“Jersey Boys” MoVes to paris Las Vegas

By heater Turk 

wen yu’re a teater actr, it’s nt uncmmn t tur it a pructin r evenrelcate r a jb, but it’s nt very ten a sit-n pructin yu’re starring incanges venues. hever, tat’s just at Travis Cler an te cast “JerseyBys” a t eal it en it as annunce late last year tat te Tny Aar-inning musical, base n te lives Frankie Valli an Te Fur Seasns, ulbe ening its run at Te Palazz in 2012 an mving t Paris Las Vegas—a fttingvenue given te s’s pening number is a Frenc renitin ne tegrup’s mst belve sngs, “december, 1963 (o, wat a Nigt).”

Since opening at The Palazzo in 2008,

“Jersey Boys” has been one o Las Vegas’

hottest tickets. The crowd-pleasing jukebox

musical gives audiences a VH1 “Behind

the Music”-look at how our blue-collar

boys rom the wrong side o the tracks went

on to become one o the biggest American

pop sensations o all time. Featuring such

classic hits as “Sherry,” “Big Girls Don’t

Cry” and “Can’t Take My Eyes O You,”

“Jersey Boys” is a toe-tapping joy rom

start to fnish.

“Even i you’re not a an, everyone knows

their music,” Cloer, who plays Frankie Valli

in the Las Vegas production our times a

 week, told Sunseeker. “It’s the best popular

music ever released. And the show is such

a great match or Las Vegas because o its

rags-to-riches story.”

Having perormed in the show or fve years

 While the Par is Theatre may be a bit

smaller than the theater “Jersey Boys” was

previously housed in (1,477 seats versus

1,734 seats), the perormance space is

actually six eet wider, so Cloer and the rest

o the cast had to rehearse or a ew weeks

beore the show’s premiere to tweak their

entrances and exits. A ew cast members

also changed since “Jersey Boys’” fnal

perormance at The Palazzo Jan. 1, although

the majority o The Four Seasons—Cloer,

Graham Fenton (who shares the vocally 

demanding role o Frankie Valli with Cloer),

 Je Leibow (who plays Nick Massi) and

Deven May (who plays Tommy DeVito)—

remain the same. In act, very little about the

production has actually changed outside

o its venue, as Cloer said the producers

 were adamant on how they wanted to keep

the show—meaning unlike several other

Broadway musicals that have played in Las

 Vegas over the years, “Jersey Boys” hasn’ t

ces soirées-làtav c, p sa, dvn may an jff lb fng “wak lk a man” a th paazz

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P h   o  t    o  s  b   y I    s  a  a  c B r   e k  k   e n 

Having perormed in the show or fve years

(three-and-a-hal years in Las Vegas and

a-year-and-a-hal on Broadway), Cloer

said he’s excited to be moving to the more

intimate Paris Theatre, as the show works

better in a smaller setting.

“In New York, the audience was right at the

oot o the stage, so it was easier to engage

 with them,” he explained.

 Vegas over the years, “Jersey Boys” hasn’ t

been trimmed down to 90 minutes.

 Although Cloer said he’d miss how The

Palazzo went “all out” when designing the

 Jersey Boys Theatre, given that Par is Las

 Vegas is part o the Caesars Enterta inment

amily, he knows that the cross-marketing

the show will receive throughout all o

Caesars’ resorts should only help the show’s

MAR-APR 2012 Sunseeker_ƒ.indd 22 5/24/12 1:49 PM

 

popularity continue to grow. Additionally,

Cloer noted that the more centralized

location on the Strip should be “great or

oot trafc”—although “Jersey Boys” hardly 

seems to need it.

“You don’t eel any remorse when you spend

 your money on a ticket to come see the show,”

Cloer replied when asked why audiences

should choose to see “Jersey Boys” over any 

other show in town. “You’ll sing, you’ll laugh,

 you’ll cry and by the end o the show, you’ll

be jumping out o your seat to dance along

 with us. The show just has this contagious

energy—people never want it to stop.”

Cloer eels similarly about the time he’s

spent with the production, although, like his

ormer cast mate Rick Faugno (who Cloer

shared the role o Valli with until Faugno let

the production to star in his own one-man

show last October), he admits that he wants

to spend some time on his own music as

 well. Having already released a couple o

CDs, Cloer said he’s hoping to one day do

his own show at a nearby casino, although

“Jersey Boys” will still come frst. For just like

the legend he portrays onstage, Cloer doesn’t

see himsel slowing down anytime soon.

“I just eel like perorming is what I was born

to do,” Cloer concluded. “No other thing has

brought me so much joy.”

 Audiences can see Cloer and the rest o the

cast o “Jersey Boys” when the show makes

its debut at Paris Las Vegas March 6. Show 

times are Wed.-Fri. and Sun. at 7 p.m. and

Tue. and Sat. at 6:30 and 9:30 p.m. Tickets

range rom $100.30-$171.80, plus taxes and

ees. To reserve your seat, call 702.777.7776 or

 visit ticketmaster.com.

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peer saie, deven may, travi coer an jeff leibow erforing “sherry” a the paazzo

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