November 8, 2007

Jersey Boys Comes to Costa Mesa Next Week!

November 8th, 2007

Jersey Boys national tour comes to Costa Mesa’s Segerstrom Hall, Orange County Performing Artscenter November 13-December 1. Sue Thoensen of the Daily Pilot has a marvelous story about The Four Seasons and the actors who play the legends on stage in Jersey Boys.

The Four Seasons — Frankie Valli, Tommy DeVito, Bob Gaudio and Nick Massi — were working-class guys from the Newark suburb of Bellevue, struggling to survive in a neighborhood where drugs, crime, mob influence and poverty were a way of life. In the book, “Jersey Boys — The Story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons,” author and theater critic David Cote said music was a way out for kids with talent.

Actor Deven May plays Tommy DeVito in the national tour of Jersey Boys opening Tuesday at the Orange County Performing Artscenter. He believes the show strikes a chord with audiences weary of what seems a cultural tendency to build up and then tear down beloved celebrities.

“Back then, we loved heroes,” May said over the phone from San Diego, where the show is currently being staged. “We liked to watch people rise up from common [circumstance] to stardom.”

Christopher Kale Jones, the actor playing Frankie Valli, said songs in the first act — the group’s big hits performed back to back — created a response none of the performers were prepared for.

“After ‘Sherry,’ ‘Big Girls Don’t Cry’ and ‘Walk Like A Man,’ the audience exploded, and we were all truly taken aback.”

Read the full story on DailyPilot.com.

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