Jersey Boys Comes To Raleigh
Tony Award-winning Jersey Boys, a musical about Rock and Roll Hall of Famers Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons, will be at Raleigh Memorial Auditorium now through July 18.
Jersey Boys is a Cinderella story of four blue-collar kids from Newark, New Jersey that went from the streets, to the top of the music charts.
Starring as Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons are: Josh Franklin (plays Bob Gaudio); Steve Gouveia (Nick Massi); Joseph Leo Bwarie (Frankie Valli); and Matt Bailey (Tommy DeVito).
The guys sat down with me for an interview and I have to say they were the sweetest and funniest guys, ever! Scroll down to see the entire raw interview.
Being part of a musical that tells the real life story of the Four Seasons, a group that many are either familiar with the songs or grew up listening to, must be a daunting task. But the guys say they are grateful to be able to introduce these famed musicians to a whole new generation and to bring back memories to the older generations.
From left: Josh Franklin, Steve Gouveia, Joseph Leo Bwarie, and Matt Bailey
“It seems that the unanimous feeling that when people leave they’re overcome with this excitement, this happiness, a trip down memory lane they’ve taken if they’re baby boomers or this new found excitement if they’re a teenager to go home, get on i-Tunes and download the original songs,” said Bwarie.
And in order for them to bring the story to life on stage, they’ve each been fortunate enough to meet their counterparts to get their personal accounts of their rise to fame.
“We’ve been fortunate enough that a lot of the real people are still alive,” said Gouveia. “It was their idea to do the show, so we’ve had a chance to meet a lot of the people who we’re portraying on stage.”
And all four guys say Jersey Boys is such a jam packed show- they sing 34 songs total- and such a fantastic show that everyone will enjoy it.
“I tell people ‘I dare you to come to the show and not enjoy yourself’,” says Bailey with a smile.
“There you go folks,” Franklin chimes in. “Matt Bailey dares you not to like it.”
And with all the rave reviews the show has garnered around the country, it’s sure to please the Triangle crowd. If you saw the show, please share your thoughts by posting a comment below.
For show times and to purchase tickets, click here.
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Comments
Enjoyed the interview. I am from Atlanta and just wanted to say how much I enjoyed your performances. Its rare that you find soooo much talent as these young men and women bring to a stage night after night. I was fortunate to see JB in New York just after the Tony Awards. It was and still is as far as Im concerned the best production playing. I grew up with 2 older sisters who introduced me to the music of the Four Seasons among others. I was fortunate to see JB twice in Atlanta at our wonderful and beautiful Fox Theater. Our seats were on the 3rd row both nights and what wonderful performances you guys did. I told my husband, who did not attend either night, “come on, go with me and we will fall in love all over again”. He answered, “Honey I dont have to fall in love again, Im still in love”, right answer for him. But, it is a wonderful show and us older generations do take a walk down memory lane. We also had the pleasure of meeting a few of you after the last Thursday night show in Atlanta. We chatted with you across the street at the Georgian Terrace. I know you get tired of people intruding but those of you we met were most gracious and friendly. Thank you!
PS: my friends call me an official Jersey Boys groupie now
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[...] national tour production of JERSEY BOYS opens today through July 18 in Raleigh! Entertainment.MYNC.com has a fun interview with the stars of the show–Matt Bailey, Joseph Leo Bwarie, Josh Franklin, [...]