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Artscene Oakville's Jeff Madden lead in hit Jersey Boys By Tina Depko OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF Sign up now for guitar, bass, drums, and piano OAKVILLE'S MUSIC STORE · WEDNESDAY, JULY 8, 2009 21 Walking like a man and loving every minute of it T he show might be called Jersey Boys, but the lead actor is an Oakville man. Jeff Madden stars as Frankie Valli in the Toronto production of the hit show. The 34-year-old sings his heart out in six performances every week in a role that requires the tenor to belt out 25 songs that span a two-and-a-half octave range. It's gruelling, demanding, exhausting, and according to Madden, perfection. "It is a dream come true to play a role like this in a hit musical that everyone wants to see and that everyone has a blast when they do go to see it," he said. "This is unlike any show I've ever done. It's commercial theatre, it's in a 1,800-seat theatre and this is a recent Tony Award hit." Madden has gained critical acclaim for his portrayal, which was cemented last week with a Dora Award. "Winning the Dora Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male in a Musical is like a dream come true," he said. "I am truly humbled to be honoured in this way by the members of the Toronto theatre community. I could not have won this award were it not for the talented and dedicated artists that perform Jersey Boys -- both onstage and off -- eight times a week." Madden has been working in the theatre biz for 13 years. He spent eight consecutive seasons at the Shaw Festival starting in 2001 before being cast in the new Toronto production of Jersey Boys in fall 2008. Madden had not seen the show when he first auditioned, but like many music lovers, he knew the hits of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. Jersey Boys is a documentary-style musical based on the lives of one of the most successful 1960s rock `n' roll groups -- the Four Seasons. The criticallyacclaimed show made its debut on Broadway in 2005 and took home four Tony SUBMITTED PHOTO BY JOAN MARCUS OH, WHAT A NIGHT: Oakville actor Jeff Madden, in front of the microphone, has hit the jackpot with the lead role in the smash musical Jersey Boys, playing at the Toronto Centre for the Arts in north Toronto. Despite the demands of the role, he says it is the opportunity of the a lifetime to play Frankie Valli, along with costars (left to right) Michael Lomenda as Nick Massi, Quinn VanAntwerp as Bob Gaudio and Jeremy Kushnier as Tommy DeVito. Awards in 2006. play the lead of Frankie, "I sing every single note I "It's the story of four can possibly muster in this despite the rigours of tough guys from the the role. show because this guy wrong side of the tracks "It is a gruelling and you watch them in a sang a crazy range, so I show, for Frankie more rags to riches story, how spend half that show so than anybody," he they become one of the working in and out of my said. most successful pop tenor range and into that "I have to sing a lot of recording artists of all songs and I have to be falsetto, up to a soprano time," Madden said. "You the principal, there's a see them coming up and F." lot of speaking and it's you follow their story dramatic, so there's backstage, so you get to Actor Jeff Madden yelling. The demands know them and their lives physically are enoroutside of the recording studio and concert mous, much more than any other show I've halls." been in." Madden jumped at the opportunity to The Toronto production opened in December 2008 and Madden has not looked back. He says his favourite tunes to sing in the show are Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You and Walk Like A Man. "Half of it is like a rock concert, the other half is like a Martin Scorcese movie with the behind-the-scenes moments," he said. "It's thrilling." Madden does six 8 p.m. performances a week from Tuesday through Sunday, with an alternate starring in the two matinees on Wednesday and Saturday. This means he leaves his house sometime in the afternoon, depending on whether there is a rehearsal that day. He arrives home around 11:30 p.m. See More page 22 We Hear You When you step into Canadian Sound, you will find smart solutions to home theatre laid out in such a way you can envision it in your own home. We have been designing large and small home theatre systems for over 23 years and we know our stuff. Outstanding service I Competitive pricing I Pay us a visit! 905.844.7600 85 Navy Street, Oakville, Ontario, Canada L6J 2Z2 info@canadiansound.com canadiansound.com