Newsflash: Christian Hoff to Star in Pal Joey Revival!
June 19th, 2008
This Just In!
Playbill.com reports that Christian Hoff, the Tony Award winner for playing the charismatic and tough Tommy DeVito in Jersey Boys, will be Pal Joey for Roundabout Theatre Company this fall. He’ll bewitch and bother Oscar nominee Stockard Channing as cougar Vera Simpson in the revised version of the groundbreaking 1940 Rodgers and Hart musical.
Tony Award nominee Martha Plimpton (Top Girls) will play Gladys Bumps, a role that has been reinvented in a new script revision by Tony Award winner Richard Greenberg (Take Me Out, Three Days of Rain). Richard Rodgers wrote the music; Lorenz Hart wrote the lyrics. John O’Hara penned the original libretto, based on his short stories that ran in the New Yorker.
Performances under the direction of two-time Tony Award winner Joe Mantello (Assassins, Take Me Out) begin Nov. 14 toward a Dec. 11 opening at Studio 54.
Congratulations to Christian on his big news!
I’ve certainly been waiting for this announcement – glad it’s been made official. Congrats to Christian – JB’s loss will certainly be PJ’s gain. Fantastic news!!!
Comment by Catherine — June 19, 2008 @ 7:18 pm
Congratulations! You haven’t moved very far! Now Jersey Boys fans can just walk two blocks over from the August Wilson Theater to Studio 54 to see you perform in your new role. You have developed such a loyal fan base during your run in JB that we will all definitely be greeting you at the Studio 54 stage door like we have done during your stay in JB. Even though I will be sad to see you leave your Tommy DeVito role, I am looking forward to seeing you in this new production!
Comment by Beverley Micciche — June 19, 2008 @ 8:02 pm
Me too, Catherine. Congratulations Christian!! Can’t wait to see you perform.
Comment by Linda — June 19, 2008 @ 9:22 pm
Christian, I am so happy that an official announcement has finally been made!! Looking forward to seeing you in Pal Joey. We will miss so much in JB…nobody will ever play “Tommy” the way you do.
Comment by Charly O'Clarit — June 19, 2008 @ 10:08 pm
Congratulations! We are all very excited for you. This role will be a great excuse to make another trip to NY. Although I do need to see Tommy just one more time…when is your final performance?
Comment by Carolyn — June 19, 2008 @ 10:28 pm
Christian, I don’t even think you realize how large and devoted a fan base you’ve established, as Beverley has said so eloquently above. You give 110% in every performance; I’m a rookie compared to Beverley, having seen you only 20+ times, but never once have you ever “phoned it in”. You have the audience hooked from the minute you make the priceless face after uttering “ubiquitous”, and each performance itself would win a Tony.
Your graciousness at the stage door to everyone is in a class by itself. You are often the last to leave and you always look around to make sure no one leaves without his/her picture or autograph. Last month, my dentist and his wife were my guests at the show, and your picture with them is now framed in his waiting room!
You’ve given all of us so much enjoyment over the past three years, and while your talent will speak for itself in “Pal Joey”, the support from all your fans will serve to make it an even greater success! I’m getting my tux ready for the 2009 Tony Awards, and you should have your mantle ready and dusted since your 2006 Tony will soon be getting company!
Comment by Howard Tucker — June 19, 2008 @ 10:30 pm
congratulations Christian i saw him last night and he was amazing but when is he leaving becasue i wanted to take my parents to see the current broadway cast
Comment by imani — June 19, 2008 @ 11:51 pm
Fantastic! I can’t wait. Congratulations Christian.
Comment by L — June 20, 2008 @ 6:23 am
We are so thrilled for you, Christian. You are the consummate performer and gracious person who has always been so adoring and appreciative of your fans. You can be sure that all of us (cast of thousands) will be following you to your new venture. We are all very proud of you. You will be seeing us all before you leave Jersey Boys! All the best! IE
Comment by irene eizen — June 20, 2008 @ 9:42 am
Congratulations, Christian !! Jersey Boys loss will be Pal Joey’s gain. You will continue to shine in any role you play, but will always be my #1 Tommy Devito! Your amazing talent is matched only by your class, kindness, and graciousness. Your many fans will continue to support and be proud of you whatever you do. Looking forward to seeing you in September, if not before.
X, Pam
Comment by Pamela — June 20, 2008 @ 9:47 am
I am very happy for you Christian but sad for me. I am finally getting to see “Jersey Boys” on Broadway for my Birthday in December. I will miss seeing you as Tommy. Thank goodness for all the videos out here on the net. You will be a terrific Joey and I hope to see you in that or in one of your future endeavors. Loved you on L&O – hope you do more TV.
All the best to you and your family. Love, Glady
Comment by Gladys — June 21, 2008 @ 4:18 am
Hi Christian!
Congratulations on your new venture!
You mentioned that true success is about giving everything you’ve got along the way, not just about winning the prize. It’s also known as “character”.
Your favorite Tommy line in the show: “Everybody remembers it how they need to…right?” Well that is how I will remember it…you as the awesome & outstanding “Tommy DeVito” in the OBC.
Now you know your JB Fans are already cooking up stuff to rock the August Wilson on your last nite…you better keep us posted on dates…we have a lot of out-of-towners in this great group!
NJL
Comment by NewJerseyLasagna — June 21, 2008 @ 4:52 pm
Christian,
We are so happy to hear this great news!
Congratulations on “Pal Joey”! I think its a perfect match and you will be great.
See you soon at the Theatre!
God Bless You,
Damaris & Joe Dugan
Comment by Damaris Dugan — June 22, 2008 @ 6:42 pm
Congrats! But does anyone know who the new Tommy will be?
Comment by sallly — June 22, 2008 @ 9:14 pm
Jersey Boys will not be the same without you. You are THE Tommy Devito. But more than Tommy you are the most perfect person in the whole world to play Pal Joey. That role is made for you and we all know what a stand up job you will do. I miss seeing you and wish you all the success you deserve. Much love
Comment by gail drouillard — June 23, 2008 @ 5:44 pm
Not sure if I’m more excited about seeing you star in a new role, which admittedly is great news; or sad that your incomparable portrayal of the often complex and always colorful, Tommy DeVito will wrap up at the end of September. Of course I will be there on the 28th to study, one more time, those trademark facial expressions that magically reach out and touch all of us in the audience.
I wish you the very best on this new, creative stage. As one of my very favorite actors says- See you at the theater…Christian!
Comment by Audrey — June 23, 2008 @ 8:20 pm
I have enjoyed your Tony-Award winning performance as Tommy DeVito, in Jersey Boys, on five occasions. And from the first time I saw the show, back on December 3, 2005, until my most recent visit, just last month, you seem to have incorporated slight variations on some of your gestures and intonations, while adding some nuances that have kept your performances so fresh and vital over these past two and a half years. My wife has been asking me to take her again to see the show (she accompanied me the first two times), and I will be sure to arrange that prior to your leaving the cast.
It has been the great pleasure of JB’s audiences to have you in the original cast for all this time and I, for one, am sorry to see you depart. But, I also realized that this day was inevitable, and I am truly happy to hear you will be moving on to such a wonderful property such as Pal Joey.
You have been so gracious at the stage door and I look forward to catching you there one last time at the August Wilson Theatre. My wife and I will also look forward to seeing you at Studio 54. Congratulations and best of luck, you certainly deserve it!!!
Comment by Len Gersten — June 23, 2008 @ 10:01 pm
Congratulations, Christian on your starring role in Pal Joey!!
We saw you for the first time as Tommy this very afternoon, September 6th and WOW!!!! Let’s just say you left an indelible impression!!!!!!! I can’t imagine anyone else in the role and we’re so thrilled and grateful that we got to experience your AMAZING performance before you left the show!!
Best of luck and all good wishes to you in what I know will be an awesome career!! We’ll be following closely and will definitely be in NYC to see Pal Joey!!!
Comment by Paula Eshelman — September 6, 2008 @ 10:49 pm
I SAW PAL JOEY LAST SUNDAY. IT WAS WONDERFUL. I THINK CHRISTIAN HOFF IS THE MOST TALENTED ACTORS OUT THERE. I CALL HIM MR. BROADWAY. SAW HIM IN JERSEY BOYS THREE TIMES. MOST INCREDIBLE.
I HATE THAT PAL JOEY IS ONLY PLAYING FOR A SHORT TIME.
I WENT IN BY LIMO FROM CT LAST SUNDAY AFTER BEING IN AN AUTO ACCIDENT IN THE EARLY MORNING……WOULD NOT MISS THE SHOW.
BRING ON MORE CHRISTIAN HOFF.
WILL PLAN TO SEE PAL JOEY AGAIN AND WHATEVER ELSE CHRISTIAN STARS IN.
HE’S THE BEST
Comment by JACKY RITTLINGER — November 23, 2008 @ 12:13 pm