May 24, 2009

Jersey Boys National Tour Heads to Atlanta!

May 24th, 2009

Jersey Boys LogoSteven Bryan of AJC.com states that JERSEY BOYS makes its local debut Wednesday at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta! During the run, the touring production will see its 1,000th performance.

Here’s a preview of the story that features interviews with Rick Elice, Joseph Leo Bwarie, Josh Franklin, and Des McAnuff.

“That’s three years of touring,” Rick Elice, the co-writer of “Jersey Boys,” said by telephone from New York.

In the cast coming to Atlanta, Joseph Bwarie plays Valli, a role he’s performed for more than 18 months. It’s demanding, featuring 27 songs during a single show, including the chart-topping hits “Walk Like a Man” and “Big Girls Don’t Cry.”

There’s more than the singing, though, Elice notes.

“We have to have a guy who looks believably Italian, who’s about 5-foot-6, who has no break between his chest voice and his falsetto,” said Elice, who wrote the show with Marshall Brickman. “[This musical needs] somebody who’s willing to swim for two hours every day so he can breathe and have breath control to deliver this vocal performance.”

Aspiring actors also spend time at what Elice affectionately calls “Camp Castelluccio” (Castelluccio is Valli’s real last name).

“At this ‘Frankie Camp,’ we bring in kids who have possibilities. … I don’t think we could just bring someone in who could just play this part because it’s so demanding,” Elice said. “You have to train for it, like an athlete for an event.”

Bwarie said Frankie Camp is the same for any guy going in for the role, and it’s scheduled before the final audition. “Some people assume that it happens after you get the job, [that] you get whisked away to the woods and roast marshmallows with other Italian-looking guys,” he said.

“They give you the singing, acting and dancing technique and sort of the style of the era and of the real man himself.”

2 Comments »

  1. Welcome to Atlanta! We look forward to seeing all of you on opening night.

    Comment by Carolyn — May 24, 2009 @ 10:19 pm

  2. Woo Hoo…this means my visit to Atlanta, just for Jersey Boys, is near.

    Comment by Gladys — May 25, 2009 @ 6:45 am

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