November 17, 2007

Happy Birthday to Rick Elice!

November 17th, 2007

Rick Elice

The stars are in alignment on November 17th! Along with Bob Gaudio, Jersey Boys’ co-author Rick Elice celebrates his 52nd birthday today!

Rick Elice saw his first Broadway show at the age of three. From that day on, he dreamed of working in the theater. From the age of 19, he has. He has a BA from Cornell University and MFA from Yale Drama School. From 1982 through 2000, he served as creative director at Serino Coyne, where he produced ad campaigns for some 300 Broadway shows, from A Chorus Line to The Lion King. Since 2000, he has served as creative consultant for the Walt Disney Studios. In addition, to his Broadway production and promotion gigs, he wrote a popular thriller, Double Double, that’s been translated into 16 languages. As an actor, he has appeared Off-Broadway in Elaine May’s comedy, Adult Entertainment.

How did the Jersey Boys project happen? Elice and Marshall Brickman were looking to do something together. As luck would have it, friends had arranged a meeting with Frankie Valli and Bob Gaudio, the last two active members of the group and the ones who controlled the Four Seasons’ rights. Brickman says, “They wanted to do their ‘Mama Mia.’ We had a lunch with them and they opened up about their early life, about getting mobbed up, and it was just a wonderful story. It was Shakespearean. It had love, hate, betrayal, jealousy.”

Following the success of Jersey Boys, Rick Elice and co-writer Marshall Brickman are currently working on several projects, including musicalizations of “Father of the Bride” and “The Addams Family.”

Happy Birthday to Rick Elice!

8 Comments »

  1. Happy Birthday Mr. Elice!! Thank you so much for bringing us Jersey Boys, along with Mr. Brickman, we are all so thankful, as I’m sure you know. It was such a pleasure to meet you at the JB and fans benefit for BCEFA and again at Jennifer Naimo’s cabaret. Thank you again for bringing the story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons to life.

    Happy birthday and many, many more. Wanda Libardi

    Comment by Wanda — November 17, 2007 @ 7:42 am

  2. Rick, I can think of no one more deserving of striking gold with “Jersey Boys” than you. You are absolutely loved by the cast members, not only for your great book and witty sayings, but for the support you’ve given each of them along the way. I’ve seen you at every cabaret show I’ve attended, and nearly every evening I’ve been at the August Wilson. The times I’ve spoken with you, you’ve focused completely on me (once even spending several minutes chatting about famous Bette Davis lines), without the “darting eyes” to see who else might have entered the room.

    Reflecting on the genesis of “Jersey Boys” as detailed above, it was most thrilling to read your take on the events leading up to opening night on Broadway on pp. 64-66 of the Jersey Boys coffee table book. “…in the last week of previews–when the critics were attending–the response to the show kicked into another gear….people were standing in the middle of the act like in the Super Bowl… they were really going crazy…the alchemy was palpable.”

    Through it all, you’ve maintained your humility and grace. You have a lot to celebrate today, Rick. May you have many more successes in this new birthday year.

    Comment by Howard Tucker — November 17, 2007 @ 8:33 am

  3. Happy Birthday Rick! Your creativity and inspiration to create such a great “project” has been such a pleasure for me and all the fans. Thank you for that. Have a wonderul year ahead!

    Comment by Dina — November 17, 2007 @ 9:25 am

  4. Happy Birthday Mr. Elice! It was my sincere pleasure to meet you at the BC/EFA benefit! Thank you for your encouraging advice and for being so kind. Your hard work and dedication means a lot to me and many people. I’m excited about your future projects. Best wishes to you!

    Comment by Lauren — November 17, 2007 @ 2:27 pm

  5. Happy Birthday Mr. Elice, I have been to Jennifer’s Cabaret and The Event on Oct. 21st. Said hello but never really talked to you. Last week Howard almost got to introduce me, but you were busy..Just wanted to wish you a Happy B-Day, and many more..Hope I get to shake your hand someday..All the best..Jody Cardillo

    Comment by Jody Cardillo — November 17, 2007 @ 11:06 pm

  6. Dear Mr. Elice,

    I just wanted to wish you the happiest of birthdays. You and Mr. Brickman did right with your treatment of the story of Frankie Valli and The 4 Seasons. Congratulations on helping to create this marvelous piece of theatre. My wife and I have seen the Broadway production of “Jersey Boys” on three occasions. We also had the good fortune to see you perform a number of years ago in the Elaine May Off-Broadway production of “Adult Entertainment,” co-starring Danny Aiello.

    Continued success with your upcoming shows!

    Comment by Len Gersten — November 18, 2007 @ 3:03 am

  7. Dear Mr. Elice,

    I have been searching frantically for an address to contact you and came across this blog. First let me wish you “Happy Birthday” also. This blog may make your day even more special. I have a fabulous story to present to you. I know that you probably hear this all the time, but kid you not, you won’t walk away from this one. You can confirm this with Mr. Valli or Tomooch DeVito. They both know me and when you tell them about the title of this manuscript, they will confirm it’s a winner.

    Please contact me http://www.jerseygirlssing.com so that we can let you know the treasure that we have. It involves an Icon from the 60′s and could be the next Rock and Roll extravaganza.

    Sincerely,
    Bernadette Dente

    Comment by Bernadette Dente — November 18, 2007 @ 11:52 pm

  8. A bit delayed, but still sincere birthday wishes to you, Rick. We enjoyed hearing about some of the process involved in choosing the theater for Jersey Boys last evening. The August Wilson is located on 52nd Street… I think 52 is a good number for you!

    Have a great year and many more!

    Comment by Audrey — November 22, 2007 @ 10:35 pm

RSS feed for comments on this post. | TrackBack URI

Please leave a comment