =)

    Comment by Wendy — November 30, 2007 @ 10:58 pm

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