Broadway In Chicago will present the 2006 Tony Award winner for Best Musical at Chicago's LaSalle Bank Theatre starting Oct. 6, 2007. The first extension (to Jan. 6, 2008) was attributed to "record-breaking advance sales."
The Illinois run now adds an additional 14 weeks "due to overwhelming demand," extending the engagement to six months. "We hope to be here for as long as the Chicago public demands," Dodger Theatricals partner and lead producer Edward Strong said.
The new block of tickets (for performances Jan. 8-April 13, 2008) are currently available to LaSalle Debit cardholders. General sale begins April 9 through the LaSalle Bank Theatre box office, ticketmaster.com and the Broadway In Chicago Ticket Line (312) 902-1400. Group sales are available (for 20 or more) at (312) 977-1710.
Jersey Boys re-creates the story of American pop group The Four Seasons — the highs, the lows and all in between — with the help of their hits "Sherry," "Big Girls Don't Cry," "Walk Like a Man," "December 1963 (Oh, What A Night)" and more.
Casting for the Chicago run has yet to be announced. Michael Ingersoll, Christopher Kale Jones, Erich Bergen and Deven May currently star in the national tour. Producers just announced that the show will employ a second touring company. The first national tour launched from San Francisco's Curran Theatre (Dec. 1, 2006) and is also scheduled to stop at Los Angeles' Ahmanson Theatre (May 2007) before heading to Chicago's LaSalle Bank Theatre in October 2007. Future stops adding Tempe, San Diego, Costa Mesa, Seattle, Houston, Tampa, Minneapolis and Cleveland. (Check jerseyboystour.com for more information.)
Jersey Boys features music by Bob Gaudio, lyrics by Bob Crewe and a book by Marshall Brickman and 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. Des McAnuff (The Who's Tommy, Big River) directed the show and also stages the tour.
Dodger Theatricals, Joseph J. Grano, Tamara and Kevin Kinsella, Pelican Group, in association with Latitude Link and Rick Steiner produce the tour. The musical made its debut at the La Jolla Playhouse in October 2004 before landing on Broadway Oct. 4, 2005, at the August Wilson Theatre where it opened Nov. 6.
Sergio Trujillo is the choreographer. The design team includes Klara Zieglerova (scenic), Jess Goldstein (costume), Howell Binkley (lighting), Steve Canyon Kennedy (sound), Michael Clark (projections) and Charles LaPointe (wig and hair). Steve Orich provides orchestrations, and Ron Melrose handles music direction, vocal arrangements and incidental music.
The original Broadway cast recording is available on Rhino Records.
