Broadway Review: Jersey Boys

Friday, April 26th, 2013, I went to go see the Broadway musical Jersey Boys. It completely deserved the Tony Award for Best Musical. The Arrangements, Choreography, Sets, Costumes, and the book were only parts of this masterpiece. What else do you need? An amazing cast with 4 strong leading men to play the 4 Seasons. In the current cast, the 4 Seasons where: Andy Karl as Tommy DeVito, Nathan Schmidt as Nick Massi, Drew Gehling as Bob Gaudio, and John Lloyd Young as Frankie Valli.

The show takes us through the evolution of the 4 Seasons, from them singing under a lamp post in New Jersey to Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. The last time I listened to the soundtrack, I got unrealistic chills. When I saw the stage production, I got even more unrealistic chills. It is one of the finest shows Broadway has ever produced. One of the coolest things in the show was when they divided the acts into seasons. Spring and Summer was in Act 1, with Fall and Winter in Act 2. Each of the characters of the original Four Seasons narrated each season. Tommy was Spring, Bob was Summer, Nick was Fall and Frankie was Winter.

So much work had to be put into this show. The research was the greatest aspect. The costumes had to be exact, the voices had to be almost exact, the choreography had to be the same. The show amazed not only me, but many others. "I didn't think I was going to like it," Julia Ilea, a junior in high school, said after the show, "but the show was perfectly executed and I just fell in love with it."

Jersey Boys is playing in the August Wilson Theatre in New York City. I highly recommend it.
~Nathan Clift, 15, Trumbull High School, Vice President of the NPT Youth Board

How to Stay Healthy During Shows is in this week's Sunday Spotlight with Renee Laweless, Reed Prescott, Jenn Trepeck

Admit it: We all get the "play-gue" once in a while. Doesn't matter what show you are in, you are fine during all rehearsals, and then Hell Week pops up. That cold you had since January? It activates the night before you have to open the show. It is even worse when you are in high school shows, because you have to be in school the day of a show in order to go on.

Doesn't that get annoying after a while? Getting sick on Opening Night? Isn't there some way to prevent the "play-gue" from spreading? Look no further! This Sunday Spotlight is dedicated to staying healthy during shows.

Renee Lawless

Renee Lawless (The Haves and Have Nots), Reed Prescott (Balance, Sabrina the Teenage Witch) and Jennifer Trepeck (owner of Better Life Now) are here to help. They will give you tips on how to fight off illnesses and stay in the best possible condition for the show.

Reed Prescott

Jennifer Trepeck

To tune into this insightful Sunday Spotlight, one you DON'T want to miss, register here: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/5699974181209633280

~NPT Youth Board

Have you ever grown anything in the garden of your mind?

Over the past few weeks, I have been attending the MAC (Musical Arts Confrence) Competitons for high school percussion groups around Connecticut. The schools take their winter percussion groups to these competitions to perform in different catagories based on size and difficulty.
Recently, I have had the amazing oppertunity to join in and be a dancer in my high school's (Norwalk High School) winter percussion show and have been competing in the competitions for four weeks now. I play the role of a girl who grows ideas in the "garden of her mind." While the drummers are playing and moving around on the floor, I get to dance around and through them to portray the idea that I have created them. I absolutely LOVE being in the show and getting an inside look to how percussion groups rather than a cast of a musical or a dance team work together.
On April 13th, we are having the MAC Championships at Shelton High School, and a week later, on April 17th we are traveling to Dayton, Ohio for WGI finals. I am beyond excited! Come out and support next week at Shelton High!

Shelby Vetare, age 17, Norwalk High School.

Pictured (Left to right): Shelby Vetare (me), Taijon Ragin, Danny Porelli, Avery Collins, and Tommy Eckert.

Sunday Spotlight 4/7/13: Randy Graff

It has been 2 weeks since our last Sunday Spotlight. Seems forever though, right?
There is going to be a new Sunday Spotlight every other week. This Sunday, April 7th, the Sunday Spotlight will be on Randy Graff.

Randy Graff as Fantine in Les Miserables on Broadway in 1987

Randy Graff is well known throughout theatre and film and screen. You may remember Randy Graff as Broadway's original Fantine in the Original Broadway Production of Les Miserables in 1987. She has also starred in City of Angels in 1989, where she won a Tony Award. She also recently starred in the 2004 revival of Fiddler on the Roof. Other Broadway credits include: A Class Act (2001, where she received a second Tony Award nomination), High Society (1998), Moon Over Buffalo (1995), and Laughter on the 23rd Floor (1993)

Randy's Off-Broadway Credits include: A... My Name Is Alice (1983-1984), Hotel Suite (2000 as Millie),  Sophie in A Class Act (2000), and Kay Cram in Do Re Mi (1999).

Some of Randy's Regional Credits include (but not limited to): Hello Dolly (2007) as Dolly at The Muny in St. Louis, Missouri; A Little Night Music (2002) as Charlotte at the Kennedy Center of Performing Arts in Washington D.C.; Damn Yankees (2008) at The New York City Center.

Besides being on the stage, Randy Graff has been on TV and Movie sets. In 2005, she was in the movie version of the musical Rent (as Mark's mother: Mrs. Cohen) and starred in the film Keys to Tulsa in 1997. On TV, she has starred not once, but three times on the TV series Law and Order (1991, 2001, 2005). She also starred in: Working It Out, Bless this House, and many other shows.

Register for the Sunday Spotlight here: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/6276073193637748992

To those who donated to the Sunday Spotlight, thank you! We really appreciate it. Now, we had a Rockethub fundraiser, but that ended the other day. There will be more events and ways to donate to keep these Sunday Spotlights open and FREE. Any donation is acceptable, and planning for fundraising events are underway! Those who have attended previous Sunday Spotlights got so much from actors first hand. How often do you get to ask a Broadway Star a question? Let's "Seize the Day" (Newsies anyone?) and register today!
~NPT Youth Board