THE TONY® AWARD-WINNING SMASH HIT JERSEY BOYS OPENS AT BILL HANNEY’S THEATRE BY THE SEA ON AUGUST 9
WAKEFIELD, RI – In celebration of 90 years of Theatre By The Sea, owner and producer Bill Hanney is proud to present the Tony® Award-winning smash hit Jersey Boys, which will be presented from August 9 – September 10, 2023.
“I love this show,” said Bill Hanney. “We’ve been trying to secure the rights to present this gem at Theatre By The Sea for several years and I am thrilled that we were able to include it as part of the 90th Anniversary! There is something very special and unique about Jersey Boys. Audiences really connect with it. Anticipating that it would be popular with our audiences, we decided to schedule the production to run for five weeks, instead of our usual four. The demand has been so high, I’m hoping we’ll have enough performances to accommodate everyone!”
Get ready for the international sensation Jersey Boys to take over Theatre By The Sea! They were just four guys from Jersey, until they sang their very first note. They had a sound nobody had ever heard…and the radio just couldn’t get enough of. But while their harmonies were perfect on stage, off stage it was a very different story – a story that has made them an international sensation all over again. Winner of the 2006 Tony® Award for “Best Musical,”Jersey Boys features the legendary top ten hits “Sherry,” “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” “Walk Like A Man,” “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You,” and “December, 1963 (Oh What A Night).”
Directed and choreographed by Theatre By The Sea’s Producing Artistic Director, Kevin P. Hill, who directed previous TBTS productions of Kinky Boots, Mamma Mia!, Smokey Joe’s Cafe, Sister Act, Young Frankenstein, Mary Poppins, Grease, and Hello, Dolly!, with musical direction by Jacob Priddy, who music directed TBTS productions of Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, Kinky Boots, Cinderella, Newsies, and Saturday Night Fever, the cast includes Zane Zapata, a Jersey native, who is excited to be making his Theatre By The Sea debut in a show he has dreamed of being in since he was 12! Mr. Zapata will be portraying the role of Frankie Valli. Aidan Cole, who played Prince Topher in last season’s production of Cinderella returns in the role of Bob Gaudio and New York-based actor Chris Marsh Clark will be making his TBTS debut in the role of Tommy DeVito. In the role of Nick Massi is Rhode Island’s own Kevin Patrick Martin, who has toured North America with Broadway’s Jersey Boys from 2017-2022. Mr. Martin returns to TBTS having previously appeared in productions of La Cage aux Folles, George M!, Evita, and The Producers. Kevin B. McGlynn, who portrayed George in last season’s production of Kinky Boots returns in the roles of Frank Knuckles, Gyp, and Al and Alaina Mills, who was seen earlier this season as Cynthia Weil in Beautiful: The Carole King Musical will portray Mary Delgado. Rounding out the cast are Kyle Brace, Kyle Braun, Christian Heinemann, Zoe Gillis, Jack Gimpel, Scarlett Keene-Connole, Selene Klasner, Ryan Koch, Drake Leach, Sylvester McCracken, Jay Owens, and Ellen Roberts.
The creative team includes resident scenic designer Kyle Dixon, costume designer Dana Pinkston, lighting designer Weston Wilkerson, co-sound designers Don Hanna and Alex Berg, along with Kat Shanahan and Dan Galyon (Wig Design), Catherine Bloch (Production Stage Manager), and Enkidu Khan (Assistant Stage Manager). Jersey Boys is being produced for Theatre By The Sea by Bill Hanney (Owner/Producer), Kevin P. Hill (Producing Artistic Director), and Thom Warren (Associate Producer).
Audiences are invited to enhance their theatre experience by dining at the on-site restaurant, Bravo by the Sea, just a short stroll down the arbor walk adjacent to the theatre. Following performances on Friday and Saturday evenings, theatergoers can enjoy fun, food and drinks at the popular Late Night Cabaret, beginning August 18. Reservations are strongly recommended and can be made online at www.theatrebythesea.com/menu or by calling (401) 789-3030. Before or after the meal theatergoers can enjoy the lush seaside gardens, which contain over 300 varieties of perennials, grasses, shrubs and climbing plants, which offer a magical environment for flower lovers of all ages.
Jersey Boys will be presented from August 9 – September 10, with preview performances on August 9 and 10 and opening night scheduled for August 11. Performances are scheduled for Tuesday through Saturday evenings at 8:00 pm, Thursdays at 2:00 pm, Saturdays at 3:00 and Sundays at 5:00 pm, with special performance times on Sunday, August 13 at 2:00 & 7:00 pm and a special Wednesday matinee on September 6 at 2:00 pm. The theatre is located at 364 Cards Pond Road, Wakefield, RI. Tickets for preview performances, Wednesday, August 9 and Thursday, August 10 are $62. Tickets for all other performances are $65 – $88 (additional fees may apply). Discount rates are available for groups of 10 or more by calling (401) 782-3800 x112.Tickets are on sale at the box office Monday through Saturday from 11:00 am – 5:00 pm and performance days from 11:00 am until curtain, (performance Sundays 12 noon until curtain), online 24-hours-a-day at www.theatrebythesea.com and via telephone during normal box office hours by calling (401) 782-TKTS (8587).
Located on Rhode Island’s South Shore, Theatre By The Sea celebrates 90 years of summer theatre at its best!
Theatre By The Sea has had many incarnations since opening on August 7, 1933. Tommy Brent saved the theatre from demolition in 1967 and ran it successfully until FourQuest Entertainment took over the lease in 1988. Following extensive renovations, FourQuest reopened the theatre in the spring of 1989 and continued producing high quality entertainment at the seaside playhouse until the fall of 2003. Bill Hanney purchased the property in 2007 and, with producing partners, successfully mounted a production of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, just six weeks later, reopening the historic theatre on August 8, 2007. Since then, Theatre By The Sea has continued to produce a four-musical subscription season, a late-night cabaret series, a children’s theatre festival, and a children’s summer theatre camp.