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Jersey Boys creator Bob Gaudio talks about his award-winning musical, now showing at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre
Jersey Boys is now showing at Vancouver’s Queen Elizabeth Theatre
Despite having written a string of hits while a member of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, Bob Gaudio wasn’t certain that audiences would take to Jersey Boys the story of the iconic group and their meteoric rise from the mean streets of New Jersey to international pop superstars.
“I’d like to say yes but obviously the answer is no,” says Gaudio when asked if he could have foreseen the production’s success. “As is always the case with a creative project, I think everybody jumps into it very excited and we had a wonderful creative team, but no one had any reasonable idea that it would turn into what it’s become.”
Premiering in 2004 in La Jolla, California, Jersey Boys was an immediate hit with audiences and soon found its way to Broadway.
“The opening night in La Jolla, both Frankie and I sat next to each other,” says Gaudio. “We both had no idea what we were going to see and were fully prepared to hate it. It was a daunting couple of hours coming up and we were both very apprehensive. By intermission, we both looked at each other and said, ‘My God, if this ever gets to Broadway – watch out!’”
Today, Jersey Boys is a multiple Tony Award-winner that has spawned six touring productions worldwide and is currently wowing Vancouver audiences at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre through September 23.
Though he may be a central figure to the story, Gaudio still loses himself in the retelling of the Four Seasons’ often-turbulent tale.
“There are times I go in and see it and get sucked into the story even though I know it and there are times when I’m just having fun and listening and watching the audience response. Even if the music weren’t as familiar, it still would be a wonderfully constructed, brilliantly-written story. It stands on its own as a theatre piece. The whole storyline and the intrigue and the part of our lives that no one knows about or didn’t know about until now made the music become 50 per cent of the show.”
