The Jersey Boys Tour Thread- Page 46

[mll85]

Posted: 7/8/07 at 3:22pm

Click the link for info.
See Jersey Boys with Jan Wahl!

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 7/8/07 at 3:23pm

I hope if I win that I can tolerate Jan Wahl long enough that it'll be worth it.

[antonijan]

Posted: 7/8/07 at 3:29pm

It's my 11th :P and I am trying to beat shemarshmallow's 13 but then...she might have seen the OBC several times by now.

...and to recap, the Bobs that I have seen already are:
Erich, Miles, Jake and Ryan

and the Frankies that I have seen so far are:
Chris Jones, Rick Faugno, Jarrod Spector, JMD and Steven Goldsmith

For the PA assistant:
Douglas, Taylor, Courter, John H., Steven Goldsmith, Ryan Quinn West

Waxman:
John Hickman, Wade McCollum, Eric Bates, Miles Aubrey...

Joey:
Rick, Courter, Steven, Taylor, John Copolla.

PS. John Hickman was Norm Waxman on last night's show.

Updated On: 7/8/07 at 03:29 PM

[jochang621]

Posted: 7/8/07 at 4:28pm

shesamarshmallow has seen it over 13 times (I think I was with her for her number 16 or so)

just a friendly reminder - sometimes it can offend people if you don't get your facts straight, such as a previous post about melissa strom and nate klau, so everyone should check before posting, or at least mention that you're not sure.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 7/8/07 at 4:30pm

In this case, I don't think the reminders need to be friendly.

[shesamarshmallow]

Posted: 7/8/07 at 10:27pm

Yep, I saw the 1NT 10 times, the Chicago cast 6 times (in two weeks) and have seen the OBC (but not John Lloyd Young OR Michael Longoria, hilariously) twice now. And I'm coming back early August for some Chicago+Michael Ingersoll goodness.
YOU CANNOT DEFEAT ME!!! :)

[antonijan]

Posted: 7/9/07 at 3:46am

Shemarsmallow...you are the Jersey Boys Queen!!!!! I can never defeat you since I don't have the courage to throw thongs on stage :P

just a friendly reminder - sometimes it can offend people if you don't get your facts straight, such as a previous post about melissa strom and nate klau, so everyone should check before posting, or at least mention that you're not sure.

Melissa got a good laugh at it and it was okay. She was not offended at all.



Updated On: 7/9/07 at 03:46 AM

[IAMmyownMUSICAL]

Posted: 7/9/07 at 3:55am

My friend Lauren has seen the show 46 times

NO JOKE!

[antonijan]

Posted: 7/9/07 at 4:02am

She's the Queen Mother then :)

[cvrenthead]

Posted: 7/9/07 at 5:22am

I went to both shows today to catch Ryan with different Frankies. These were #18 and #19, respectively. 10 1NT, 1 Broadway, 8 2NT. I believe my sister is at 20, and my cousin is at 21, those all in SF.

Jersey Boys
Friday, July 6, 2007, 8pm
Curran Theatre, SF

Steve Gouveia [Nick Massi], Jeremy Kushnier [Tommy DeVito], Jarrod Spector [Frankie Valli], Jake Speck [u/s Bob Gaudio – 2nd performance], Lyndsey Cole, Eddie Driscoll, Mike Erickson, Steven M. Goldsmith, Craig Laurie, Lauren Marshall, Wade McCollum, Rashad Naylor, Jenny Lee Ramos, Ryan Quinn West

I don’t know if it was the fact that I hadn’t seen the show in 15 days and had been looking forward to catching what was supposed to be Jake’s first performance as Gaudio all week in Arizona or what... but I thought that this was the best Chicago cast performance I had seen so far.

The opening sequence was great – Jeremy did some different things timing wise, and they were great choices. I enjoy when “We put Jersey on the map” gets isolated applause and he can stop and acknowledge specific people or areas of the audience.

Initially, I was a little worried that Jeremy might have a sore throat, and Jarrod seemed to holding back a little bit as well. Those thoughts were soon dismissed, however. Jarrod’s “discovery” moment in the church was splendid. Watching his eyes light up as he heard his voice in a big room for the “first time” was even more special than usual.

Kevin’s guitar noodlings during “My Mother’s Eyes” were absolutely beautiful – they were just a little different than usual, and just fit so perfectly in between the lines. Ryan’s “HEYYYY!” was the goofiest, longest and funniest I’ve ever seen. All of Steven’s Joey scenes have gotten off the charts in terms of energy and speed. I loved them before, but they were just so much funnier. And “I’m in the Mood for Love/Moody’s Mood for Love” were the best I’d ever heard them. Jarrod took more rubato in different places than usual, and it was heart-wrenchingly beautiful.

Jake is very tall and angular. Overall, I really enjoyed him. Right off the bat, it seemed like he wasn’t as “innocent” to begin with as Erich and Drew play it. He started with a smidge more confidence, which, eventually, did not allow for as much of an arch in terms of Gaudio’s development from “just a kid” to the man he becomes in the next two hours.

“Cry for Me” was good. I could tell Jake had a lot of country music influence, especially from the way he sometimes sang out of the side of his mouth. It was never a hindrance, mind you. I noticed that his diction while singing was somewhat inconsistent with the accent in his speaking voice, coming across more as received pronounciation – there were more final Rs and vowels were colored differently than in dialogue, etc. There were some pitch issues on top, but that’s to be expected from a bari-tenor covering a tenor role. Even though pitch was somewhat lacking, energy was all there. He totally owned this song, changing notes here and there, and adding fun little ornaments that were different Erich’s solid, concrete interpretation, and Drew’s rich, melting turns and figurations.

In the backup sessions, it seemed like Jake was trying to think about too many things. He’d be scrunching up his face trying to hit the high notes, looking at the prop music, cutting off the group, watching the monitor for cutoffs from the conductor – his eyes were kind of all over the place and he just needed to settle down.

“Sherry”, “Big Girls Don’t Cry”, and “Walk Like A Man” were absolutely amayzing. Jarrod seemed to click his energy up a few notches, and had some really great, aggressive, growly moments that worked surprisingly well in some places. It has been speculated that after watching Steven go on for Frankie last Sunday, Jarrod may have made a conscious choice to ramp up the energy – whatever happened, it made what was already great even better. In all of the “Gaudio says a few lines in the middle of this song” moments, the audience went wild. I guess seeing the show for the first time, you might think that the song was over. But that was how good the “Hat trick” sequence was – people applauded whenever possible, and Jake waited patiently to continue with his lines.

I particularly noticed Jake’s movements in the three big numbers. His legs are so thin, and he’s so angular overall, and anytime he moved, it was like he could be slicing vegetables with his hips. Or something. Nothing negative – it was just so sharp that it stood out more than on other Gaudios. By this time, he was really into it, and had a lot of great head motions – there were even a couple of lip-licking “Yeah, I’m rockin’ this” moments.

“Oh, What A Night” was very pleasant – not as much experimentation as in “Cry for Me”, but totally solid. He had lovely, melt-in-your-mouth slides and some well-place glottal stops. Jenny has taken to shaking her boobs and cackling hilariously after “around the world we go”. It’s great. Rashad continues to experiment with his glissando moment. I’m not sure if he’s really found something that works all the time.

“My Boyfriend’s Back” was a little rough. Jake’s timing was a little different than what the girls were used to, and affected their strut downstage to begin the song. Things just weren’t as settled as usual, but it was refreshing to see them trying new things. After the “Chinese twins” line, Lyndsey’s bewildered look as to why Jeremy was looking at her funny was absolutely priceless, as if to say “What’s wrong with what I said? It’s ‘Chinese twins’, right?” It was a bigger moment than usual, and got some good laughs.

Jenny was so visibly devastated and torn up after “Gimme a ****ing break”. Her jaw was shaking and you could see how much it hurt her to have had that argument. It made for a very emotional “My Eyes Adored You”.

Mike’s drum fill into the beginning of “Dawn” gets cooler every time I see it. I love little things like that. Jake left out “They were the ones who really got us.” At the time, I thought that maybe he misjudged the underscoring and jumped because he didn’t think he’d have enough time to finish and run upstage. But maybe he just good old-fashioned forgot. Not that it mattered at all.

Thankfully, I don’t think I have as much to say about Act 2. Jarrod sounded better on the high parts in “Big Man in Town” than times when you can tell he’s getting tired/saving a bit for later on. Jake seemed to be concentrating on Jarrod through most of “Beggin’ ”. I think that was the only time wasn’t really sure what his character’s intentions were. It wasn’t clear WHY Gaudio was staring at Frankie.

The whole Waxman negotiation scene was on fire. Steve has really improved since arriving in SF, and his “towels” tirade was so so so impassioned. When he was arguing with Jeremy, he just turned on the energy, and it was great. Jeremy totally played off it, too, and what is usually a very aggressive line turned into flat out yelling, “Well, I took care of it! ME!” It was VERY effective. Which of course, made it that much more chilling when Jarrod told him to sit down. It definitely rivaled CKJ in intensity, which is a laudable feat indeed.

Again with Steve being totally on, his explanation/exit speech was totally heart-wrenching when he was talking about his wife and kids. I think he finally found just the right delivery for his Nick. I was amused that the “pow” hand-motion in the second part of “Stay” made Jake look like he was dribbling a basketball – it was more vertical, as opposed to the smooth lateral motion that I realized I was used to seeing.

The Frankie/Lorraine scene was also particularly good. Jarrod’s acting and dramatic breadth has improved so much since his I saw him in January.

“Can’t Take My Eyes Off You” was exhilarating. Even that’s an understatement. I can’t even describe in words how much energy Jarrod pumped into this song tonight. I mean, it usually makes me beam and gets my heart racing, but there was just something extra-special about it this time. It was literally breathtaking at times how honestly and powerfully it was delivered.

Francine phone and aftermath = see above = Jarrod’s acting was superb.

In Gaudio’s exit speech, I chuckled because Jake is from Nashville. And he referred to his “new boats.” How many does he have? Two? Three? I kid. Applause after “handshake from 40 years ago” made for an awkward pause, trumped only by someone emphatically agreeing with the prospect of a “good cigar”. People laughed, then applauded, and Jake had to awkwardly cross to stage left during what should have been a small ellipses. He handled it very well. Steve’s exit speech has also improved in terms of range and delivery.

In summary, the cast was pretty much all on fire. Things were a little messy, but it was good to see that they were trying new things. There was a palpable energy in the air, and the packed house was a very responsive audience. Jake was a very pleasant Gaudio, one I would not at all mind watching full time if he was ever bumped up to that position somewhere. When I asked him how he felt about Friday vs. Thursday, he admitted that the second time around usually feels weird, and that’s when little mistakes start to happen. But congratulations on a lot of hard work and a job very well done.

Also, we talked to Jarrod's dad for a while at the stage door. He was really sweet and so supportive of his son - they come out about once a month to see him. It's really awesome that he likes to keep tabs on Jarrod. Shoutout to Daddy Spector!

If you’ve made it to the end, congratulations. This is the theatrical review I’ve attempted. Anyone who knows me knows that I am always very detailed, very specific, and very verbose. And I skew toward the Musical Director perspective.

[cvrenthead]

Posted: 7/9/07 at 5:40am

More on both of these shows later, but I figured I should post about Wade. Hickman has been on for Wade since Saturday night because the latter was injured in the Saturday mat at “BEDTIME”. His leg was wrapped around the stool, and he fell and couldn’t catch himself. Apparently there’s fluid in his knee, but he’ll be fine in a couple days. Consequently, Hickman has gone on in the track for his first three times, and Coppola covered Ryan's track for the first time as well.

Sorry for the double-post. Send Wade a nice note if you feel like it.

[antonijan]

Posted: 7/9/07 at 5:59am

Jarrod Spector, John Michael Dias, Mike Erickson, Steven Goldsmith, Lyndsey Cole


with my friend :P


Jake Speck


Craig Laurie



Ryan Quinn West


Steve Gouveia


John Hickman


Jarrod Spector

and more of Jeremy once it's uploaded.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 7/9/07 at 11:09am

I guess seeing the show for the first time, you might think that the song was over. But that was how good the “Hat trick” sequence was – people applauded whenever possible, and Jake waited patiently to continue with his lines.

LOL, that happened when I saw the show about a month and a half ago -- but Drew got all flustered. It was pretty cute. "It shows we're...uh, not a fluke? Ya know...?"

And thanks for the Jake review! Very detailed. :)

Updated On: 7/9/07 at 11:09 AM

[jochang621]

Posted: 7/9/07 at 12:12pm

yeah, thanks for the review! it sounds like it was fun. i love the "new boats" comment. lol.

i'm also relieved i'm not the one who's seen JB the most. :) an usher told me there was someone who shows up every weekday to do rush, after work. this was a few months ago though.
Updated On: 7/9/07 at 12:12 PM

[MelissaM]

Posted: 7/9/07 at 12:55pm

Now that's a review!

[mll85]

Posted: 7/9/07 at 1:52pm

That was a great review cvrenthead. One of the best ones posted in the thread. Now I wish I saw the show this weekend to see Jake perform. Hopefully he'll be on again later in the run.

It's sad to hear about what happened to Wade, but it's good to know that he will be ok in a few days.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 7/9/07 at 6:29pm

https://forum.broadwayworld.com/readmessage.cfm?thread=889104&id=3148450

Also, I'm kind of surprised the coffee table book isn't being more hyped.

[MikeMagbaleta]

Posted: 7/9/07 at 7:03pm

What a great review! At least there is one fan out there that took the time to review our favorite play in depth..... Much better than some critics have written about Jersey Boys.

Very expertly written!!!!! Thanks for the great piece!

[mll85]

Posted: 7/9/07 at 9:46pm

We'll see how far that rumor goes, personally I don't see it going anywhere. There needs to be some kind of source for me to think it might be possible.

Also, I'm kind of surprised the coffee table book isn't being more hyped.

Well the books not due out until 10/16 so there still time to go before they'll start hyping it. But regarding the book, I think the price that it's selling for on Amazon dropped a few bucks from what I remember it being last.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 7/9/07 at 11:11pm

AIDS Walk Team made it past their goal, but Jeremy isn't going to win, I think.
Not when James Lapine and Stephanie Block get in on the action!

[shesamarshmallow]

Posted: 7/9/07 at 11:19pm

I have my issues with his Frankie, but of the six I've seen, he's the one I most want to replace JLY. So I'm going to choose to believe this rumor until it is proven otherwise. :)

[mll85]

Posted: 7/9/07 at 11:21pm

Man, one hour ago Jeremy was about 800 dollars away to tie Larry. But it's great they reached their goal, unless they move it up again like they've been doing before.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 7/10/07 at 1:43am

They've upped it again! That's just disappointment waiting to happen, I tell you.

[mll85]

Posted: 7/10/07 at 1:47am

I was just about to post that they upped their goal but you beat me to it Lizzie.

[obsessedjb]

Posted: 7/10/07 at 1:59am

I don't think its true either. A woman from the Jersey Boys blog told me in the SRO line this weekend. Updated On: 7/10/07 at 01:59 AM