Theater News

Full Casting Announced for Jersey Boys

Christian Hoff, David Noroña, Daniel Reichard,and J.Robert Spencer in the La Jollaproduction of Jersey Boys
Christian Hoff, David Noroña, Daniel Reichard,
and J.Robert Spencer in the La Jolla
production of Jersey Boys

Tituss Burgess, Steve Gouveia, Peter Gregus, Donnie Kehr, Michael Longoria, Mark Lotito, Jennifer Naimo, Dominic Nolfi, Erica Piccininni, and Sara Schmidt will make up the ensemble of Jersey Boys, the new musical about the famed pop group Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons that will begin performances at the Virginia Theater on October 4 in advance of a November 6 opening.

Tony Award-winner Des McAnuff will direct the production, just as he did at the La Jolla Playhouse, where Jersey Boys ran from October 5, 2004 to January 16, 2005. Jersey Boys will be produced on Broadway by Dodger Theatricals, Joseph J. Grano, and Tamara and Kevin Kinsella.

The cast will be led by Christian Hoff as Tommy DeVito, Daniel Reichard as Bob Gaudio,and J. Robert Spencer as Nick Massi, all of whom are re-creating their La Jolla roles as members of the Four Seasons. John Lloyd Young will play group leader Frankie Valli, the role previously played by David Noroña.

In addition to McAnuff, whose credits include The Who’s Tommy and 700 Sundays, the show’s creative team includes book writers Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice, composer Bob Gaudio, lyricist Bob Crewe, set designer Klara Zieglerova, costume designer Jess Goldstein, lighting designer Howell Binkley, and projection designer Michael Clark.

Brickman, a frequent collaborator of Woody Allen, won an Academy Award for the screenplay of Annie Hall. Elice is an actor — he appeared Off-Broadway in Adult Entertainment — as well as a writer, director, and a former executive at the advertising agency Serino Coyne. Gaudio was a longtime member of The Four Seasons and the band’s primary songwriter. Lyricist Crowe co-wrote many of the group’s biggest hits, including Big Girls Don’t Cry, as well as the pop smash Lady Marmalade.