ADAM LAMBERT CD AND EASTWOOD'S JERSEY BOYS
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THE GLORIOUS CORNER
Story By: G. H. HARDING
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| Clint Eastwood |
JERSEY BOYS GOLD --- Warner Brothers put up the latest clip last from Clint Eastwood’s coming bigscreen version of jukebox musical Jersey Boys last night and it's rather sensational. If you loved the play (music by Bob Gaudio; lyrics by Bob Crewe and book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice), and millions have, you saw Eastwood’s faithful recreation with notable moments from Christopher Walken (as Angelo 'Gyp' DeCarlo) and Donnie Kehr reprising his gold-plated infamous role as Norm Waxman (The loan shark that loans Tommy DeVito money as he slides into trouble).
It is presented in a documentary-style format that dramatizes the formation; success; and eventual break-up of the 1960's rock 'n roll group The Four Seasons. The musical is structured as four "seasons" each narrated by a different member of the band who gives his own perspective on its history and music.
Songs include "Big Girls Don't Cry", "Sherry", "December 1963 (Oh, What A Night)", "My Eyes Adored You", "Stay", "Can't Take My Eyes Off You", "Working My Way Back to You" and "Rag Doll,” among others. The title refers to the fact that the members of The Four Seasons are from New Jersey.
The musical opened on Broadway in 2005 and has since had two North American National Tours and productions in London's West End, Las Vegas, Chicago, Toronto, Melbourne and other Australian cities, Singapore, South Africa, The Netherlands and elsewhere.
Jersey Boys won four 2006 Tony Awards including Best Musical, and the 2009 Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Musical.
The show premiered at the La Jolla Playhouse at University of California, San Diego, in an out-of-town tryout on October 5, 2004 and ran through January 16, 2005.
Christian Hoff, David Norona, Daniel Reichard and J. Robert Spencer essayed the group. At the end of the tryout, Norona, who originated the role of Valli, had to be replaced because his voice blew out. John Lloyd Young, who had originally auditioned for the role of Tommy DeVito, got the part.
The musical began previews on Broadway on October 4, 2005 and officially opened on November 6, 2005 at the August Wilson Theatre. The cast starred John Lloyd Young as Valli, Christian Hoff as Tommy DeVito, Daniel Reichard as Bob Gaudio, J. Robert Spencer as Nick Massi and Donnie Kehr.
The Broadway production had 38 previews and is still running. It reached its 3487th performance on April 9, 2014, making it the 13th longest-running show on Broadway.
Kehr was at The Borgata in Atlantic City last weekend watching Frankie Valli perform, when Valli acknowledged him in the audience.
Kehr said in The Improper “I started the Jersey Boys journey in 2004 when the director, Des McAnuff, called me and said he had something for me. The next thing I know I'm in a room a few days later singing for the legendary Frankie Valli.” Here’s the link to the clip.
CAMPBELL’S GRACE --- Glen Campbell has been moved into an Alzheimer’s disease care facility, according to multiple sources.
The singer’s battle with Alzheimer’s has sparked an outpouring of support and sympathy from fans since he and his wife Kim went public with his diagnosis in 2011. They explained their decision as being motivated by his wish to continue performing as long as possible, and said he didn't want audiences speculating about what might be the cause of his occasional forgetfulness of song lyrics, confusion and repetition of between-song banter.
The source did suggest the move could be temporary, and said, “I’m not sure what the permanent plan is for him yet. We will know more next week.”
The Arkansas native, who worked as a session guitarist in Hollywood recording studios and performed with the Beach Boys (and, the infamous Wrecking Crew) before becoming a star in his own right, launched a formal farewell tour in 2012. But last spring he canceled performances as his condition deteriorated and he was unable to travel for shows in Australia and New Zealand.
Before that, however, he played a final L. A. concert at the Hollywood Bowl, where L. A. Times pop music critic Randall Roberts said he performed with “Effortless grace, and had he not announced in 2011 that he was living with Alzheimer’s disease, few in the crowd would have been the wiser. In fact, he was sharper and more precise during this gig than he was last year at Club Nokia, where he kicked off the Farewell Tour.”
Campbell and his wife sold their Malibu home at the end of 2012. He released two well-received albums recorded as he was beginning to experience the symptoms of Alzheimer’s: Ghost in the Canvas in 2011 and See You There, consisting of new versions of many of his signature songs mostly recorded during the Ghost sessions, in 2013.
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| Adam Lambert |
LAMBERT DISH --- Adam Lambert's third studio album is currently being worked on by pop super-producer Max Martin, and a handful of ace songwriters, in Sweden.
Martin, who has headed pop smashes from Britney Spears, Katy Perry, Maroon 5, Justin Bieber and countless other mainstream superstars, co-produced two songs for Lambert's 2009 debut album For Your Entertainment, including the hit single "Whataya Want From Me." Martin did not contribute to Lambert's sophomore album Trespassing, which debuted atop the Billboard 200 chart in 2012, but the American Idol finalist is linking back up with Martin for the follow-up.
"[Martin] just brought in a load of people that he trusts that make good music, and is just seeing what happens," U.K. singer-songwriter Joe Janiak, who recently co-wrote Ellie Goulding's Divergent soundtrack single "Beating Heart," told Billboard.
Janiak, a London native, was called to come out to Sweden early last week and work with a collection of song experts that was organized by Martin. "He's got a company which really focuses on getting the best young writers and getting them all together in one place, so that they can have a hotbed of creativity and spin ideas off of each other," Janiak adds of Martin.
CLOSING NOTES --- According to IPA’s Steve Woolf, this weekend’s Fan X2014 (Salt Lake Comic Con) show in Salt Lake City will host some 10,000 people. A fan’s delight for sure …
Live From Daryl's House, the acclaimed music interview and performance show hosted by Daryl Hall, has been renewed for another season by Viacom for their Paladia network and via Daryl's original site where the show originated in 2007.
Production is expected to start in the fall at a performance space in Pawling, NY called Daryl's House, a venue that Hall purchased especially for the series. Previous episodes of the series were actually shot in two 1700's homes that Hall had transported from Connecticut to Millerton, NY - and, congratulations to Hall and partner John Oates on their induction at last week's Rock & Roll Hall of Fame ceremony. Long overdue if you ask me ...
One last hit from L. A., King's Road Cafe at 8361 Beverly Blvd. Great spot.
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