The cast of Jersey Boys rehearses this week in the lead-up to eight sold-out performances.--SUBMITTED PHOTO
asmith@medicinehatnews.com
With sold-out shows and opening night fast approaching, the cast of Medicine Hat Musical Theatre’s production of Jersey Boys is feeling the pressure to put on their best possible performance.
Tickets for the depiction of the formation of the Four Seasons sold out within 27 hours, director Lyn Weisgerber tells the News. She suspects if one of the shows was not on Halloween night, they would have sold out even faster, but trick-or-treating and holiday parties make for fierce competition.
Weisgerber explained that they had a limited amount of time where they could get the rights to do the show, while the official Broadway and touring companies were on break, making it an easy decision to capitalize on the opportunity.
“When I heard of this, I jumped on board to see if we could get the rights, because it’s a story that, you know, is one that people of all ages will enjoy,” said Weisgerber.
This was a sentiment echoed by actor David Jeffery, who will be portraying Frankie Valli himself. He says the performance will likely be nostalgic for the older crowd, but the show itself is still compelling and definitely stands on its own merit.
Rehearsals began in May, with the main focus initially being the music due to arrangements being quite technically demanding, as well as largely consisting of known music, meaning added pressure to get them just right.
“I’m a bit of a perfectionist, so for me, it’s more so, ‘Are we?’ We’ll definitely be ready by media night, but I want to be more than ready,” said Weisgerber.
“There’s a different expectation level, I think, because these might be someone’s all-time favourite artists we’re portraying and you want to get it right,” said Jeffery. “I’m really just hoping to do Frankie justice, and put on a show that everyone’s going to enjoy while I’m at it.”
Actor Nick Kush, who plays Bob Gaudio, says it’s been a unique challenge to portray a real person as opposed to a purely fictitious character, and he’s been studying both the real man and various different portrayals from the show’s run in order to get mannerisms down pat.
“He’s so relaxed, and he’s so he’s a genius. He’s a complete musical genius. So he’s always just focused on the music and the business side of things,” said Kush. “This isn’t just me messing around with a character that I get to kind of develop on my own. It’s different when it’s an actual person who really existed.”
This will be the first show with the Medicine Hat Musical Theatre’s new sound system, installed this year, and the entire cast looks forward with excitement – and a fair amount of nerves – to their opening night. The show’s eight sold-out performances run at 8 p.m. Oct. 25, 26 and 31, as well as Nov. 1, 2 and 7-9.
“For those of you that were lucky enough to get tickets, we really look forward to putting on a performance you’ll remember for a long time,” said Kush.
