50 Fun Facts About Jersey Boys

Who co-wrote the book of Jersey Boys with Rick Elice?

Brickman, a frequent Woody Allen collaborator, called it 'a classic American story. It's rags to riches, and back to rags.'

How is the musical structured?

Each man gives his own version of events, and the contradictions between them were deliberately left in.

Where did Jersey Boys premiere in 2004?

The out-of-town tryout at the University of California, San Diego ran from October 2004 to January 2005.

At which Broadway house did Jersey Boys open in November 2005?

It played 38 previews before opening night and stayed in the same house for its entire run.

Who directed the original production of Jersey Boys?

He was initially lukewarm and disliked naming the show after a Four Seasons song, fearing it would look like a cash grab.

Who choreographed Jersey Boys?

Trujillo later choreographed Memphis and Ain't Too Proud, another jukebox show about a vocal group.

Who originated Frankie Valli on Broadway after first auditioning to play Tommy?

He replaced David Norona at the end of the La Jolla tryout and later reprised the part in the 2014 film.

Which original Broadway cast member played Tommy?

Reichard played Bob and Spencer played Nick; Andy Karl was a later Tommy replacement.

How many performances had the Broadway production given when it closed in January 2017?

By its 4,093rd performance in 2015 it was already the 12th-longest-running show in Broadway history.

Who was the final Frankie Valli of the Broadway run?

The Dancing with the Stars pro took over for the closing stretch; Spector and Molloy were earlier Broadway Vallis.

Frankie Valli's granddaughter Olivia joined the off-Broadway cast in which role?

She played her grandfather's first wife in the smaller 2017 production at New World Stages.

How many Tony Awards did Jersey Boys win in 2006?

Best Musical was among them, and the London production added the Olivier Award for Best New Musical in 2009.

Jersey Boys made its West End debut in 2008 at which venue?

It moved to the Piccadilly in 2014 and closed after nine years in 2017; a 2021 revival then played the Trafalgar.

The original West End Frankie stayed in the role for a record how many years?

That made him the longest-running star in a West End musical and the longest-serving Frankie Valli anywhere.

The original cast recording won a 2007 Grammy in which category?

Released by Rhino in 2005, it went Gold in 2008 and Platinum in 2009 for a million US copies.

Which ABBA musical's success helped convince the show's creators a jukebox show could work?

Smokey Joe's Cafe was the other model, though the writers chose to tell the band's real story rather than invent a plot.

Who came up with the title 'Jersey Boys', reportedly on a plane ride?

His reasoning was simply that the band members were all just a bunch of Jersey boys, and the name stuck.

Which band member approved the project but died in 2000 before giving interviews?

The writers drew on interviews with the three surviving members, and approached Tommy last.

The members' conflicting accounts were built into the show as an effect named for which film?

Tommy told the writers, 'Don't listen to those guys. I'll tell you what really happened,' which Elice called a eureka moment.

Relatives of which mob boss contacted the writers to make sure he was portrayed respectfully?

In the show he gives Frankie a 'claim check' for a future favor, which Frankie eventually redeems to settle Tommy's debts.

The show opens with 'Ces soirées-là', a French adaptation of which Four Seasons song?

The French version was a number-one hit in 2000, and Tommy uses it to point out that the band's music has outlived them.

In the show, where does the band get its permanent name?

Producer Bob Crewe had told them they had an 'identity crisis' and needed to settle on one name.

In the show, which future Oscar-winning actor introduces the songwriter to the group?

In the finale Tommy reveals he now works for Pesci, whose Goodfellas character was coincidentally also named Tommy DeVito.

Before joining the band, the group's songwriter already had a hit with which song?

He tells the audience not to believe Tommy plucked him from obscurity.

Which producer signs the band at the Brill Building, at first only for backup sessions?

Late in the show he teaches Bob the industry tricks that turn 'Can't Take My Eyes Off You' into a hit.

Which breakthrough hit is written minutes before the group's first real recording session?

A disc jockey named Barry Belson plays it over and over, and two more chart-toppers quickly follow.

How much does loan shark Norm Waxman say Tommy owes when he first confronts the band?

With interest and the band's unpaid taxes added, the figure balloons to $662,000 at the basement meeting.

Where is Tommy sent to live under the mob's watch as collateral?

Bob proposes that the remaining trio buy out Tommy's share of the band to cover the debt.

Which band member narrates the 'Spring' section that opens the show?

Bob takes Summer, Nick takes Fall and Frankie closes with Winter.

What is the name of Frankie's daughter, whose death is the show's tragic turn?

The real Francine Valli died in 1980, thirteen years after the song the show pairs with her loss was recorded.

The finale reunites the band at their Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction in which year?

Bob Crewe introduces them and they perform together for the first time in more than twenty years.

Which song does the reunited band perform at the Hall of Fame scene?

'Who Loves You' follows as the closing number after each member's final monologue.

In his closing monologue, Bob says he has married and retired to which city?

He stays in touch with Frankie about the band's business affairs; in real life the two still share a handshake partnership.

Tommy reveals he was named Man of the Year for 2002 by which New Jersey town?

It is the same town where all four men's stories begin, on a street corner in the early 1950s.

The Las Vegas production debuted in 2008 at which hotel?

It played a purpose-built Jersey Boys Theatre there, then moved to Paris Las Vegas in 2012 and closed in 2016.

The first US tour opened in December 2006 at which San Francisco venue?

The tour went on to 38 cities and broke the box-office record at Philadelphia's Forrest Theatre eight times.

The Chicago cast performed at the 2007 Emmys in a tribute to which HBO series?

The series returned the favor with several nods, including an episode titled 'Walk Like a Man' and a retirement-home trip to see the show.

In The Other Guys (2010), the detectives played by Wahlberg and Ferrell get show tickets as what?

They accept the tickets and go to the show, one of several pop-culture cameos the musical has made.

In the 2013 Dutch production, the dialogue was in Dutch but the songs were sung in which language?

It was the first time the show had been performed in any language other than English.

Who directed the 2014 film adaptation of Jersey Boys?

It came three years after J. Edgar, his longest gap between directing projects since 1980.

Who was originally engaged to direct the film in 2012 before the project changed hands?

Warner Bros. put the film in turnaround that November, and the eventual director signed on the following June.

Which studio released the Jersey Boys film in June 2014?

Critics praised the musical numbers but not the narrative or runtime, and it grossed $67 million worldwide.

Where was the Jersey Boys film shot?

The production spent $58.6 million there and qualified for the California Film & Television Tax Credit.

Which stage Frankie was Valli's own favorite for the film role, though he was not chosen?

The director insisted on stage veterans over film stars: 'You've got people who've done 1,200 performances; how much better can you know a character?'

The band's real 1965 Ohio arrest happened at the state fair in which city, not Cleveland as filmed?

The writers moved it to Cleveland to tie the start of the band's fall to their Hall of Fame reunion there 25 years later.

Who played Frankie Valli in the still-unreleased 2021 live capture of the musical?

Andy Karl, who played Tommy, has said the producers still hope to release it but distributors were cooler than expected.

In the show, Frankie first intends to spell his new stage surname how?

Mary Delgado talks him into the more Italian spelling, and the two soon marry.

Which girl group becomes the band's opening act in the show?

The New Jersey trio perform 'My Boyfriend's Back' and become the band members' paramours.

Since 2018, Jersey Boys has been staged aboard which cruise ship?

The show premiered on the new ship the year it entered service.

What is Frankie's birth surname, as used when he is introduced in the show?

The film introduces him as a 16-year-old barber's son already known around the neighborhood for his voice.