New cast!
I got to the rush line at about 3:15 and was third in line, so obviously had amazing seats. We saw a bunch of the old cast and new cast milling around and heard the last half of the run-through that they were doing inside. When the big board of names went up a bunch of the actors came out and proudly took pictures of it with their camera phones to send to their mothers. Adorable!
As I said, Eric Gutman was selling merch with his wife before the show. Erich & Jackie were also there - Erich looking incredibly dapper with blue suit & red tie.
I loved the show. I was so afraid that my love for Jersey Boys extended only to the Sherry cast, but last night proved that theory so incredibly wrong. I'll just go through part by part
Jeremy Kushnier is an amazing Tommy. He definitely plays it more like Deven than Christian Hoff, very over-the-top and theatrical. But his characterization is different enough from Deven's to make it a whole new experience - he lowers his speaking voice and makes it very raspy and it works so perfectly for the character. His singing voice is beautiful, too. (I think I laughed for a week at "Did some time in old Ohio!")
Jarrod I'd seen before, but wasn't too impressed by. He's improved IMMENSELY, and he has by far the best singing voice of the three Frankie's I've seen. It's just heavenly, I melted every time he opened his mouth. That is, once we got to "In the Mood for Love." Before that he's very nasal in an attempt to make him seem younger, and I think it's possibly the worst choice in the world. His acting is great, and while I don't feel he quite has the stage presence that Chris did, watching his face it seemed like he was reacting to everything as if it was the first time it happened to him. It was amazing. And he's justing stunning in the last half hour. The way he looks at the white box before "Fallen Angel" just broke my heart.
Drew. I've always had a soft spot for whoever plays Bob Gaudio, but I never thought anyone could be as good as (or better than, at parts) Erich. He's FANTASTIC. Like Jeremy, his characterization is very much the same as the Sherry cast's, but he made the role his own with so many little touches. He has an absolutely beautiful singing voice, and I don't think I've ever laughed so hard during "Oh What a Night" - his face when he says "I have to be romanced a little before I take my clothes off" was priceless. The revelation of the show. Also, the nicest person I've ever met.
Steve was the only one of the four I wasn't completely enamored with by the end of the show. I'd never seen the show without Michael Ingersoll before, and it was such a shock to have the Nick Massi be so... normal? It was so different from Michael's performance and didn't really click with me. He's fine, and looks to be having tons of fun in the big numbers, but when he's called upon to stand out it's just weird to watch. The audience liked hum, though, so who am I to say?
They've changed a few of the tracks slightly. For example, the guy who's in Eric Gutman's track is now playing guitar where Miles was in "Working My Way Back to You" and... that other song. Can't remember. That guy, by the way, is HILARIOUS as Crewe's assistant. So much so that I watched him in the background all through "Dawn."
Craig Laurie's Bob Crewe is very much like John Altieri's, and still hilarious. He has the role down. (He too, is the nicest person I've ever met.)
The rest of the supporting cast will take some getting used to, but I'm more than willing to try. And the females were really good in their thankless roles. The Mary Delgado has perfect comic timic but (I hate to say this) from the front row she kind of looks like Frankie's mother. But she's hilarious, so I didn't care too much.
It was so much fun, and I was so proud of them when they got to the curtain call. They looked so happy, and I saw them tearing up after the reaction to multiple songs. They deserve to do so well! I'm sad attendance has been dwindling for the past month.
It was their first night and they rushed a bunch of lines (and Jeremy screwed up a few). But if they bring the same energy and freshness to every performance, I'll hardly miss the Sherry Cast at all. Ok, that's not true. But they're more than worthy replacements.
And this cast will be STELLAR when Michael comes back mid-July. :)
broadwayunderstudies.com - most underrated performers on broadway
Updated On: 5/5/07 at 10:42 AM
It was a joy. Perhaps to be repeated for the Vegas cast...
