Saturday Matinee

I went to see Jersey Boys, the touring cast (Sherry cast) at the Ahmanson on 6/21/2007. While I will remain faithful and loyal first to the Broadway cast (so this review may seem biased), it was interesting to see a completely different cast from the original one.

• My favorite cast member: Michael Ingersoll. While approaching the character of NIck Massi in a completely different way than Bobby Spencer, Ingersoll gave it an interesting twist. Michael Ingersoll is very different physically from Bobby Spencer; Spencer is tall and has a bit of an edge…while Michael Ingersoll looks so friendly with a twinkle in his eye. It’s a bit odd because Michael Ingersoll isn’t a bass singer, so that was weird. But otherwise, Ingersoll is a softer Massi than Robert Spencer, but equally great at playing the character of Nick Massi. Ingersoll makes the role of Bobby Spencer less of a “Ringo” of the group, which is interesting to see the character “stick out” a bit more among the group. A solid performance, one I found I didn’t really wish I was watching the original Broadway cast member =).

• No one has a Jersey accent! Very obvious when comparing to the Broadway cast. Chris Kale Jones’ accent faded in and out, and Michael Ingersoll’s was the only consistent one of the group. I thought it was odd that the girls didn’t really have Jersey accents, which I feel really adds to the “local” flavor of the Jersey girls in the musical. If the Sherry cast tours in Jersey, it may be very obvious there.

• Deven May is also very talented…but his lack of Jersey accent was bothering me. And of course, Christian Hoff’s performance is difficult to erase in my mind. But Deven gave his songs original vocal stylings that made his performance fun to watch.

• “Oh What a Night” was performed with verve and zest by Erich Bergen, who hammed it up, to the audience’s delight. There was no trap door so the event took place up the stairs…

• The “stars” in the Sherry cast seems to be Chris Kale Jones (Frankie Valli) and Erich Bergen (Bob Gaudio), whereas the Broadway cast “stars” are John Lloyd Young (Frankie Valli) and Christian Hoff (Tommy DeVito), whom both won Tony awards for their performances. It was odd to see Bob Gaudio getting attention as Bergen does in the Sherry cast, because Gaudio makes a speech about being more comfortable in the background, and hating attention and “drama”. In this sense, Bergen’s portrayal didn’t really seem to fit with the character of Bob Gaudio. Bergen is an obvious favorite with the ladies in the audience.

Whereas I may be a bit too critical of this cast, all in all, it is a solid cast, worthy of a good touring company. I begin to wonder, is the world not big enough to have more than two good Frankie Valli’s (John Llloyd & Michael Longoria). The part is excruciatingly difficult…but I’m so used to John Lloyd Young’s brilliant portrayal, equally great in singing and acting… which John does so easily. I suppose one of the things that are sacrificed with commercial success is the lowering of standards to accomodate more casts to tour. While more people will be able to see the show with multiple touring casts and experience some of the brilliance of the show, the original Broadway cast will always hold a special place in my heart.