Oh What A Night: Jersey Boys In LondonNearly 45 years after the storied
British Invasion of
The Beatles, which knocked
Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons from their pop chart pedestal, a reverse American invasion begins this evening in London as the Tony-winning
Jersey Boys enjoys its first night at the West End's Prince Edward Theatre.
When I saw this jukebox musical shortly after it opened on
Broadway in 2005 (and prior to my ever writing SOB), I was left pretty dry. I thought, "Is that it?!" Don't get me wrong, I loved the music, but thought the show was mediocre at best.
While I could blame it on the fact that
John Lloyd Young (as Valli) was already skipping Friday night performances long before his Tony nod, I actually thought his understudy
Michael Longoria was the best thing about the show (Longoria officially replaced Young in the coveted role last November). In my eyes, Young certainly didn't acquit himself when upon receiving the 2006 Tony for Best Actor in a Musical, he didn't even bother to mention Valli.
Another Tony issue that didn't help in how I still perceive the show is that it won Best Musical. My view is that your show shouldn't be eligible for the big prize if it can't even be nominated for "Best Original Score."
Most importantly, I found the story to be less than satisfying. And while I'm no prude, the show was unusually crass and unexpectedly vulgar for its 50s motif.
So how will British critics respond? More importantly, will the
West End Whingers be applauding? I hope to have answers to at least the first question in my critics' capsule tomorrow.
Click here for tickets.Related Stories:Longoria To Formally Assume Lead In Jersey Boys (November 10, 2007)
Longoria Back To The Peak As Valli (October 20, 2006)
The Curse Of The Understudy (October 2, 2006)
The Tonys: If I Could Vote...for Best Musical (May 31, 2006)
Labels: Broadway, Jersey Boys, John Lloyd Young, Jukebox Musical, London, Michael Longoria, Musical, Opening Night, The Beatles, Transfer
Longoria To Formally Assume Lead In Jersey BoysThere is a God. When
John Lloyd Young leaves the incredibly popular
Jersey Boys this, the immensely talented
Michael Longoria -- who regularly plays Joey (as in
Pesci) "and others" -- will succeed him as
Frankie Valli.
According to a
bulletin I received from Longoria via MySpace:
I know many of you have been patiently awaiting the news as to what the deal is regarding my future with Jersey Boys. So here is the official news. I will take over the role of Frankie Valli in Broadway's Jersey Boys starting November 27th, 2007. Thanks for all the love you guys and gals have sent my way on my comments page for the last year... I hope those of you who didn't get a chance to catch my Valli during the matinees this past year will come see me at night now!
As I've previously mentioned in
one of my semi-regular "Curse of the Understudy" columns, I found myself disappointed one Friday night when I took in a performance of
Jersey Boys -- before it even won the Tony for Best Musical, -- because John Lloyd Young was out. Little did I know that I'd be wowed by his truly amazing understudy, Longoria, in the role of Frankie Valli. I subsequently purchased the original cast CD, and I can tell you that Longoria's voice is actually much better suited to Valli's full range than Young's. Quite the crowd-pleaser, Longoria was definitely the best thing about the show.
Earlier this past June, while Longoria was filling in once again for Young, Frankie Valli himself saw the young actor portray him.
In his MySpace blog, Longoria wrote:
Well, it finally happened. The real Frankie Valli came to see me play him in Jersey Boys on Broadway this past week. I've dreamt of this moment for almost 2 years, but it didn't turn out quite as I had imagined. The audience was so alive! Maybe cause they saw Frankie in the theatre, or maybe cause everyone in the show was so fierce that show. He brought two of his sons who were given the option of seeing the film "Oceans 13" or Jersey Boys...They chose JrzyByz. Frankie inroduced me by saying, "this is the guy who played dad today...". Never in my wildest dreams had I ever imagined I'd be spending time with this musical legend, portraying his life. I was in awe, thanking God that I didn't know he was there and had a great show. We chatted a little, I thanked him for coming and was moved when he told me he thought I was "f------ sensational". What a guy!
Congratulations to a real trouper. While I never did have a chance to see John Lloyd Young perform (except on television), I can tell you that Longoria will be worth the price of admission.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for tickets.Related Stories:Honorable Mentions: SOB's Singular Sensations Of '06 (December 30, 2006)
Longoria Back To The Peak As Valli (October 20, 2006)
The Curse Of The Understudy (October 2, 2006)
Jersey Boys' Valli Understudy Gets Spotlight (June 15, 2006)
The Tonys: If I Could Vote...for Best Musical (May 31, 2006)
Labels: Broadway, Casting Changes, Jersey Boys, John Lloyd Young, Michael Longoria, Musical, Understudy
Longoria Back To The Peak As ValliRegular readers will know that I found the best part of my
Jersey Boys experience last spring to be
Michael Longoria, who regularly plays Joey (as in
Pesci) "and others."
Only I didn't see Longoria as most theatregoers see him -- on the Friday evening I took in the show, Tony-winner
John Lloyd Young was out and Longoria was in as
Frankie Valli. Longoria was absolutely breathtaking and genuine in his portrayal of the iconic Four Season. It was hard to believe I was seeing an understudy!
Why am I sharing this now? Well, if you hold tickets to the Saturday matinee thinking you're going to see Young in his Tony-winning role, I have a news flash for you directly from Longoria himself. I just received a bulletin board message from this gifted actor-singer saying:
I play Frankie Valli this Sat Mat! Hope you can make it. Student Rush and Standing Room are sold the day of. Also Cancellation Line!!! Hope to see some of you there.
Disappointing as it may initially seem to those hoping to see the original star, trust me when I say that Longoria alone is worth the price of admission for this sold-out performance. He will have you believing he
is Frankie Valli.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for tickets.Related Stories:The Curse Of The Understudy (October 2, 2006)
Jersey Boys' Valli Understudy Gets Spotlight (June 15, 2006)
The Tonys: If I Could Vote...for Best Musical (May 31, 2006)
Labels: Broadway, Jersey Boys, John Lloyd Young, Michael Longoria, Musical, Understudy
The Curse Of The UnderstudyHave you ever purchased a ticket for a show, long in advance of the performance, only to be disappointed with the words, “In the role regularly played by [insert name here], tonight’s performance of [insert character’s name here] will be played by [insert name of understudy/standby/swing here]”? Has that frustration only been compounded knowing it was the star or one of the stars whom you specifically paid to see in the first place?
If your answers to either or both those questions were yes, I invite you to share with me the name of the show and the performers who skipped the performance. I also invite you to share what your reaction was to that news and whether you thought the understudy/standby/swing adequately measured up to your expectations of the show….that is, aside from your initial disappointment.
Why do I ask? Well, my reasons are twofold.
One is that it used to be the mark of a consummate professional if the thought of missing a performance was anathema to the actor's fundamental make-up. There is plenty of lore about very ill stars who heeded the call that “The show must go on.”
Ethel Merman certainly comes to mind as one trouper who'd never miss a performance -- in fact, the great
Elaine Stritch worked a vignette into her eponymous one woman show (
Elaine Stritch: At Liberty) about her role as Merman’s standby during the run of
Call Me Madam back in 1950. So confident was she that Merman would never let anything keep her away from performing that Stritch confidently took on a concurrent role in another show at the same time all the way up in Connecticut.
My second reason is that I finally took in a performance of
The Drowsy Chaperone this past weekend only to learn that
Sutton Foster was temporarily out. I inquired why she was out and learned that she had just married actor
Christian Borle (
Monty Python's Spamalot) a week or so earlier. While I’m certainly thrilled for Foster, I wasn’t thrilled by the fact that
this was not the only time I had paid to see this Tony-winning actress perform only to be disappointed when I arrived at the theatre.
Shortly after she won her 2002 Tony for
Thoroughly Modern Millie, I made tracks to the very same
Marquis Theatre to see her perform. I even bought a ticket for a sure-to-be-there Friday night performance. But when I arrived, she was out and her understudy was in. While I enjoyed the show, I couldn’t help but wonder if I would have enjoyed it more with Foster.
Fast forward to March 2005 when I went to see
Little Women. My desire to see the show was completely founded on the hope I’d be able to see Sutton Foster finally perform (OK, I also wanted to see the incomparable
Maureen McGovern). But when I arrived, I learned once again that Foster was a no-show (in her defense, I later learned that she was ill). Regardless of the reason for her absence, I was underwhelmed by the show. However, when Foster was subsequently nominated for her second Tony, I couldn’t help but feel cheated in missing this rising star once more.
So it was with a bit of trepidation that I entered the Marquis Theatre on Sunday afternoon. I knew that Sutton Foster was portraying Jane Roberts/ Janet Van De Graaff and had earned a
third Tony nomination for the role. So when I saw those dreaded words on the board, “In this performance, the role of Janet Van De Graaff will be portrayed by…” my heart sank. I had even joked in advance about the possibility of her being out. At the Marquis, I was told that she and Borle tied the knot and were now vacationing for two weeks in Hawaii.
The additional irony is that Foster's character in
The Drowsy Chaperone is contemplating leaving the stage to marry her beau, Robert Martin. I couldn't help but wonder if that irony wasn't lost on Foster.
Now, I don’t necessarily hold Foster responsible -- I mean she did get married, after all. Yet when you’re paying good money to see a thrice Tony-nominated star only to find her away from each of the shows for which she was nominated and for which you’ve paid
specifically to see her, I think you can be forgiven for starting to wonder what the deal is with her or the show or the ticketing companies.
Personally, I track sites like
Playbill and
Broadway.com on a daily basis, not only for the latest theatrical news, but also to ensure I’m not disappointed when I step foot into the theatre and learn that a star is out. It would have informed my decision when I purchased my ticket on June 15 if her absence had been announced or if Ticketmaster had listed key dates when Foster would be absent from the production (of course, that’s assuming that the impending Foster/Borle nuptials were already set). I certainly would have planned appropriately.
Fortunately, I have found myself disappointed only a few other times:
John Lloyd Young was out of
Jersey Boys one Friday night in advance of the Tony Awards. I thought his understudy
Michael Longoria was excellent. But
not seeing the much ballyhooed star of the show certainly dampened my appreciation for what was ultimately named Best Musical.
Another huge disappointment was when
Nathan Lane began his serial absences from
The Producers in early 2002, reportedly due to strained vocal chords. Of course, I had purchased my tickets for that show way back in May 2001 and anxiously awaited my turn in seeing the dynamic duo of Lane and
Matthew Broderick. They were
the reasons why I wanted to see the acclaimed show (as good as
Brad Oscar was, it wasn't the same). Fortunately, in early 2004, I finally got to see the real deal Lane/Broderick team as they celebrated their triumphant return to the show.
Did Sutton Foster’s absence make me enjoy
The Drowsy Chaperone any less? Well, yes, strictly from the point of view that I’ve yet to be able to see her perform. I keep hearing how great she is, but I wouldn’t be able to tell anyone with my own first-hand knowledge. Thankfully, she has an exceptional understudy in
Andrea Chamberlain, who is very ably filling her shoes (my personal review will be posted soon). But will it give me pause the next time Foster’s in a show when I decided whether or not to see it? You bet.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for tickets, and hopefully you’ll have better luck in seeing Foster! Related Stories:Jersey Boys' Valli Understudy Gets Spotlight (June 15, 2006)
Is It Just Me, Or... (June 14, 2006)
The Tonys: If I Could Vote...for Best Musical (May 31, 2006)
Labels: Broadway, Curse of the Understudy, Elaine Stritch, Ethel Merman, Jersey Boys, John Lloyd Young, Nathan Lane, Sutton Foster, The Drowsy Chaperone, The Producers, Understudy
