'Jersey Boys' Opens in Cleveland Tonight

Jersey Boys, the Tony Award® winning Best Musical that tells the story of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons, opens tonight, Friday, June 20, in Cleveland's Playhouse Square for a five week engagement through July 20, 2008.

Jersey Boys 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 30.

Jersey Boys is directed by two-time Tony® Award winner Des McAnuff.  The musical, which won a total of four Tony® Awards and continues to set new weekly box office records at the August Wilson Theatre on Broadway, is written by Academy Award winner Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice, with music by Bob Gaudio, lyrics by Bob Crewe and choreography by Sergio Trujillo.

The production stars Erik Bates (as Tommy DeVito), Joseph Leo Bwarie (as Frankie Valli), Steve Gouveia (as Nick Massi) and Andrew Rannells (as Bob Gaudio) with Jonathan Hadley and Joseph Siravo.  The ensemble comprises Miles Aubrey, Matt Bailey, Sarah Darling, Christopher DeAngelis, Buck Hujabre, Jamie Karen, Renée Marino, Brandon Matthieus, Denise Payne, Zachary Prince, Nathan Scherich, Courter Simmons, Taylor Sternberg and Kara Tremel.

Jersey Boys premiered at La Jolla Playhouse, October 17, 2004, where the musical played a record-breaking run prior to the Broadway production. Jersey Boys opened at the August Wilson Theatre on Broadway to critical acclaim on November 6, 2005 and remains among the five top grossing shows in New York.  The Jersey Boys National Tour opened to rave reviews in San Francisco on December 1, 2006 and played a 44-week, record-breaking run.  By popular demand, the show returned to the Bay Area for a limited engagement November 20 through December 30, 2007.  Jersey Boys played a record-breaking run in Los Angeles and is breaking house records in cities across the U.S. on a National Tour.  The show opened to rave reviews in London and is playing an extended, record-breaking run in Chicago, and just opened at the Palazzo Resort and Casino in Las Vegas.

The Original Broadway Cast Recording of Jersey Boys, produced by Bob Gaudio, received the 2007 Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album and has been certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Jersey Boys: The Story of Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons (Broadway Books) is the official handbook to the smash Broadway hit and is now on sale.