Thursday, February 4, 2010
Eating Ribs with the Jersey Boys
Posted by Chris Davis on Thu, Feb 4, 2010 at 3:18 PM
Yesterday I sat down for some barbecue and conversation with Joseph Leo Bwarie, Matt Bailey, Steve Gouveia, and Ryan Jesse, the actors playing Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons in Jersey Boys.
Part II of Eating RIbs with the Jersey Boys is below the fold...
Jersey Boys is at the Orpheum through February 14.
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This two-part interview is a treat! Thank you for posting this fabulous two-parter with this amazing cast!
Chris: you've missed your true calling. Your videography is even better than your writing (which is pretty damn good). But why, of all places, did you take them to the Rendezvous? These boys deserved better.
And speaking of touring companies, is it true that there's a difference, in terms of cost, in the Broadway show touring companies? I've heard that, if there are three or four touring productions going on, simultaneously, there's also a difference in the quality of those productions, and, therefore, in what they charge the theaters that book them. I've also heard that the Orpheum routinely books the least costly of those productions. Is that true?
JB Fan, Thanks. The boys are every bit as easy going and fun to talk to as they seem in the video. I was originally going to use my camera as my memory and write up a standard feature but when I went back and watched the video it seemed like this might be a fun thing to share with fans. My one regret was not getting a shot of Ryan Jesse--a vegetarian-- tearing through a rack of ribs. "I eat meat sometimes," he parried sheepishly as the other guys teased him. Sadly, my camera was full.
AE, thanks. The Rendevous was their idea and very close to the hotel. And while I've always been a cozy corner man myself I agree with Mr. Vergos: If you're in Memphis and only going to eat ribs once go to the Rendevous.
Regarding tours: The answer is yes and no. For example there is only one tour of Jersey Boys. It originates from Broadway and even features Steve Gouveia from the original Broadway cast. That's the case with tours of a currently or recently successful Broadway show. There are other touring shows which are not currently embedded on Broadway/Chicago etc. that are assembled by independent producers and which may not hire Equity (union) actors. There's no reason to assume that these are of a lower quality although in terms of cost they're certainly no Jersey Boys. I've never noticed a great difference in ticket cost but it's not uncommon in the retail world to make less money on expensive items than on bargain items and the same case can be made here.
The most famous non-union show to play the Orpheum was the Sound of Music starring Equity actor Barry Williams (Greg from the Brady Bunch). Williams became very agitated and yelled at me when I asked him about this in a phone interview years ago. He told me I was wrong but I wasn't. He was subsequently fined $52,000 by actors Equity although it was never paid. He was eventually re-instated.
On video: My first job in media was editing video for channel 3 when I was a senior at Rhodes. I worked the morning shift with Todd Demers and Steve Haizlip and have retained some vestigial sense of how to bang something together on the fly. Not Orson Welles just yet. Although I'm gaining on hm in terms of pants size.
I always leave out the "z." It used to annoy me, now it's just comical.
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