‘Jersey Boys’ is returning to a Chicago stage next week, and Devon Goffman is thrilled to be one of the stars

CHICAGO (CBS) — The brand new nationwide tour of “Jersey Boys” opens subsequent week on the Cadillac Palace Theatre, celebrating the music of the Frankie Valli and the 4 Seasons.

“Jersey Boys” first opened on Broadway in New York again within the fall of 2005, and the a touring manufacturing held an open-ended run on the Financial institution of America Theatre – now the CIBC Theatre – from October 2007 till January 2010. Revealed studies from that point observe that the Jersey Boys’ first Chicago run was meant to be a restricted engagement, however turned out to be so well-liked that it became an open run with 951 performances.

Now, the Jersey Boys tour is again – just for a restricted time this time round. Its run on the Cadillac Palace begins Tuesday, Might 3, and ends Sunday, Might 8. This touring run stars Jon Hacker as Frankie Valli, Eric Chambliss as Bob Gaudio, Matt Faucher as Nick Massi, and Devon Goffman as Tommy DeVito.

CBS 2’s Vince Gerasole talked this week with Goffman, who additionally appeared as an understudy for the touring manufacturing of “Jersey Boys” in 2011, and appeared in “On Your Ft!” and “Motown the Musical,” amongst different productions.

Right here is a part of their dialog:

Gerasole: “I wish to speak about Jersey Boys. Whenever you have been rising up, have been you uncovered to the music of Frankie Valli, or are you aware it primarily by the present?”

Goffman: “No, completely, I grew up on this music. My mother and father truly took me to see Frankie Valli once I was about 5 years outdated. Once I was a younger pup, I had a Fisher-Value file participant, and I had all of the albums of Buddy Holly, Frankie Valli and the 4 Seasons, the Seashore Boys, the Beatles – I used to be an enormous lover of this technology of music. So once I received the chance – once I grew to become knowledgeable actor and a musical theatre actor, the prospect to mesh the 2 and be in a present like ‘Jersey Boys’ was fairly excellent for me.”

Gerasole: “Pop sounds come and pop sounds go. Why does this one appear to linger?”

Goffman: “The music of the 4 Seasons? They spanned the generations. The factor is that they began off doo-wop beneath the road lamp, they usually moved into this – the music modified because the years glided by, so when you discover, the 4 Seasons have been capable of morph their music by the instances. You see the 60s by the 70s, even into the 80s, and also you see even today, individuals are nonetheless masking the songs of the 4 Seasons, and the music stands the check of time.”

Gerasole: “The unique manufacturing of ‘Jersey Boys’ was only a phenomenon on Broadway, and a very good a part of that was that the theatre-going public was simply on the proper age to understand remembering these days. However we’re greater than a decade away from that point. How is the music sitting with audiences now, and is there a distinct viewers than possibly firstly of the run of the manufacturing?”

Goffman: “Yeah, you realize, I have been form of blown away by the quantity of generations which can be drawn to this music. I feel after we hit ‘Beggin” within the second act – ‘Beggin” is an actual well-liked cowl music there’s out now of ‘Beggin’,’ after which all of the younger children find it irresistible. , you get to ‘Cannot Take My Eyes off of You,’ which has been lined by so many bands – and in addition achieved at each wedding ceremony because the daybreak of time – you discover in that second within the viewers, what individuals say is that you simply see like, a pair be a part of fingers – like an aged couple generally that is within the viewers, you see them simply maintain fingers at that second when ‘Cannot Take’ begins. And you realize that it’ simply reached each technology of individuals.

“And I feel what helps this present is the script. The story of those guys is simply so truthful and actual the best way it was written by Rick Elice and Marshall Brickman. They did such nice jobs – an excellent job in telling the story in a method that the viewers eats it up.”

For extra data on the touring manufacturing of “Jersey Boys,” comply with this hyperlink for the manufacturing web site, or this hyperlink for Broadway in Chicago.