"That may be my last [Jersey Boys] performance ever," Young told Playbill.com, referring to the Friday evening show that preceded the strike that began Saturday, Nov. 10.
Young had previously announced his departure from the show he has starred in since the Tony Award-winning musical's 2005 debut on Broadway. His last scheduled performance is set for Nov. 21, but if producers and stagehands don't come to an agreement this weekend, he will have already played his last show. (He has noted the missed shows, due to the strike, will not affect his end date.)
"It's disorienting," Young said about his newly free nights. Although he still shows up for work each night at the August Wilson Theatre to sign in with a union representative, he says, "I feel like what life is going to be like on the other end."
Young, however, is optimistic that the League and the union will come to a quick agreement this weekend. "I hope to be able to perform the show once more. We'll see."
* Des McAnuff (The Who's Tommy, Big River) directs the story of American pop group The Four Seasons — the highs, the lows and all in between — which comes to life in the musical Jersey Boys with the help of their hits "Sherry," "Big Girls Don't Cry," "Walk Like A Man," "December 1963 (Oh, What A Night)" and more. The show began on Broadway Oct. 4, 2005 and opened at the August Wilson Theatre Nov. 6.
Jersey Boys features music by Bob Gaudio, lyrics by Bob Crewe, and a book by Marshall Brickman & Rick Elice. The production garnered four Tony Award wins for stars John Lloyd Young and Christian Hoff, lighting designer Howell Binkley and for the top prize Best Musical.
Young (The Drawer Boy, The Chosen at Paper Mill) joined the cast for the Broadway run. Original stars Hoff (The Who's Tommy), Daniel Reichard (Radiant Baby, The Thing About Men) and J. Robert Spencer (Side Show, Lucky Duck) reprise their roles from the La Jolla Playhouse world premiere.
Tickets to Jersey Boys at the August Wilson Theatre, 245 W. 52nd Street, are available by calling (212) 239-6200 or (800) 432-7250. For more information on all incarnations of the musical, visit www.JerseyBoysInfo.com.
