Plattsburgh Native JLY is Talk of the Town
June 13th, 2006The Press Republican’s Joe LoTemplio reports that Plattsburgh native John Lloyd Young followed up his Tony Award win Sunday night with a trip to the White House on Monday. Young was honored with Broadway’s highest award — the Tony for best lead actor in a musical — for his powerful performance as Frankie Valli in Jersey Boys, which was named best musical.
The Press Republican spoke to JLY’s stepmother Gail via cell phone Monday about JLY’s triumph.
Young graduated from Plattsburgh High School in 1993. In his senior year, he portrayed Jack in the play “Brighton Beach Memoirs.” PHS Drama Club Adviser Joy Demarse, who teaches English at the school, remembers Young as an impressive young man who told her that he wanted to pursue a career in acting some day.
In early May, Demarse took this year’s PHS Drama Club to New York to see Jersey Boys. Young took extra time after the show to meet with the students, then signed autographs and posed for pictures.
Plattsburgh Mayor Daniel Stewart honored Young with the key to the city after the Tony Award nominations were announced.
JLY’s stepmother is quite impressed with her son’s abilities, noting how demanding the role of Frankie Valli is, and how you would have to build up a lot of stamina to continually perform such a role.
But the rewards for the former PHS prom king have been worth the efforts. His mom noted,
“He was prom king in high school and now he’s King of New York.”
