At this point just about everyone knows about the Tony Award winning Broadway smash Jersey Boys. If you don’t, that’s OK because you will probably know the singing group it’s based on, Rock and Roll Hall of Famers The Four Seasons: Frankie Valli, Bob Gaudio, Tommy DeVito and Nick Massi. This is the story of how four blue-collar kids became one of the greatest successes in pop music history. They wrote their own songs – who can forget hits like “Sherry,” “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” “Rag Doll,” “Oh What a Night” and “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You” – invented their own sounds and sold 175 million records worldwide – all before they were 30!
The show is about how the group got together and goes through all the music, troubles and joys they all endured. Not too long ago, actor/director Clint Eastwood brought the show to the big screen and as the saying goes, “The rest is history”.
This coming Oct. 21, at the San Diego Civic Theatre, Jersey Boys the musical comes to town. Starring in the role of fast-talking Tommy DeVito is Broadway and National Tour veteran Nicolas Dromard.
Dromard comes to Jersey Boys after appearing in a string of successful Broadway shows and National Tours including Oklahoma, Wicked and Boy From Oz starring Hugh Jackman. Oklahoma was Dromard’s Broadway debut.
“I was on tour with the musical Mamma Mia in Boston when my agent called me to tell me I had gotten the show,” Dromard said. “The process was incredible, working with Susan Stroman (Music Man, The Producers) and Trevor Nunn (Sunset Boulevard, Chess), creating this incredible show, this piece of Americana that is ubiquitous in the States.”
Dromard also got to play Fiyero in the National Tour of Wicked playing opposite another Broadway favorite Stephanie J. Block as Elphaba.
“When I first toured I was a Fiyero understudy, and so my very first Elphaba was Stephanie Block!” Dromard exclaimed. “I had also worked with her in The Boy From Oz on Broadway, so it was so nice to know her when going on tour and then singing with her and kissing her onstage! That’s what I love about Fiyero, he kisses the blonde, he kisses the green, he swings on a rope and then he takes a bow! On top of that, he sings great songs. Such a fun role. I then played Fiyero for a year and a half in San Francisco when the Los Angeles cast went there. I can’t wait to play the role again. I’d love to do the role on Broadway … Ahem, ahem …”
Dromard is quick to point out that while it was great to work with Ms. Block on two shows, creating the show Boy From Oz and working with none other than Wolverine himself was a thrill in itself.
“I loved doing that show!” Dromard said. “Creating something new is always fun to discover, and to do it in the rehearsal hall with Hugh Jackman! He’s even more amazing than he is on the big screen.”
Rounding out his Broadway stints was getting to play the iconic role of Bert in Disney’s Mary Poppins. A film Dromard admits to loving as a child, and getting to tap dance upside down.
“I love playing Bert,” Dromard said. “Such an iconic role, and there’s such an innocence in the role and such joy. I loved the film growing up and so it was so magical (no pun intended) to be playing the role. I was in the original cast on Broadway as a swing and Bert understudy, then left to do Wicked in San Francisco, and came back to the show first on tour as Bert, and then I replaced Gavin Lee on Broadway for the final three months of the show. There is nothing like tap dancing upside down. Doing that eight times a week is so much fun!”
Which brings Dromard to his Jersey Boys story. Like most working actors on tour, or in regional theaters, getting back to New York City for callbacks isn’t always easy. Many times actors can miss their chance to be cast completely.
“I first auditioned for the role of Tommy in 2008,” Dromard explained. “It was a couple of years after it opened on Broadway, and then I had to leave to San Francisco to do Wicked so I didn’t go to my callback. When I finally came back to New York City and closed Mary Poppins, they called me back in to audition as there was an opening for the role on tour and here I am. After seeing the show on Broadway, I always thought of wanting this role but didn’t think I could do it, I’ve always been more the song and dance man, but where there’s a will, there’s a way!”
It was that kind of attitude that started in Dromard, watching none other than Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in Top Hat, all at the tender age of six. His parents are some of his biggest inspirations even though neither of them are musically inclined.
Dromard also knows just how fortunate he has been over the years, attitude and determination aside.
“I’ve been quite fortunate with the roles I’ve been playing lately,” Dromard said. “[I] also loved playing Phil Davis in White Christmas in Denver. I’m such a sap; I love Christmas and Christmas songs. And what I love the most is that they are all so different, but playing Tommy DeVito is quite a treat. It’s the first “bad guy” role I’ve played. Although you love to hate him.”
When not on stage pleasing audiences around the country, Dromard takes in the sites, relaxes and occasionally thinks about what he misses at home.
“I love seeing different cities and making new friends,” Dromard explained. “Getting to know a city for a couple of weeks and discovering the great bars, restaurants and seeing the sights, I’m a constant tourist so it’s great to be in all these cities. [I also] enjoy a glass of wine, eating cheese, Nutella and catching up on my hockey team and TV shows like Family Guy and So You Think You Can Dance. [However,] I do miss my cooking tools, my own bed and my surround sound and flat screen. It’s the little things.”
Jersey Boys plays Oct. 21-26 at The San Diego Civic Theatre, 1100 Third Ave at B Street downtown. To catch Dromard, and his fellow Four Seasons, simply call the Civic box office for tickets at 619-570-1100 or visit broadwaysd.com
