Frankie Valli says of ‘Jersey Boys’: ‘There’s still life in this production’
It seemed so sad at Sunday night’s closing performance of the award-winning musical JERSEY BOYS at Paris Las Vegas after an 8 1/2 year run on the Strip as Broadway’s longest-running production in Las Vegas. The Paris theater was packed, and loyal fans gave the performers one of the longest standing ovations ever. It felt as if JERSEY BOYS shouldn’t have come to a close.
And that was the surprise news from Frankie Valli himself and the producers. Frankie told me: “It’s not done yet. There’s still life in this production. I feel as if it will come back sometime in the future. I know it’s going out on the road on tour, but I’m hopeful that we’ll see it back in Las Vegas someday.
“This is probably the best production, and I’ve seen all of them from Australia to London and New York. I’ve seen it here in Las Vegas several times, and it still grabs me emotionally. The response is always incredible.”
Frankie’s original Four Seasons member Tommy DeVito, who lives in Las Vegas, also attended closing night. Frankie let me know that we’ll still be able to hear him sing those hits that Travis Cloer masterfully belted closing night when he performs at Pearl at the Palms next Feb. 18.
Graham Fenton, who shared the lead role of Frankie with Travis, also attended closing night. Also there Sunday: Jeff Leibow, with wife Melody, who played the role of Nick Massi and left in November 2014 to run The Neurofibromatosis Foundation, as their daughter Emma, 7, suffers from the disease. Jeff told me that it was the first time he’d been able to watch the full show from inside the theater.
My interview with Jeff about the foundation’s annual Palazzo fundraising show Oct. 23 is featured in the October issue of our sister publication Luxury magazine, with Criss Angel on the cover of the annual philanthropy issue.
JERSEY BOYS director Des McAnuff said: “When JERSEY BOYS started here in 2008, we went into a terrible recession, but it didn’t stop us. People still wanted to come and hear their story about family. The reason that these marvelous people have sustained this enterprise with such passion and emotion over those years is because they’ve become a family themselves.”
Michael David, of theatricals producing company Dodger, told me: “It was more than ‘Oh What a Night.’ It was an event, especially for us. Being the longest thing that ever came here considering we thought we’d be lucky if it lasted a year or two, this really became a family, our family, which was great and special and unusual.
“Especially for those of us who work in theater. You go from one job to the next and one job to the next. The family, the music, the whole thing of New Jersey is what made JERSEY BOYS a success.”
I told him that I thought some of the show’s dialogue was eerily prophetic as the other group members had predicted that Frankie would always be out on the road singing his hits. He still is in real life to this day. Michael added:
“As it says in the show, the family for him was the artificial one that these guys created together, and it was powerful. I think for him, his home is transient. I think he’s most comfortable when he’s moving from audience to audience from his songs to his songs.
“We may call it a night tonight, but I do think for all of us sitting and watching, it was like we’re not done here. It will return in some manner someday. We can do this again. We got a whole family of people living in your town now.
“This is tough to go out, and I think we’ll spend the time necessary to see how we might join you again. In their lifetime, the originals reunited for The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, so it could happen for us, too.”
