Drew Gehling: From Greensboro to Jersey!
August 9th, 2007Leslie Mizell from GoTriad.com has a fascinating story about Drew Gehling, who’s playing Bob Gaudio in the SF/Chicago Company. of Jersey Boys.
Drew Gehling, who began his acting career as a workhouse orphan in a Greensboro College production of “Oliver!” has now been playing to packed houses all summer in San Francisco. The theater hooked Gehling in third grade, when he performed several shows with the Greensboro Children’s Theatre and Livestock Players Youth Theatre. After graduating from Ragsdale High School in 2001, he studied theater at Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Mellon University, and except for a brief time when he considered a career in science, he has been a dedicated acting student ever since.
“When you’re entering a profession where your work is entirely based on performance, education can get thrown out the door,” he said. “But it took a summer of working at the Utah Shakespearean Festival to show me that an education in theater set me apart as an individual and as an actor.”
Luckily, the casting directors for Jersey Boys recognized that in Gehling. His audition for Jersey Boys turned into a marathon. He was called back five or six times, each time for greater numbers of people, including the writers of the hit song “Oh, What a Night.”
“It was pretty nerve-wracking to sing one of the most popular pop songs in history to the guys who wrote it,” he remembers.
Read the entire article at GoTriad.com.
It’s really nice to read something on DREW! he’s an amazing talent and deserves a lot of credit. I really enjoyed the article. Thanks!
Comment by Lauren — August 10, 2007 @ 3:31 am
They sure cast a great actor in Drew to play Bob Gaudio. At first, maybe the spotlight of being a principal cast member did not hit him, but now, after seeing him perform five times, he’s really fitting into the role and his voice is projecting more and more, as he already is a seasoned actor.
His rendition of “Cry for Me” always brings the goosebumps always coming….. Congratulations to Drew and hope for his continued success! He’s always been nice and cordial to our family whenever we see him and his personality just brightens up the stage every show!
Comment by Mike B. Magbaleta — August 10, 2007 @ 6:07 pm
I agree Mike. He improves more & more everytime I have seen him (6 times) and continues to give his all at each performance. His “Cry For Me” is excellent. Great voice and acting.
Comment by LindaL — August 10, 2007 @ 10:16 pm
Back in Greensboro, Livestock performed Oliver! My 10 year old was in the cast and it was so great to share with him the article about someone from the area who has become successful in theatre.
Comment by Laurie — January 21, 2008 @ 10:15 pm