Barbara of ‘Jersey Boys’ fame jetting to Great White Way
Not so long ago, Joe Barbara sent a video clip of himself reciting lines in a high school classroom to film legend Robert De Niro.
To Barbara, the image of De Niro watching and judging that clip is still a little unsettling.
“That makes me nervous, imagining that,” says Barbara, who plays the role of Gyp DeCarlo (among four other parts, including “bowling alley owner”) in the soon-to-close “Jersey Boys” at Paris Las Vegas. “I have now had the opportunity to have Robert De Niro sitting 6 feet from me in a folding chair in a rehearsal hall. But the thought of him sitting alone, watching an audition video of me … I gotta say, it’s pretty scary.”
One of the underappreciated stage performers in Las Vegas since joining “JB” in 2009, Barbara has been sky-hooked from the Las Vegas Strip to the Great White Way. He’s to play the role of Carmine, and serve as the understudy to the lead role of Sonny, in the upcoming Broadway musical adaptation of Chazz Palminteri’s “A Bronx Tale.” The production opens for previews at Longacre owns the distinction of being the longest-running musical ever on the Strip.
At Thursday’s show, Charles Fazzino, the official artist of the U.S. Olympic Committee, presented Glist and Williams with limited-edition posters he created just for the production. Versions signed by Fazzino, a renowned 3-D pop artist, are currently on sale at the “Menopause” gift shop for $40. NEWTON ACHING
Wayne Newton has a faulty wheel. In late June, Mr. Las Vegas suffered a bite from a brown recluse (if it’s such a recluse, why is it hanging around Wayne Newton?) while clearing a shed at Casa de Shenandoah. That ailment caused him to miss the premiere of “Sharknado 4” at the Stratosphere and also a couple performances at Windows Showroom at Bally’s.
The bite and subsequent fever also caused Newton to lose 40 pounds, down to 185. As he says, “I’ve lost weight, but not in the way you want to lose weight.” John Katsilometes’ column runs Saturday, Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday in the A section. He also hosts “Kats! On The Radio” Wednesdays at 8 p.m. on KUNV 91.5-FM and appears Wednesdays at 11 a.m. with Dayna Roselli on KTNV Channel 13. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on Twitter.