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Jon Lee Stars as Valli in Jersey Boys, 15 MarDate: 7 December 2010
Jon Lee will take on the role of Frankie Valli in Jersey Boys at the Prince Edward Theatre from 15 March 2011, alternating with Ryan Molloy who enters his fourth year in the multi award-winning show.
Lee, who rose to fame as a member of chart-topping group S Club 7, began his musical theatre career at a young age, playing the title role in Oliver! at the London Palladium when he was 13. Recently, he has starred in musicals including Les Miserables in the West End (for which he was Whatsonstage.com Award nominated), and Tomorrow Morning at the Landor.
Jersey Boys had its UK premiere on 18 March 2008 (previews from 28 February), going on to win Best New Musical at the Oliviers and four Whatsonstage.com Awards. The musical follows four boys on their journey from the wrong side of the tracks in the state of New Jersey to international success as pop music sensation The Four Seasons. The band wrote their own songs, invented their own sounds and sold 175 million records worldwide, all before they were 30.
Amongst their many hits included in the show are “Sherry”, “Walk Like a Man”, “December, 1963 (Oh What a Night)”, “Big Girls Don’t Cry”, “Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You”, “Working My Way Back to You” and “Who Loves You”. The musical has been written by Rick Elice and Marshall Brickman and uses the original music written by band member Bob Gaudio.
The new cast will also feature: Matthew Wycliffe as Bob Gaudio, Wayne Smith as Bob Crewe, Rachael Wooding as Mary Delgado, Carl Au as Joe Pesci, Lauren Hall as Francine, Jo Servi as Barry Belson, Chris Gardner as Hank Majewski, and Jake Samuels as Norm Waxman. Trina Hill and Tom Oakley also join the ensemble.
Jon Boydon will continue to star as Tommy DeVito, Eugene McCoy as Nick Massi, Mark Carroll as Donnie/Knuckles, Charlie Bull as Lorraine, and Stuart Milligan as Gyp DeCarlo. Also in the cast are Lucinda Gill, Michael Conway, Mark Isherwood, Ben Wheeler and Paul Iveson.
In other musical casting news:
The full new cast of Wicked, which takes over from 7 February 2011, has been confirmed. Joining the previously announced Mark Evans (Fiyero) are: Zoe Rainey (Hairspray) as Nessarose, Ben Stott (Into The Woods, Open Air Theatre) as Boq and Chloe Taylor (Wicked, 2009) as Standby Glinda. Rachel Tucker continues as Elphaba, Louise Dearman as Glinda and Clive Carter as The Wizard.
Charlie Bruce, winner of BBC series So You Think You Can Dance, will take on the role of Baby in hit West End musical Dirty Dancing – The Classic Story On Stage for one week only, from 20 to 24 December. Bruce joined the cast in September and has been performing the role of Gina in the ensemble. - by Theo Bosanquet
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