Orchestrator Steve Orich Instrumental in Jersey Boys!
November 28th, 2009
Emily Cary of The Washington Examiner has a terrific interview with JERSEY BOYS orchestrator Steve Orich, who had moved from New York to California to focus on scoring films and television when music director Ron Melrose called to alert him about a little musical La Jolla Playhouse was mounting and suggested that he might be interested.
“Even though he warned me that it had a very small budget because the show would run only five weeks, I wanted to keep one finger in theater and decided to do it,” he says.
Not only did Orich become involved, but his efforts were rewarded when the “little musical” moved to Broadway and he received a Tony nomination for his orchestrations. “Jersey Boys,” the story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, took the street by storm, walking off with multiple Tony Awards, along with the 2006 Grammy Award for Best Musical.
Orich’s job for “Jersey Boys” was to orchestrate Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons’ music for today’s audiences.
“We didn’t use the original Four Seasons charts,” he said. “I listened to their recordings and decided to present the pops feel in a theater setting. The originals from the ’60s and ’70s were very slow, sparse and rough around the edges. The pit orchestras that used to be very large have shrunk for economic reasons, so we gave the songs body by using synthesizers and about 12 instrumentalists, some of them in the cast and on the stage.”
Visit WashingtonExaminer.com to read the whole interview with Steve Orich.
Moments ago, pbs channel 13 just featured The Four Seasons (noting that they began as the Four Lovers) as part of a special on Rock and Roll. I was able to listen to their original sound with an additional perspective, thanks to Steve’s description.
Five weeks??!! Thank goodness everyone involved had a ton more talent than predictive abilities. When the producers get around to offering a fan weekend, a seminar by Steve has to be included!
Comment by Audrey — November 29, 2009 @ 9:24 pm
The first real memory I have of Steve is his standing and clapping as Christian Hoff was beginning his Tony speech, long after most of the standing ovation had subsided. His happiness for Christian really shone through.
I had the pleasure of meeting Steve during the last week of previews in Los Angeles in May, 2007. Steve mentioned that he had produced Helen Reddy’s “Center Stage” album. I couldn’t admit it while I was in college back then, but can now, that Helen Reddy was arguably my favorite performer of the early 1970′s. I happened to give my business card to Steve expecting no further contact, and what is in my mailbox when I arrive home?….Helen Reddy’s “Center Stage”!
I am so, so happy for Steve O’s success!!
Comment by Howard Tucker — November 30, 2009 @ 2:31 pm