Interview: From Stage to Screen for the Actors in ‘Jersey Boys’

Printer-friendly versionE-mail page to friendPDF version

Michael Lomenda is Nick Massi in ‘Jersey Boys’
Photo credit: Joe Arce of Starstruck Photo for HollywoodChicago.com

HollywoodChicago.com: What was it like to step into different eras like the 1950s and ‘60s. What advantages did you observe about life back then?

Lomenda: I love the nostalgia of a handshake meaning more that just a handshake, it’s a bond. – and your word meaning your word. It just doesn’t have the same meaning now as then.

Young: There was more loyalty then, in all areas of life, and this is why. You made an appointment to meet somebody, and then when they went to that appointment, you knew if you didn’t show up, there was no way to get a hold of them. That society forced you to commit to people, in ways we don’t have to anymore.

Lomenda: Accountability. It was just more important back then. It made you know who you were as a man. Nowadays, people are more out there, with less of a definition. That was very cool.

Young: And throw in that Italian American loyalty on top of that accountability, and those guys were liked glued together for life.

Bergen: On a musical level, these songs were melody driven, that is why they have become earworms. Today, it’s easy for songs to become noise, just because they start with a beat or a track. Plus, they are achingly overproduced. Songs now can be ‘cool,’ but they don’t necessarily make you feel anything. The early songs of Four Season songs were raw rock ‘n roll records, that really had an effect on people, and they still do to this day.

HollywoodChicago.com: What were the advantages of having a director like Clint Eastwood who actually lived in the eras you were representing, and would he give you any tips on how to act in certain situations that were era appropriate?

Young: He taught me how to drive a ‘three on the tree’ transmission in a vintage car. I had to do a scene with that car, put it in gear, and drive it. So I had a driving lesson on the backlot of Warner Bros., a stick shift driving lesson from Clint Eastwood. It was like driving with my Dad. [laughs]

Lomenda: It was the same with me. I’m from New York City, so I didn’t learn to drive until I had to do the show in Las Vegas. As a modern day driver, the cars practically drive themselves. So I had this 1962 car that I had to drive John and I in this particular scene, and it kept stalling.

Bergen: To give you an idea of just how different it is, during the screening in New York City, the two times you see me driving in the film, my parents applauded. [laughs] It was so impressive to them.

HollywoodChicago.com: Given that these ‘Jersey Boy’ songs are virtually embedded in your cells, which one gives you the most joy when you express it?

‘The Jersey Boys’ in Chicago, June 10th, 2014 Photo credit: Joe Arce of Starstruck Photo for HollywoodChicago.com

Lomenda: It evolves, and certain things resonate with you depending on your mood. But I’ve always loved ‘Sherry Baby,’ because it was their first big hit. It’s like sitting on a tanning bed, in which you feel the heat of the audience burning you from that side, because they want the song so badly at that point.

Young: In one of the pivotal scenes in Bob and Frankie’s handshake deal, Bob says that he hopes someday to get a saxophone in the group. When I do ‘Jersey Boys’ on stage, that’s a very satisfying and spine tingling moment, when Bob gets Frankie his horn section. So when you have a Hollywood budget in a Clint Eastwood film, we can get a whole lotta horns. Holy crap.

Bergen: When Clint filmed ‘Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You’ – and to answer your question that’s my favorite song – he did it about 17 times. As with all of the songs, which we did with no playback [pre-recorded tracks], Clint produced a rock concert. He brought in the audience, and they enjoyed the show. So he filmed the performance, but he also filmed the energy in that room. He wanted it to be raw, we actually wanted to fix some of the takes, but he wanted it to be rock ‘n roll.

Young: I’d go off on a note, like a scene we did in the recording studio in a montage in the film, and Clint left it in the movie. I heard it last night in New York, and I was horrified. But those things happened in the studio, and I’ll live with it.

HollywoodChicago.com: Since the ‘Jersey Boys’ is a story about the impossible dream of being at the right place at the right time, and having hit records, what has been each of your right place/right time moment in your careers?

Lomenda: I think we’re in it. I can say I was in San Francisco when Clint came to see the show, and he saw me in that show. If he had come two weeks later, I wouldn’t have been there, because the show would have been closed.

Young: If I hadn’t been invited back to Broadway to play Frankie again, after being away from it for years. If I hadn’t said yes to that, I wouldn’t have been on stage when Clint saw it on Broadway, and he wouldn’t had seen my performance. There is no better convincing than doing the part in front of the man.

Bergen: For me, I was cast right from Broadway as well. You know how there is an Oprah effect for books? Well, there is an Eastwood effect for actors. Now when i go into a meeting or a casting session, the first question is always ‘what was it like working for Clint Eastwood?’ There is an immediate interest in anyone who has worked with Clint Eastwood.

By PATRICK McDONALD Senior Staff Writer HollywoodChicago.com pat@hollywoodchicago.com