Beginning Dec. 1 May will assume the role of Tommy DeVito at The Palazzo Resort-Hotel-Casino. Erik Bates, who is currently playing that role, will return to the touring cast of Jersey Boys.
May, who played DeVito in the show's national tour, will join a Las Vegas company that also features Erich Bergen (Bob Gaudio), Rick Faugno (Frankie Valli) and Jeff Leibow (Nick Massi).
May has also been seen in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, The Ballad of Bonnie and Clyde and in the title role of Laurence O'Keefe's aforementioned musical Bat Boy.
Jersey Boys, according to press notes, is "the story of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons: Frankie Valli, Bob Gaudio, Tommy DeVito and Nick Massi. It's a journey of how a group of blue-collar boys from the wrong side of the tracks became one of the biggest American pop music sensations of all time. They wrote their own songs, invented their own sounds and sold 175 million records worldwide — all before they were 30."
The creative team includes Tony-winning director Des McAnuff and choreographer Sergio Trujillo as well as Klara Zieglerova (scenic design), Jess Goldstein (costume design), Howell Binkley (lighting design), Steve Canyon Kennedy (sound design), Michael Clark (projections design), Charles LaPointe (wig and hair design), Steve Orich (orchestrations) and Ron Melrose (music direction, vocal arrangements and incidental music). Jersey Boys premiered at the La Jolla Playhouse in October 2004 before arriving in November 2005 at Broadway's August Wilson Theatre. The Broadway production garnered four Tony Awards: for stars John Lloyd Young and Christian Hoff, lighting designer Howell Binkley and for Best Musical.
The award-winning production features music by Bob Gaudio, lyrics by Bob Crewe and a book by Marshall Brickman & Rick Elice.
There are currently five productions of Jersey Boys: New York, London, Chicago, Las Vegas and the North American tour. A sixth production will open in Melbourne, Australia, in March 2009.
Jersey Boys is produced by Dodger Theatricals, Joseph J. Grano, Tamara and Kevin Kinsella, Pelican Group, with Latitude Link and Rick Steiner. The original Broadway cast recording is available on the Rhino Records label.
Tickets for Jersey Boys at The Palazzo can be purchased by calling (866) 641-SHOW or (702) 414-9000, or online at www.PalazzoLasVegas.com.
