June 11, 2006

News

Oh, What a Night for ‘Jersey Boys’

Congratulations to BMI Broadway smash Jersey Boys, named Best Musical at the 60th Annual Tony Awards, held June 11 at Radio City Music Hall in New York. The popular jukebox musical about the rise of pop icons Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons went home with the top trophy and three others, including the lead actor nod for John Lloyd Young's uncanny portrayal of Valli and his signature falsetto.

A true rock and roll biography, Jersey Boys features the original music of BMI Award-winning songwriters Bob Gaudio, a founder and full-time member of the Four Seasons who wrote the music, and Bob Crewe, who wrote the lyrics and produced many of the group's records. Gaudio, who is a member of both the Songwriters and Rock and Roll halls of fame, took the stage with the show's producers, which included fellow Newark native Joe Pesci.

Duplicating the harmonies of Valli, Gaudio, Nick Massi and Tommy DeVito, the show soars on the quartet's biggest hits, including "Sherry," "Big Girls Don't Cry," "Walk Like a Man" and "December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night)."

Other BMI-represented Broadway shows in the Tony spotlight included The Color Purple, which earned its lead actress the top female performer prize, and Best Revival of a Musical winner, The Pajama Game, starring BMI songwriter/actor Harry Connick Jr.

The Tony Awards, which honor the best of Broadway, are presented by Tony Award Productions, a joint venture of the League of American Theatres and Producers and the American Theatre Wing.

In this story: Harry Connick Jr., Bob Gaudio, Jersey Boys

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BMI represents more than 400,000 songwriters, composers, and publishers with more than 6.5 million works.