Jersey Boys Opens in Perth; Check Out PerthNow Interview with Jeff Madden & Producer Rodney Rigby!
April 17th, 2013
JERSEY BOYS is about to open at the Crown Theatre in Perth. Picture: Marie Nirme Source: PerthNow
The JERSEY BOYS Australia company opens at Crown Perth Theatre tomorrow night, playing through June 9. PerthNow has a terrific feature with JB Oz “Frankie Valli,” Jeff Madden and producer Rodney Rigby. Below is an excerpt:
Madden, who performed in the Toronto production for two years, said he loved the every minute of the show, particularly the audience energy, and jumped at the chance to perform in the Australian production.“That (the energy) is addictive I think – it hooked me,†he said.
He said playing Valli had been challenging in many different ways.
“You’ve got to portray this real person who lived a pretty extraordinary life (with) such incredible highs and such deep, deep lows,†he said.
“And also just to get a chance to sing such great songs in a night – it’s unlike any other role that I’ve ever had in that way.â€
Producer Rodney Rigby said plans to bring the production to Perth began just a few short months into the debut Melbourne season in 2009.
“We always wanted to conquer Australia, so to speak,†Rigby said.
Rigby said he had his sights set on bringing the Tony, Olivier and Helpmann Award-winning musical, which is now in its eighth year on Broadway, to Australia long before it was a hit.
“We believed the show would work in Australia because it was the right cultural fit,†he said.
Click HERE to read the entire piece.
