Jersey Boys Comes to Manila this September

Jersey Boys Comes to Manila this September

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Manila, Philippines- Atlantis Theatrical Entertainment Group (ATEG) is thrilled to announce the full cast for the Manila premiere of a brand-new production of the Tony, Olivier, and Grammy Award-winning musical “Jersey Boys,”, together with Metrobank Card Corporation, the biographical musical based on the story of the legendary American doo-wop group Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons set to open this September.

Leading the stellar cast are acoustic balladeer Nyoy Volante in the coveted role of Frankie Valli, lead vocalist of the Four Seasons; Asian Pop Superstar Christian Bautista in the role of Bob Gaudio, singer-songwriter and keyboardist; “The Voice” finalist Nino Alejandro in the role of Nick Massi, bass player, and singer-actor Markki Stroem in the role of Tommy DeVito, a founding member of the band.

Directed by Bobby Garcia, “Jersey Boys” features the music by Bob Gaudio, lyrics by Bob Crewe, the Four Seasons’ real-life record producer, and book by Marshall Brickman and Rice Elice. “Jersey Boys” tells the story of the Four Seasons’ formation, meteoric rise and descent via four symbolic seasons told from the different and often contrasting points of view of the band members.

Garcia said, “We went through a long audition process with a different combination of boys. What we have now is the best combination we heard and once we begin rehearsals and they master the Four Seasons’ signature four-part harmonies, I think their sound will be quite thrilling.

“With his immense charm and excellent singing voice, Christian brings that confident bravado that Bob Gaudio has; Nino has an amazing singing voice as well, and he’s such an instinctive actor, while Markki is a great singer, too, a sensitive actor, and an extremely hardworking performer. He’s been bugging the office daily for the script when he was offered the role of Tommy DeVito because he said he needed to get started working on it- that’s how devoted and committed he is.”

“Jersey Boys” is also an ideal tribute to 40-year friendship of Frankie, Bob, Nick, and Tommy. As a singing group, originally called the Varietones, they went from singing on street corners in the various housing projects in Northern New Jersey to singing on national television as their songs, featuring Frankie Valli’s trademark three-octave range and falsetto and distinctive doo-wop sound, charted 24 Top-30 hits from 1962 to 1968. Their most popular songs include “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” “Sherry,” “Walk Like a Man,” “Working My Way Back to You,” “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You,” “My Eyes Adored You,” and “December 1963 (Oh What a Night).”

“Nyoy has that crazy high falsetto and I think it’s perfect for the role of Frankie Valli. I just can’t wait to hear him sing these songs,” said Garcia. “Jersey Boys is such a well-crafted biographic musical. It manages to both be a celebration of the unforgettable music of the Four Seasons and at the same time a gritty but heartfelt true-to-life tale of friendship, family, and stardom. Like any good musical, it has a fantastic story and bringing that story to life while at the same time honoring the legends who created the music is the challenge- it is also what excites me about the show, apart from our truly first-rate cast.”

In this production, Jamie Wilson, Bibo Reyes, Nelsito Gomez, Mikki Bradshaw-Volante, Yanah Laurel, Giannina Ocampo-Van Hoven, Altair Alonso, Steven Conde, Rhenwyn Gabalonzo, Emeline Carmela Guinid, Kendrick Ibasco, Gab Medina, and Timmy Pavino round out the cast.

Scenic Design Faust Peneyra, lighting designer Driscoll Otto, sound designer Justin Stasiw, costume designer Edwin Tan, choreographer Cecile Martinez, musical director Ceejey Javier, vocal coach Manman Angsico, and hair & makeup designer Johann Dela Fuente are on board Garcia’s creative team.

Now on its 11th year on Broadway, “Jersey Boys” officially opened on Broadway at the August Wilson Theatre on November 6, 2005. In 2006, the show won the Tony Award for Best Musical, Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical (John Lloyd Young, who also played the role of Frankie Valli in the movie adaptation in 2014), Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical (Christian Hoff), and Best Lighting Design of a Musical (Howell Binkley). It also won Best New Musical at the 2008 Laurence Olivier Awards in London and Best Musical Show Album at the 2007 Grammy Awards. As of September 22, 2015, after setting a record of at least 4,093 performances, “Jersey Boys” has surpassed “Miss Saigon” as the 12th longest-running show in Broadway history.

To date, the show has been seen by more than 23 million people worldwide and is currently playing in New York, Las Vegas, London, and in numerous cities across North America and the U.K. In Asia, an international touring production, starring an all-South African cast, played Singapore, South Korea, and Malaysia from November 2012 to April 2014.

Considered as America’s most popular singing group before The Beatles, Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, alongside the Beach Boys, Motown, and Memphis soul, fought their way to the top of the music charts even during the phenomenal “Beatlemania,” The Rolling Stones, and British Invasion in the mid-60s. In 1990, the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for selling over 100 million records worldwide.

For more details about what’s happening in the Manila theater scene, please view our Theater Calendar.