Photo Coverage: SF Jersey Boys 'Help is on the Way' Benefit

On Sunday, August 5th at the Palace of Fine Arts Theatre, The Richmond/Ermet AIDS Foundation (REAF) presented "Help is on the Way XIII: Goes to the Movies," Northern California's largest annual AIDS benefit and gala.

"Help is on the Way" was "an elegant evening of fun designed to raise funds for Bay Area AIDS service provider agencies," state press notes.  The four Jersey Boys leads sang a Tough Guy Movie Medley and 13 members of the cast sang "Seasons Of Love" and "Help Is On The Way."

Jersey Boys plays San Francisco's Curran Theatre (445 Geary Street) through September 30.  Winner of the 2006 Tony Award for Best Musical, Jersey Boys is written by Academy Award winner Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice, with music by Bob Gaudio, lyrics by Bob Crewe, directed by two-time Tony Award winner Des McAnuff and choreographed by Sergio Trujillo.

The second tour cast features Drew Gehling as Bob Gaudio, Steve Gouveia as Nick Massi, Jeremy Kushnier as Tommy DeVito and Jarrod Spector as Frankie Valli.  The ensemble comprises Lyndsey Cole, John Michael Coppola, John Michael Dias, Mike Erickson, Steven M. Goldsmith, John Hickman, Lauren Marshall, Wade McCollum, Rashad Naylor, Jenny Lee Ramos, Jake Speck, Kara Tremel, Ryan Quinn West with Eddie Driscoll and Craig Laurie.

The musical, according to production notes, "is the story of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons - Frankie Valli, Bob Gaudio, Tommy DeVito and Nick Massi, and how this group of blue-collar boys from the wrong side of the tracks became one of the biggest American pop music sensations of all time.  They wrote their own songs, invented their own sound and sold 175 million records worldwide - all before they were thirty."  Jersey Boys features such Four Seasons hits as "Big Girls Don't Cry," "Sherry," "Walk Like a Man," "Oh, What a Night" and "Can't Take My Eyes Off You." For tickets to Jersey Boys in San Francisco, visit www.shnsf.com.

Visit www.helpisontheway.org for more information.  Visit www.jerseyboysbroadway.com for more on Jersey Boys.

Photos by Larry Baker

 
The cast of Jersey Boys with BD Wong

Jarrod Spector, Drew Gehling, Bruce Vilanch and Jeremy Kushnier

Jarrod Spector and Jai Rodriguez

Joey McIntyre and Jenny Lee Ramos 

Michael Ingersoll, Jeremy Kushnier, Lucy Lawless, Drew Gehling and Jarrod Spector

Jeremy Kushnier, Drew Gehling, Marissa Jaret Winokur, Jarrod Spector and Michael Ingersoll

Jeremy Kushnier, Raul Esparza, Drew Gehling and Michael Ingersoll

Lyndsey Cole, Kara Tremel, Susan Anton, Jenny Lee Ramos and Lauren Marshall

Jeremy Kushnier, Drew Gehling, Susan Anton, Jarrod Spector and Michael Ingersoll

Drew Gehling and Valarie Pettiford