La Jolla Playhouse artistic director Des McAnuff (700 Sundays, Dracula) staged the debut of the musical which began Oct. 5, 2004 and extended three times through Jan. 16, 2005 at his California company's Mandell Weiss Theatre.
Dodger Theatricals, Joseph J. Grano, Tamara and Kevin Kinsella will produce the run on Broadway which starts previews at the Virginia Theatre Oct. 3 with an opening night slated for Nov. 6.
Jersey Boys centers on the musical group The Four Seasons and how four blue-collar guys — Frankie Valli, Bob Gaudio, Tommy DeVito and Nick Massi — grew to become the singing sensation behind such hits as "Rag Doll," "Sherry," "Big Girls Don’t Cry," "Oh What a Night" and "Can't Take My Eyes Off of You."
Young (The Drawer Boy, The Chosen - Paper Mill) will star as Frankie Valli opposite the La Jolla trio reprising their roles: Hoff (The Who's Tommy) plays Tommy DeVito, Reichard (Radiant Baby,The Thing About Men) will take on Bob Gaudio and Spencer (Sideshow, Lucky Duck) portrays Nick Massi. Additional casting is to be announced.
Book writers Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice along with composer Bob Gaudio and lyricist Bob Crewe collaborated to create Jersey Boys with director McAnuff. Sergio Trujillo served as choreographer, Ron Melrose handled musical direction and orchestrations were provided by Steve Orich. All are on board for the projected Broadway run. The design team of Jersey Boys features Klara Zieglerova (scenic), Jess Goldstein (costume), Howell Binkley (lighting), Steve Canyon Kennedy (sound) and Michael Clark (projection).
For the California debut, David Noroña (Love! Valour! Compassion!) was Frankie Valli opposite Hoff, Reichard and Spencer. The cast also included Sarah Avery, Tituss Burgess, Marisa Echeverría, Steve Gouveia, Peter Gregus, Donnie Kehr, Jennifer Naimo and Sean Smith.
The work became the longest running production in the California company's history with a total 120 performances surpassing the 1992 production of The Who's Tommy, also directed by McAnuff, which played 114 performances.
Director McAnuff has earned two Tony Awards for his direction of The Who's Tommy and Big River. Other Broadway credits include How to Succeed In Business Without Really Trying and A Walk in the Woods. The busy director's slate includes this Broadway season's run of Dracula, The Musical, the current Billy Crystal solo 700 Sundays and a planned revival of The Wiz.
For more information, visit the web site at www.JerseyBoysBroadway.com.
