JERSEY BOYS to Make South African Premiere in June 2013

The runaway worldwide smash hit musical, JERSEY BOYS, currently playing in major cities worldwide including New York, Las Vegas, London, Auckland, Brisbane and across the USA, makes its South African premiere at the Teatro at Montecasino on Wednesday, April 3, 2013 and will then open at Artscape, Cape Town Wednesday, June 19, 2013.

The New York production of JERSEY BOYS, which opened to critical acclaim on Sunday, November 6, 2005 and will soon celebrate seven years on Broadway, remains among Broadway’s top selling musicals and is the longest running show in the history of the August Wilson Theatre, where it has played over 2,800 performances. The show has been seen by over 14 million people worldwide and is currently playing in New York, Las Vegas, London, across the U.S. on two national tours; Brisbane, Australia and will open soon in Singapore and Auckland.

JERSEY BOYS is the story of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons: Frankie Valli, Bob Gaudio, Tommy DeVito and Nick Massi, about a group of blue-collar boys from the wrong side of the tracks who became one of the biggest American pop music sensations of all time. They wrote their own songs, invented their own sounds and sold 175 million records worldwide - all before they were thirty. The show features all their hits including “Sherry,” “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” “Oh What A Night,” “Walk Like A Man,” “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You” and “Working My Way Back To You.”

JERSEY BOYS is the recipient of the 2006 Tony Award for Best Musical and the 2009 Olivier Award for Best Musical. The Original Broadway Cast Recording, produced by Bob Gaudio, received the 2006 Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album and has been certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

JERSEY BOYS South African Producer, Hazel Feldman of Showtime Management announced the cast and introduced the Four Seasons played by Grant Almirall (Chicago, Evita, Jesus Christ Superstar) as Frankie Valli; Daniel Buys (Boys in the Photograph, Mamma Mia!) as Tommy DeVito; Kenneth Meyer (Boys in the Photograph, Evita, Jesus Christ Superstar) as Bob Gaudio and television star Emanuel Castis (Scandal!, Isidingo, season 4 winner of Strictly Come Dancing) as Nick Massi with Jaco van Rensberg (Showboat, Chicago, Grease ) playing Frankie Valli at certain performances.

The three leading female characters are fondly dubbed, the “Jersey Girls”. Carmen Pretorius (Footloose!, Mamma Mia, Cabaret) is Lorraine, Taryn-Lee Hudson is Mary and Kirsten Murphy (Some Like it Vrot, Grease, M-Net’s Crimes Uncovered) is Francine. The ensemble features a host of multi-talented local performers including Duane Alexander (Chicago, Cats, Cabaret, Beauty and the Beast), Bjorn Blignault (Jam Alley, Idols finalist Idols, Dreamgirls), Charlie Bouguenon (The King & I, Buddy – the Buddy Holly story, Thoroughly Modern Millie), Matt Counihan (Grease, Rocky Horror Picture Show, Cabaret), Christopher Dudgeon (Showboat, Tree Aan!, Rocky Horror Picture Show), Ryan Flynn (Beauty and the Beast, Rocky Horror Picture Show, Cinderella), Stephen Jubber (Dalliances, Mamma Mia!, Jesus Christ Superstar), Lara Adine Lipschitz (Pippi Longstocking, Isidingo), Kyle Matthews (Ragtime, Evita, Jesus Christ Superstar), Byron Olivato (Hairspray, Boys in the Photograph, African Footprint) and Stephan van der Walt (Giselle, Chronicles, E-Boyz).

Bryan Schimmel, Musical Director heads the South African creative team. Anton Luitingh is Resident Director; Duane Alexander is Resident Choreographer and Dance Captain; Alistair Kilbee is Technical Director and Yolanda Kimber is Company Manager. The visiting top- notch New York based global creative team of Ron Melrose, Music Supervisor; Richard Hester, Production Supervisor and Danny Austin, Associate Choreographer are responsible for staging JERSEY BOYS globally. The two creative teams will work closely together.

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