Jersey Boys Australia - The Story of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons

It was announced today that the world-wide smash hit production of JERSEY BOYS – The Story of Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons will open at QPAC, Brisbane, in July 2012.

JERSEY BOYS opened in Melbourne in July 2009 and played for 13 months before transferring to Sydney's Theatre Royal opening in September 2010 for a 15 month season. Over 1,000,000 people have seen the show in Melbourne and Sydney and over 14 million around the world. JERSEY BOYS will open in Auckland in April 2012.

Broadway Producer, Michael David, from Dodger Theatricals said – "We are thrilled to bring JERSEY BOYS to Brisbane. This story of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons has captivated nearly 14 million fans in productions worldwide, and now it is our fondest hope that Brisbane will embrace JERSEY BOYS in the same way. The show is chock full of classic Four Seasons showstopping songs and a story that is all the more riveting because it's true. With an extraordinary cast, we believe JERSEY BOYS will engage theatergoers and send them dancing out of the Lyric Theatre! The remarkable partnership of Frankie Valli and Bob Gaudio indelibly sealed by a handshake agreement over 40 years ago will resonate with Brisbane audiences who will identify with the importance of honour and integrity in this touching tribute to the power of loyalty between friends."

JERSEY BOYS will be at the Lyric Theatre, QPAC from Friday 13 July 2012 .

[ Find out more ]

2GB's Alan Jones chatted with JERSEY BOYS star Bobby Fox last week about the show finishing in Sydney on 18 December and the new Christmas CD titled "SEASONS GREETINGS: A JERSEY BOYS CHRISTMAS". You can preview the album right here on the JERSEY BOYS website.

PLAY the Alan Jones interview with Bobby Fox

JERSEY BOYS – The Story of Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons opened in Sydney in September last year after 14 months in Melbourne, and continues to delight audiences receiving cheers and standing ovations after each performance. From 15 November until the official closing night on 18 December, Australian actor DECLAN EGAN will take over the role of Four Seasons member Bob Gaudio. Being cast as the lead in a worldwide hit musical is a dream come true for Declan and marks his professional theatre debut.

Declan joins cast members Bobby Fox (Frankie Valli) Glaston Toft (Nick Massi) and Ben Mingay (Tommy DeVito).

DECLAN EGAN graduated last year from the Diploma of Music Theatre course at the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA). Declan also graduated from the Talent Development Project in 2011 and performed in the TDP Start Me Up Concert at the Sydney Entertainment Centre. Since graduating Declan has performed with the corporate act Boys In The Band with SMA productions. Prior to NIDA, Declan studied Voice at the Newcastle Conservatorium of Music and performed in the 2010 season of Encore at the Sydney Opera House.

More than five years after its debut, the musical Jersey Boys continues to bring audiences around the world to their feet with the rags-to-riches tale of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons. A global phenomenon, the record-breaking production has won awards for Best Musical on three continents, including the 2006 Tony® Award, while the platinum-selling Original Cast Recording album won a Grammy® Award for Best Musical Show Album in 2007. To celebrate the holidays, members of the award-winning Jersey Boys casts around the globe have come together to record a selection of Christmas classics in the style of The Four Seasons. This marks the first time that a Broadway show has released a holiday album.

The album was produced by Bob Gaudio, a founding member of The Four Seasons and the group's principal songwriter. The musical director and arranger for the project was Ron Melrose, who also arranged music for the Jersey Boys musical. The eclectic album features performances by six stars from the various Jersey Boys casts – Joseph Leo Bwarie (U.S. National Tour), Travis Cloer (Las Vegas), Rick Faugno (Las Vegas), Bobby Fox (Australia), Ryan Molloy (London) and Jarrod Spector (Broadway) – plus John Lloyd Young, who won the 2006 Tony Award for his portrayal of Valli in the original Broadway production. The album was engineered by Pete Karam, who won a Grammy for his work on the Original Cast Recording.

Many of the melodies and choral harmonies that catapulted the quartet from the streets of Newark into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame are woven into classic holiday songs on SEASON'S GREETINGS: A JERSEY BOYS CHRISTMAS. Listen for hints of "Come On Marianne" and "Oh What A Night" in the album opener "Joy To The World/O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" plus traces of "Bye Bye Baby" in "Winter Wonderland."

REVIEW THE ALBUM NOW

JERSEY BOYS – The Story of Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons, which opened September, 2010 at Sydney's Theatre Royal will be one of the longest running musicals in the history of the venue, breaking the Theatre Royal's weekly Box Office records as the highest grossing in the theatre's history.

Since opening in Melbourne in July 2009 over one million people have seen this Broadway hit in both Melbourne and Sydney. The Sydney season will close on Sunday 18 December 2011 with JERSEY BOYS heading to New Zealand, opening in April 2012 at The Civic, Auckland.

"We are thrilled with the success of JERSEY BOYS in Sydney which clearly demonstrates the unique relationship between theatre and tourism in Sydney. Our collaboration with Destination NSW and our many partnerships have resulted in 15% of our audiences coming from interstate and international markets creating a substantial boost to the NSW economy."
- Rodney Rigby, newtheatricals

"It is with heartfelt gratitude that all of us in the JERSEY BOYS family would like to thank the city and people of Sydney for embracing our show. Though New Jersey is far from Sydney, the nightly standing ovations and the cheers from fans have made us feel right at home. We will remember your enthusiastic audiences and Aussie hospitality long after the final curtain on 18 December."
- Michael David, Dodger Theatricals

"There is no doubt Sydneysiders and a significant number of interstate and overseas visitors have embraced the Sydney production of JERSEY BOYS. The production has smashed weekly box office records as the highest grossing show in the Theatre Royal's history and has been a tremendous addition to the NSW Events Calendar."

"The NSW Government through Destination NSW has been working hard with musical theatre producers to position Sydney as the number one city for musicals in Australia and next year we look forward to the Sydney season of Rock of Ages and in 2013 the Australian premiere of the Broadway smash hit musical The Addams Family."
– George Souris MP, NSW Minister for Tourism, Major Events and the Arts

The Producers of JERSEY BOYS have just announced the release of 30,000 new tickets for sale until 6 November as Sydney audiences continue to flock to the multi-award winning musical. After the Sydney season JERSEY BOYS will head across the water to New Zealand, opening in April 2012 at The Civic, Auckland.

"truly thrilling moments . . explodes from the stage with verve, polish and conviction."

Sydney Morning Herald

"The result is music history . . a guaranteed toe-tapping, hand-clapping fun night at the theatre."

The Daily Telegraph

"Oh, what a night . . a theatrical triumph . . in a class of its own"

Sunday Herald Sun

"Entertainment with a capital E"

The Sunday Age

JERSEY BOYS – The Story of Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons opened in Melbourne in July 2009 and played for 13 months. The show continues to play to packed houses at Sydney's Theatre Royal after breaking box office records as the highest grossing show in the theatre's history. Over 1,000,000 have now seen the show in Melbourne and Sydney.

JERSEY BOYS - the story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons is finally coming to New Zealand. The Mayor of Auckland, Len Brown, today announced that the world-wide smash hit production of JERSEY BOYS – The Story of Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons will open at The Civic in Auckland in April 2012. JERSEY BOYS opened in Melbourne in July 2009 and played for 13 months before transferring to Sydney's Theatre Royal, opening in September 2010. Over 1,000,000 people will have seen the show in Melbourne and Sydney by the end of the year. It then comes direct to Auckland.

Register at JerseyBoysNZ.co.nz

This year's Dry July kicks off today with JERSEY BOYS swearing on their mocktails and ginger beers to stop drinking from July 1 to July 31. The 4 boys Bobby Fox (Frankie), Glaston Toft (Nick), Stephen Mahy (Bob) and Ben Mingay (Tommy) are all participating this year.

JERSEY BOYS – The Story of Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons celebrates two years in Australia on Thursday 7 July. JERSEY BOYS opened in July 2009 in Melbourne and played for 13 months before transferring to Sydney's Theatre Royal opening in September last year. 900,000 people have now seen the show in Australia.

The Australian production has brought millions of dollars into the Victorian and NSW economies through tourism related revenue, with over 15,300 visitors from overseas and over 150,000 Australians travelling interstate to see the production in Sydney and Melbourne.

We've got two brand new video interviews with the (real!) Frankie Valli, recorded when he visited Sydney last week. In them he explains how strange it is to watch your life played out on stage, how he's driven by his love for the audience, and - of course - how incredible the Australian cast of JERSEY BOYS is: "I couldn't believe it could be that good! The Australian cast is as strong - if not stronger - than any cast I've ever seen!"

[ FRANKIE VIDEO INTERVIEW PART 1 ]
[ FRANKIE VIDEO INTERVIEW PART 2 ]

Frankie Valli arrived in Australia last week for his exclusive tour date in Canberra. No visit would be complete, however, without a trip to see the award-winning Australian cast of JERSEY BOYS! Frankie dropped in to see the show at Sydney's Theatre Royal on Thursday 17th March, and popped backstage to congratulate the cast on their excellent performance. He also found time to chat to ABC National Radio, before heading to Canberra to perform at the Enlighten music event.

[ WATCH THE ABC INTERVIEW ]

The one and only FRANKIE VALLI arrives in Sydney this week on his way to Canberra to perform exclusively on Saturday 19 March at Enlighten – a major new annual event that will showcase Canberra in a whole new light set against the stunning backdrop of Lake Burley Griffin.

While in Sydney this week Frankie Valli will drop into the Theatre Royal to see the smash hit musical JERSEY BOYS – The Story of Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons and say hello to the award-winning cast.

A true American pop music icon – Frankie Valli's incredible career as a solo artist and with the Four Seasons produced 19 top ten hits and sold over 175 million records worldwide. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990 and named longevity champ of the rock era by Billboard Magazine. Possessed of one of the most distinctive voices in all of Rock and Roll, Frankie Valli continues to dazzle. Inspired by fellow New Jersey native, Frank Sinatra, and such jazz influences as the Hi-Lo's and the Four Freshman, Frankie Valli always knew he wanted to perform. "We used to sing around the Newark area where I grew up." Valli recalls. "I'd always wanted to be a singer, ever since my mother took me to see Sinatra at the Paramount Theatre in New York as a kid. I decided then and there that's what I was going to do…be a successful singer."

At the Sydney Theatre Awards this evening, an event packed with representatives of the live theatre industry, JERSEY BOYS – The Story of Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons won the most coveted musical theatre award – Best Musical. In addition Bobby Fox, who plays Frankie Valli, won Best Actor in a Musical.

The Sydney Theatre Awards are presented annually by a group of leading theatre critics to celebrate the strength, quality and diversity of theatre in Sydney.

"The Sydney Theatre Award for Best Musical to JERSEY BOYS acknowledges the wonderful collaboration between everyone associated with the production across the entire range of disciplines and the artistic excellence that makes JERSEY BOYS so special for audiences and for all of us associated with this wonderful production. The entire company of JERSEY BOYS is thrilled that Bobby Fox has been recognised by Sydney's premier critics for his extraordinary performance of Frankie Valli" – Rodney Rigby, Newtheatricals, Producer of JERSEY BOYS – The Story of Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons.

Chris Green of Dainty Consolidated Entertainment, Producer said "We are absolutely elated how Sydney audiences have embraced the Australian production of JERSEY BOYS and delighted to have been further acknowledged by receiving these Awards."

Jersey Boys is already the recipient of two Helpmann Awards being Best Musical and Best Music Direction of a Musical, four Tony Awards® including Best Musical, winner of the Olivier Award for Best New Musical, and winner of seven Victorian Green Room Awards.

After 4½ sell-out months in Sydney, and 14 months in Melbourne seen by nearly 600,000 patrons and playing 453 sold out performances, JERSEY BOYS – The Story of Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons continues to play to huge acclaim and standing ovations.