The Jersey Boys Tour Thread- Page 77

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 12/1/07 at 8:14pm

PR has only released the names of the guys playing the Four Seasons, but here's the guy playing Joey and covering Frankie: http://www.jyefrasca.com/news.html

Strangely enough, the folks on this board seem to think someone else is doing the same track, so who knows whose info is outdated or if something has changed:
http://tansjosephboard.proboards46.com/index.cgi?board=othershow&action=display&thread=1187551391

Joseph Prouse is Norm Waxman:
http://www.whatsonstage.com/board/index.php?showtopic=2464

Updated On: 12/1/07 at 08:14 PM

[dented146]

Posted: 12/1/07 at 8:20pm

Thanks Lizzie. Compared to the earlier photos of the other "chaps" he certainly looks the role.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 12/1/07 at 11:58pm

http://www.myspace.com/scottmonello

[obsessedjb]

Posted: 12/2/07 at 12:02am

so Zachary isn't joining the Broadway cast

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 12/2/07 at 12:26am

Or maybe not until January?

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 12/2/07 at 4:04am

John Hickman!

http://cbs2chicago.com/video/?id=[e-mail]&cid=9

Look, they lined up by height. :)

Edit: I have no idea if the link will actually work, but if you go to Getty Images and search for Jersey Boys, you'll find a bunch of pictures taken during a performance in Costa Mesa. They are of, um, varying degrees of flattering-ness.
Getty Images

Updated On: 12/2/07 at 04:04 AM

[mll85]

Posted: 12/2/07 at 3:34pm

I said I was going to go into detail of what I thought about the new cast so here we go (yeah I know it's long):

John Salvatore – There isn’t much to say about the Billy Dixon track, but seeing him enter during the back up secessions is hilarious itself.

Michael James Scott – He does fine with his track, nothing stellar but he gets the job done.

Jason Martinez – His Norm looks like a slime ball loan shark on appearance alone and that’s how he plays him.

Jonathan Gerard Rodriguez – Instead hyperactive, as I’ve seen before, his Joey is more like the kid trying hard to fit in with the guys of the neighborhood he idolizes. Every time he’d get yelled at for saying something, the way Jonathan would back away made it seem like he’s trying to not step on anyone’s toes and feels bad when he does. It’s kind of endearing. And he sounds surprising similar to the actual Pesci.

Kristofer McNeeley – A great Mika. It’s funny how he checks out the guys in Crewe’s apartment the whole time until he reacts to “Don’t get me started.” And his Hank, is hilarious. He’s pissed when he’s telling the guys “You don’t understand…” but when Tommy tells him to get out, you see that his feelings were hurt. Like Lizzie said, there were a few “Awws” from audience as he walked off stage.

Joyce Chittick – Her Mary is a tough girl and sometimes comes off as a bitch. But it works in the Frankie & Mary scenes. It's a slightly different take on Mary from what I’ve seen, but some of the humor is lost because Mary is such a bitch.

Natalie Bradshaw – She’s hilarious in the church scene. I like how she takes a quick pause when she enters and realizes they’re in a church and her delivery of the blob line. Her teen angst riddled Francine is also great.

Julia Krohn – Like her Lorraine portrayal. During the breakup, it comes across that she’s pissed Frankie isn’t giving her any attention so she’s ending it, and she doesn’t wavier from that. And she does one of the best deliveries of the “Chinese Twins” line I’ve seen. But her Frankie Nolan could be funnier. She doesn’t make it seem like she’s a crappy singer.

Lauren Tartaglia – Covered Lorraine the first time I saw this cast and she did a fantastic job all around. And some of the expressions on her face were priceless.

As the Angels the girls are solid. Natalie Bradshaw does great job as the lead Angel. Together they all sound great and they don’t overpower each other so they sound balanced. But there is something missing during that song.

Jonathan Hadley – His Crew reminds me of a cross between Craig Laurie and John Altieri’s take on the role. A little bit of bitchy queen, a little bit flaming, and slightly toned down, but still hilarious.

Ken Krugman – Takes a serious tone with Gyp. Demeanor doesn’t change much, reminds me of Marlon Brando in the Godfather. But when he breaks out crying during “My Mother’s Eyes” it hilarious. He’s fine in the rest of his track.

Bryan McElroy – His Tommy is a complete tough/wise guy from Jersey, overall he was good. He has a nice singing voice, and it seems like there is a bit of lightness to it. He really works the “Yo, I’m from Jersey” angle but sometimes it goes too far that it’s not believable. His Tommy is a complete prick, and did not have much of that charm factor that still makes you like Tommy even after all the crap he put the group through.

Andrew Rannells – The moment he walks onstage there is just some innate quality about him that makes you like him. He has a fantastic voice. I think he’s a strong actor but it didn’t seem like there was that big of a difference between his pre and post “Oh What A Night” Bob.

Jeff Leibow – There is an endearing quality about his Nick. Whenever he says, “I should start my own group” it comes off more as an insult to Tommy then a guy mentioning his aspirations. And he’s great during the sit-down. It's like he releasing all this pent up anger. It doesn’t end after the Tommy rant. It carries over to when he’s telling Frankie and Bob about how much he hates being on the road. When he is delivering Nick’s monologue after he tells the group he wants to go home. A sense regret and disappointment comes across in what he did regarding his kids and that maybe he wasn’t angry about the stuff with the group but angry with himself for messing up his family life.

Rick Faugno – I’ve only seen Rick onstage as Joey, and thought he was one of the best I’ve seen. He’s a solid Frankie and I enjoyed his performance. He’s a great actor and good singer. It sounds like there’s a slight roughness in his voice sometimes. But I like how he’s not afraid to try new things with his singing. But I’d have to agree with Chad Jones’ review that he does look young for the role and his physical progression from young to old Frankie isn’t noticeable.
Updated On: 12/4/07 at 03:34 PM

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 12/2/07 at 3:39pm

I love long posts!

What was with Jonathan Rodriguez's "There's Something About Mary" hairdo? I thought he was just doing that as Joey, but it stayed like that for the rest of the show.

(I can't remember if it was like that at the first preview, but I kept staring at it on opening night.)

[mll85]

Posted: 12/2/07 at 3:54pm

I looks like he was trying to just spike the front of his hair but it turned into the start of a faux hawk.

[neddyfrank2]

Posted: 12/3/07 at 11:58pm

I figure you guys will be able to answer this.

How did Des stage the new Jersey Boys Cast and Farnsworth on Broadway at the same time?

Did an S/M or AD do the new Jersey Boys Cast?

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 12/4/07 at 12:09am

Des was definitely here in SF during previews, but that was also during the strike.

Edit: Apparently Graham Fenton went on as Frankie on Saturday!
http://jerseyboysblog.com/?p=1819#comment-107951

Updated On: 12/4/07 at 12:09 AM

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 12/4/07 at 2:50am

:)

http://theguter.blogspot.com/2007/12/where-hell-are-we-dec3.html

Hi, Eric! Good luck!

Updated On: 12/4/07 at 02:50 AM

[mll85]

Posted: 12/4/07 at 4:06am

Here's the SF Chronicle's reveiw of the new cast.
http://tinyurl.com/2xlrpa

ETA: So who wants to start speculating what the "crazy changes" Eric mentions in his blog are going to be.

We know Erich Bergen is leaving the tour at the end of December. Maybe a few other people are going to be leaving, another one of the seasons possibly? People are going to be switched around? Who knows? And if anyone has any insight on the changes, go ahead and share.

Updated On: 12/4/07 at 04:06 AM

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 12/4/07 at 1:35pm

BUMP because the Chron has added a photo now.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 12/5/07 at 3:07am

http://www.sgn.org/sgnnews35_48/page22.cfm

[shatteredheart]

Posted: 12/5/07 at 3:39pm

All will be revealed in due time, and yes, there are big changes.

[mll85]

Posted: 12/5/07 at 9:48pm

Shatteredheart, what do you know?
Updated On: 12/5/07 at 09:48 PM

[neddyfrank2]

Posted: 12/5/07 at 9:55pm

Any chance of Erich replacing Daniel Reichard?

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 12/5/07 at 9:58pm

Or we can wait for Eric Gutman's next update.

BTW, saw the matinee today. Joseph Leo Bwarie was REALLY good -- vocally reminded me a lot of Steven Goldsmith, and that's only a positive in my book.

[mll85]

Posted: 12/5/07 at 10:07pm

I'm kind of suprised anything about Daniel's replacement hasn't popped up. Doesn't he leave the show in a month? Although from the message Erich has on his site, as of right now it seems like he won't be replacing Daniel. But whatever Erich plans on doing when he leaves the tour I'm sure he'll be great. And maybe he can start up Green Room Radio again.

But yeah I also happend to be at today's matinee and Joseph Leo Bawarie was great as Frankie. I have to echo Lizzie in that he vocally sounds similar to Steven Goldsmith. His voice is smooth and he has a great falsetto. Overall, he's a solid actor but on certain scenes I felt he was a little flat.
Updated On: 12/5/07 at 10:07 PM

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 12/5/07 at 10:12pm

There were a few moments where I was thinking, "Maybe Des shouldn't be trying to rehearse a new cast of Jersey Boys at the same time he's opening a play in New York." There were tons of little timing issues -- nothing that ruined the show but could've been done much better, and I can't think of anyone I was seeing on stage that I could pin it on. Though it also didn't help that Jeff Leibow's mic decided to throw a fit during all of "Fall." (Of all times!)

In a nutshell, the audience was very receptive, and the show was still good, but some of the fun sparks in the dialogue just weren't there.

Updated On: 12/5/07 at 10:12 PM

[mll85]

Posted: 12/5/07 at 10:31pm

The mic issue was a getting boardline annoying near the end of "Fall". I didn't notice that many timing issues, but there were definately a few slipups and pacing seemed awkward at some points.

ETA: I'm sure it's hot under the stagelights but Bryan was sweating like crazy today.

Updated On: 12/5/07 at 10:31 PM

[mll85]

Posted: 12/6/07 at 1:07am

Eric mentioned in his last blog that, with a few other people in the cast (Chris, John, Erik), he was stranded outside of Seattle due to flooding. I wonder if they were able to get to their final destination.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 12/6/07 at 7:13pm

No mention of postponement or cancellations...

https://seattlepi.nwsource.com/theater/342510_fanf07.html

Edit: Little mini-review from Pat Craig of the Contra Costa Times. Though he likes almost everything.

https://www.contracostatimes.com/columns/ci_7649408

Updated On: 12/6/07 at 07:13 PM

[popular_elphie]

Posted: 12/6/07 at 11:36pm

Neddy, that isn't happening.

Usually, if the director is unavailable, the PSM or assistant director can do it. In this case, Richard Hester or Holly-Anne Ruggiero may have helped out. Not sure if this is true or not.