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PALEY CENTER FOR MEDIA, THE: THE CROWD GOES WILD: FIVE YEARS OF JERSEY BOYS {LONG VERSION}

Summary

One in a series of evenings and special screenings presented as part of The Paley Center for Media’s Inside Media series. This evening celebrates the television career of the hit rock group Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, as well as the fifth anniversary of “Jersey Boys,” a Broadway musical detailing the story of the band. Pat Mitchell (president, C.E.O. of The Paley Center for Media) offers opening remarks. Dominic Nolfi and Dominic Scaglione Jr., original cast members of “Jersey Boys,” are introduced and are seated in the audience. Mitchell then introduces the moderator, “Late Show with David Letterman” musical director Paul Schaffer, and the panelists: Valli; Marshall Brickman (writer, “Jersey Boys”); Rick Elice (writer, “Jersey Boys”); and Bob Gaudio (The Four Seasons original band member). Topics of discussion include: influences on Valli’s distinct singing style, such as his trademark falsetto; Scaglione Jr. on playing the role of Valli in “Jersey Boys”; how The Four Seasons developed their own musical style; how Gaudio and Valli conceived of the song “Sherry”; how The Four Seasons wrote the lyrics to their songs; Valli recounting his thoughts on the group’s early successes; how The Four Season’s’ career served as the inspiration for a musical and Valli’s initial trepidation at sharing his life story; Elice on how he and Marshall first met Gaudio and Valli; Marshall’s musical background and his initial involvement with The Four Seasons; the process of adapting The Four Seasons’ life stories to the stage; “Jersey Boys’” development and production; the show’s immediate success and recognition; Valli’s opinion on “Jersey Boys”; the show’s decision to cast actors who could actually play the instruments that their characters did; how The Four Seasons’ songs were incorporated into “Jersey Boys” via “performance reality”; Valli on the need to keep the band’s sound fresh and “self-contained” over the years; Gaudio on the technical aspects of The Four Seasons’ sound; and Brickman on achieving a balance between levity and gravity in the book for “Jersey Boys.” Questions from the audience then lead to a discussion of the following topics: the possibility of a film version of “Jersey Boys”; Valli and Gaudio on British rock groups of the 1950’s and 1960’s; comparisons and contrasts between Valli and Gaudio’s musical tastes; how “Jersey Boys” handled the darker aspects of Valli’s life; Valli’s reaction to viewing old footage of himself and The Four Seasons; Valli and Gaudio’s influence on the production of “Jersey Boys”; a song Gaudio wrote for the film version of “Valley of the Dolls”; Four Seasons songs that weren’t used in “Jersey Boys”; some of Gaudio’s favorite work of his; and Valli on his relationship with his fans. Clips are interspersed throughout, including: The Four Seasons singing “December 1963 (Oh, What a Night)” on “American Bandstand” (1977); The Four Seasons appearing on “The Steve Allen Show” (1964) singing “Day In, Day Out” and “I Can Dream, Can’t I?”; their appearance singing “Ragdoll” and “Opus 17 (Don’t You Worry About Me)” on “Where the Action Is!” (1966); The Four Seasons on “Hullabaloo!” (1966) singing “Working My Way Back to You”; an appearance on “The Midnight Special” (1974) singing “Let’s Hang On”; Valli on “Echoes of the Sixties” (1979) singing “Can’t Take My Eyes off of You”; and clips from the musical “Jersey Boys.”

Details

  • NETWORK: N/A
  • DATE: November 8, 2010 7:00 PM
  • RUNNING TIME: 1:43:37
  • COLOR/B&W: Color
  • CATALOG ID: 103635
  • GENRE: Seminars
  • SUBJECT HEADING: N/A
  • SERIES RUN: N/A
  • COMMERCIALS: N/A

CREDITS

  • Pat Mitchell … Host
  • Paul Schaffer … Moderator
  • Marshall Brickman … Panelist
  • Rick Elice … Panelist
  • Bob Gaudio … Panelist
  • Frankie Valli … Panelist
  • Steve Allen
  • David Letterman
  • Dominic Nolfi
  • Dominic Scaglione Jr.