Working their way back: ‘Jersey Boys’ finds a home — again — in Vegas
A late-night radio DJ shouts at his audience about a new rock ’n’ roll tune. His excitement unbridled, he asks his unseen listeners, “I mean, is that a different sound or what? … What can I say? I love this record!”
It’s “Sherry,” the song that catapulted the Four Seasons to superstardom — and the moment when “Jersey Boys” takes off.
Producers have recaptured the musical’s inspiring underdog story, and the band’s infectious collection of hits, at the Orleans Showroom. (Showtimes are 7:30 p.m. Mondays through Sundays, with 3:30 p.m. matinees Saturdays, dark Tuesdays; go to jerseyboys.vegas for more intel.)
“Jersey Boys” is the first residency production show at the Orleans Showroom, which sits on an off-Strip island with a mix of locals and tourists as customers.
“We’re super-thrilled with where their show has ended up, and the audience reactions have been overwhelmingly fulfilling,” says John Bentham of Ivory Star Productions, one of the show’s co-producers. “There is a feeling among people who have seen this show multiple times, that it is on their top-show list. So there is a lot of pressure to make sure we get it right.”
An Orleans operation
Bentham has a home-field advantage at Orleans already, producing shows at The Venue across the casino floor. His roster includes afternoon magician Adam London, who celebrated his show’s 10th anniversary a few months ago; the “Marriage Can Be Murder” dinner show, marking No. 25 this year; the “Late Night Magic” ensemble production; and “The Conjurers: Cabin of Wonders” close-up magic show.
Still, it’s a common question: “What is the audience for ‘Jersey Boys’ at The Orleans?’ ” Check the hotel’s name for its original theme, and its plot point on Waze for its 6-mile distance from the Strip. The Orleans is very much a stand-alone hotel, geographically and creatively, in the “Jersey Boys” project.
Bentham has conducted his own market testing.
“We’re doing surveys at each show, and just randomly asking people a few questions, and that’s one of the questions we’re asking,” the producer says. “And then we’re sending a survey out afterwards. What I’ve found is, we are at about 65-70 percent tourists and 30-35 percent locals.”
Families have come to the show, parents who have seen “Jersey Boys” in Vegas or elsewhere, alongside kids who really do need to know the meaning behind “Walk Like a Man.”
“They are having an amazing time because they’re hearing great music, and also getting the story behind it,” Bentham says. “That’s one thing that I found that’s really kind of interesting about this show’s demographics.”
Crucial partnership
Bentham is also experienced enough to know when a show needs a longer runway, as it were, financially. He’s entering a co-production partnership with Darin Feinstein’s Red Mercury Entertainment. RME is now the majority equity partner, furnishing fresh revenue, marketing and box-office and ticketing management through its Ticketbat platform.
As Bentham says of his new Ivory Star partner, “We’re a small and mighty company, but Red Mercury has the services and the staff to allow us to do so many more things.”
“Jersey Boys” split its previous residency run on the Strip from 2008 to 2016. It was launched at the Palazzo Theater when the resort opened in April 2008. It enjoyed box-office success as a buoyant jukebox musical. The show also got a shot of national publicity from an appearance on “America’s Got Talent” soon after opening, which fueled ticket sales.
But marketing costs at the hotel cut into the show’s profits. The production was paying from its own stash for advertising around the hotel and began to sag financially. Faced with the option of shutting down or moving, the show found investment cash and an eager partner with Caesars Entertainment at the Paris Theater. Caesars would pick up the marketing, and hope the popular show would animate the 1,100-capacity room.
But “Jersey Boys” was among many shows to struggle in that venue, running from March 2011 until shutting down Sept. 18, 2016.
Keeping the faith
Bentham never gave up on the “Jersey Boys” brand, securing permission from original producers Dodger Theatricals to shop the show around town. The longtime Vegas producer approached venues such as the Golden Nugget Showroom to resuscitate the production.
Bentham finally arrived at a deal with Orleans owner Boyd Gaming to stage the show in a venue where headliners such as Air Supply, Engelbert Humperdinck and Jeffrey Osborne have performed. The showroom was also the final Vegas stage (pending any similar revival project) for “Legends in Concert,” which celebrated its 40th anniversary last summer.
Another Vegas run
This “Jersey Boys” cast is talented, and you sense a creative hunger from the company as it debuts off the Strip. Those playing the four lead roles arrived in Vegas after a nationwide casting call.
Joey Barreiro (“Newsies” national tour) and Jared Chinnock (originally from Wales, in his third stint in the show) toggle the Frankie Valli role. Kit Treece (from the “Jersey Boys” off-Broadway company) delivers the Bob Gaudio role. Tyler Burk (“Summer: The Donna Summer Musical), a recording artist out of L.A., plays Tommy DeVito. Jonathan Cable is Nick Massi, reviving his role in the show’s off-Broadway closing production after spending two years on tour.
Danny Austin is the show’s production supervisor and associate choreographer, and Ron Melrose is the music supervisor. Both have spent two decades with the show. Ace Vegas entertainment professional Sara Lowe is assistant director and choreographer; she worked on the show’s original production on the Strip.
The 10-piece band, peppered with Las Vegas players, delivers the hits over the room’s revamped sound system. The lighting is new. The sets are from the original production (including the terrifically detailed “Ed Sullivan Show” TV stage).
This show is full
The production’s script and run time is at its original Broadway template, 2 hours and 15 minutes with a truncated 10-minute intermission.
That last sentence alone will cause longtime local entertainment observers to do a double take. Intermissions in Las Vegas shows have tempted audiences to leak away since “Avenue Q” played Wynn Las Vegas nearly 20 years ago. “Disney’s The Lion King” at Mandalay Bay (Where “Michael Jackson One” is performed today) was the last full-length, Broadway-rooted show to attempted a full intermission. That was more than a decade ago.
Even the original Vegas “Jersey Boys” show didn’t run its full script (though it had an eight-minute break), but the story is considered invaluable in this version. The relationship between Massi and Valli is more developed, making more effective Massi’s classic explanation for leaving the group, “When there are four guys, and you’re Ringo …”
Valli himself visited the show during rehearsals a couple of months ago, the very founder giving his nod of approval. Such Vegas cast members as Travis Cloer (who played Valli more than anybody, losing count at 2,500) and Jeff Leibow (who portrayed Massi for four years in Las Vegas) have offered good-luck messages.
But the songs will sell and tell the story. The “Jersey Boys” are counting on another date with “Sherry” to make a match in Vegas.
John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. His “PodKats!” podcast can be found at reviewjournal.com/podcasts. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on X, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.
