Bob Gaudio’s still a fan of ‘Jersey Boys’
COMMENTARY have stepped into the shoes of Gaudio, Valli, Tommy DeVito and Nick Massi. Gaudio likes telling a story about the extended “Jersey Boys” cast and alumni – when actors fell ill before a New York performance, an S.O.S. was sent out across the city looking for actors who already knew the show and could step in. More people showed up than were needed.
“It’s quite a family,” he says.
He knew putting the band’s story on stage was ambitious – but he and Valli were determined.
“I grew up loving Broadway. So did Frankie,” he says. “So I think we both concluded, ‘Let’s go for the big one. Let’s see if we can pull off a Broadway show.’”
It took “a long time and several creative teams,” but eventually “Jersey Boys” opened – “in La Jolla [California], of all places!” Gaudio exclaims. “Beach Boys territory!”
Valli enjoys contemporary music, including rap — “really good, imaginative rhythms,” he says. Covers of his own songs can surprise him, such as when Lauryn Hill sang “Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You.”
“She had the audacity not to use the horn lick — and it still worked,” he says. “It just blew me away.”
He can’t explain the enduring popularity of his songwriting catalog, though he thinks their placement in movies has kept the songs alive for new generations.
“In ‘Dirty Dancing,’ ‘Big Girls Don’t Cry’ is the first cut. That reached a lot of people,” he says. “I just saw Frankie at Radio City Music Hall, and he sold the place out. I was observing the audience, and it was every age group. I don’t know where they come from.”
He also observes the audience when he catches “Jersey Boys” — that is, until the story draws him back in.
“Sometimes I’m all business — that sight line isn’t quite right, that harmony could be tighter,” he says. “But sometimes it’s like living my life over again — with a 20-minute intermission.”