Nine Shows Is a Bitch (Dec.30)

okay, okay...i could be stuck behind a desk all week. but damn am i beat.

between 9 shows this week and understudy rehearsals (and the stress of knowing that next week's understudy put-in is just around the corner), my brain is on overtime when it should be relaxed and sleeping, and my body is beat when it should be running around all over the stage.

let's catch you up on the past week:

first, dad, karen, and brian came to san fran last week and it was great spending some time with them. i wish i had a little more free time, but even just getting some dinner with them was nice. they saw the show last saturday matinee and i think my dad is still calling every person he has ever met to describe how much he loved it (he said he even liked it more than "Wicked" - oh wait - Sarah just said when i left the table to wash my hands, he said it was second to Wicked. you're busted, Dad). but all in all, it was great for them to see the show and i am so grateful that they flew all the way from Michigan to see it as opposed to waiting until next October for just a few hours drive to Chicago.

secondly - understudy rehearsals. okay, so here's the deal - i am understudying Bob Gaudio and Tommy Devito - two GREAT roles. i am so unbelievably grateful that Des and Ron and everyone saw something in me to give me these two great roles to understudy. but the fact that we will have had 4 rehearsals total, about 18 hours, to get the blocking, dancing, singing, lines, transitions, costume changes, etc, etc, etc down is killing me. and just when i think to myself, "it's okay eric. do the best you can at the put-in (that means full run with tech and costumes) and then concentrate on it and get it better and better", i realize i can't do that because as soon as that put-in is done, i have to get right to work on Tommy. so by the time i get Tommy down, i will have forgotten about Bob. therefore, i have decided to cut my loses and just understudy the role of Mary.

next - i have decided on one of these posts, i am going to do a blog solely on the funny things Sarah hears in the lobby every day when she is selling merchandise. today though, she was in the aisles selling programs and CD's, when an usher - who was helping a disabled person in a wheelchair - accidentally let go of the char and it went careening down the aisle (about 12 or so rows...and the aisle is pretty steep) and smashed right into her! don't worry Sandy and Bubi Goldie - she is totally fine, but still, pretty jarring for someone who's just trying to sell some merchandise to people.

what else to blog about...?

i posted even more reviews on my website. they are all on the links section, so go to ericgutman.com and check them out. also, turns out that we broke the house attendance record at the Curran Theatre...so that's a pretty nice feat.

also - i want to send a thank you to the mystery person who left that very generous card in my dressing room the other day. i don't know who you are, but what you wrote was very inspiring and i thank you for the gift. i promise to keep you in mind next time someone else has some hard times.

finally, i want to wish everyone a very happy and healthy New Year. may your 2007 be filled with happiness and success and i can't tell you how much it means to me that so many of you have kept up week after week with my blog. your emails and comments are always well received and i really appreciate all the support and encouragement everyone sends mine and Sarah's way.

as for the cast - the management was nice enough to block off a room for us at a club near the theatre and so we will all be ringing in the New Year together as a family. open bar, passed appetizers, and lots of dancing...a great way to start 2007.

that's it everyone...Happy New Year!

A Little Complaining (Dec.22)

i am tired.

it is 10:28am on Friday and i am dreading getting up. yesterday just felt like one of those days where it never ends...

started a little earlier than regular because i went to go pick up Dad, Karen, and Brian from the airport Hilton to take them to the Hyatt Regency near Union Square. get to my car and notice that someone jimmied the lock open and stole a credit card from my glove compartment (who cares, i canceled it right away and they didn't even use it), and ALL my Hanukkah gifts i was going to give my family. i was so pissed and honestly, quite annoyed. i mean, they didn't take my big booklet of CD's, they didn't take my radio out of the dash, they didn't take some clothes i had in the back...they had to take the freaking gifts...really upsets me.

but...it was so great to see "the fam" - wish my brother Rob could come out too but he's in Florida.

from there, got to the theatre a little early so decided to just grab some Chinese food at some local place. it was horrible. i mean, they weren't even trying. i think i had chicken...it resembled chicken. i honestly have no idea if it was chicken.

back to the theatre by noon and understudy rehearsals started. first music with Andy. then dance with Danny. then back to staging starting with Act One. only thing is, Bob Gaudio doesn't come into Act One until about 20 minutes or so into the act...and we were starting a stopping a lot...so suffice to say i didn't get to hit stage until almost 4pm.

and...on top of it all, it rained all day. and i forgot an umbrella.

but dinner was nice (highly recommend the Daily Grill - the skirt steak was GOOD) and the show was a really good one last night. i finally am starting to get into the pacing i need as "Hank". it's a small role, but i get a little bit of freedom to ham it up a little.

but anyway...back to where i was:

i'm tired. understudy rehearsal again today at 1pm. but this time Des will be there our last 2 hours to give notes and a little more direction. don't get me wrong, West (assistant director) and Richard (production stage manager) have been GREAT with notes and suggestions...they have really helped me find some nice moments as Bob...but it will be good to have our Captain back...two-time Tony award winner i'm talking about folks!

few last things:

self-promotion? oh yes.

1) go right now to the Jersey Boys Blog and check out my interview that was posted with Susie (the wonderful lady that runs this great site). also, if you ever wanted to know anything about Jersey Boys - this is the place to go!

2) want to wish everyone a happy last night of Hanukkah and a Merry Christmas this Sunday. we have Sunday and Monday off from the show so i plan to spend that with Sarah and Toby - and probably a full day of Chinese food and movies.

3) for any of you hard-core JB fans - you might want to send birthday greetings to a few of the people in the cast: Nate Klau (Dec.23), Melissa Strom (Dec.26) and Erich Bergen (Dec.31). and though she is not in the cast, Sarah's is on Dec.27...

okay folks - time to get up and get motivated for today's rehearsal.

Catch Up (Dec.18)

okay everyone...because i have been getting threatening emails from family pretty much telling me they EXPECT a blog at least once a week, i am sitting down on my day off to catch everyone up on the past week's excitement. again, i'm sorry for not doing this for a week, but cut a boy some slack!

well as you could see from my past blog, the opening went amazing and we have had rave reviews across the boards (for all the reviews, go to www.ericgutman.com and head to the "links" section). the audiences continue to show up and go crazy for us every night and our Four Seasons continue to lead us show after show with great dedication and unbelievable performances...

which leads me to the next part of this blog - the wonderful Jarrod Spector.

you see, with this tour, the Frankie Valli role sings for pretty much non-stop for 2+ hours. so the producers cast a very talented person to play a few shows a week so Chris could have some much deserved vocal rest.

so in steps Jarrod Spector. Jarrod's official title is "Frankie Valli alternate" - and let me say for the record that a title like "alternate" does not give him justice. The performance he gave Saturday and Sunday matinee was not "an alternate to what usually happens". His performances was freaking incredible. I actually found myself watching from the wings a lot more than usual just to see his interpretation on this very challenging role. And also please keep in mind that during the rehearsal process in NYC and in San Fran, Jarrod got close to no real stage time...he was always found in the back, shadowing the dance moves, mouthing the lines as the scenes were being staged. so when he took his final bow Saturday matinee, the entire cast on stage broke our silence and applauded and screamed along with the audience. Even our regular Frankie, Chris, was in the orchestra standing to give his support.

and to Mr. and Mrs. Spector who were there for both shows, congratulations to you both as well in sharing in the success of your immensely talented son. we are ALL proud of him.

...speaking of parents...

so Mom and Jeff came to see the show this past Saturday evening. Sarah and I met them at Max's Diner (across from the theatre) and Mom already was unpacking her tissues getting ready for the show. on the one block walk to the theatre, there she was, in the middle of the street, trying to get just the perfect picture of the Curran Theatre's marquee. and of course, there i was, uncomfortably taking pictures in the lobby. but she loved the show, and it meant so much to me to see her all the way back in Orchestra row S dabbing her eyes with kleenex when i took my final bow. and i know she is very excited come January 20, when she arrives with 30 of her friends from work to come see the show again.

this week was also the start of understudy rehearsals. what that means is our stage managers, assistant director, assistant choreographer, and associate conductor all work with us on stage to give us our blocking, music notes, dance steps and transitions to the roles we are understudying. for the record, i am working just on my Bob Gaudio understudy role right now, and my God, does he have a lot to say in the first act. you see, if you haven't seen the show yet, it is divided into four different narratives (hence "Four Seasons"), and Bob's main part is all about the group's rise to fame. To make sure the events take place in a quick and efficient storytelling manner, he has a lot of monologues to the audience - and they are very specific (being non-fiction). so my days have been spent on stage running the scenes as much as i can, and my nights are spent watching Erich Bergen on stage as much as possible, and of course, keeping myself up until 3am twice last week obsessing about what moves go where with what lines...

this next week continues the wonderful madness: understudy rehearsals on thursday and friday (we think Des in flying in to work with us), a small 7 show week (because of the Holidays), and Dad, Karen and Brian are flying in to see the show this weekend and I am super excited for that!

again - thank you all for your continued emails. A big thank you to Susie at jerseyboysblog.com for coming to see the show and sending me interview questions (i'll get them to you as soon as possible), Stacey for sending me all the reviews and San Fran postings she can find on our show, Jim for the very nice egreeting card, and lastly for Charles Alexander - please email me directly from my website - i would love to get in touch with you but when you send me something through my blog, it gets posted as an "anonymous" email.

finally - to everyone - have a great holiday season and i will make sure to get another post up right around Christmas (or as i like to call is, "Chinese and a Movie Day").

...more to come.

Oh What A Night (Dec.11)

Well...I don't ever know where to start.

Let's start at the very beginning...a very good place to start.

Arrived at the theatre around 4:30pm and started handing out my gifts to the cast and crew - custom guitar picks. Got to my dressing room to get everything in order and found already a dozen or so gifts and cards at my station - I was clearly behind.

As cast members started arriving - and all of us passing each other on the stairwell as we bombarded each other with "break legs", "happy opening", etc...we suddenly received a reminder over the speakers that we were all due in the house for notes.

The note session turned into just more people exchanging cards, hugs, and comments and Des finally wrangled us all together to simply say, "you're in great shape. try and stay focused, and have a great show."

...what else could he really say at this point?

So 6:30pm rolled around and we were asked to hold the show a few minutes for some of the late-seaters. Perhaps George Lucas had trouble finding his seat...yes, that's right, George Lucas was there!!!!

All I can say is the minute Andy (our great conductor) started laying down the first few chords of the opening, the crowd was already screaming. As a matter of fact, I think our entire first act was actually a little "off" simply because we were all having trouble finding our pacing because the audience kept stopping us with longer ovations and more laughs than we ever anticipating. But by the time "Sherry" starts...man, oh man...i still have chills.

The rest of the show was great - all of our shows we have had have been great...but nothing could top this opening night audience. there were no speeches before the show. there was no red carpet. there was no spotlights crowding the Curran Theatre. it was simply an audience that knew they were there or a special event. and we gave it our hearts and souls and i am just so proud of this cast.

Our four leads - Chris, Deven, Michael and Erich continue to amaze me. Their consistency and love of their craft is evident every night and last night was no exception. You want proof - go to my homepage at www.ericgutman.com and from there, go to my "links" pags and pull up all the reviews we have been getting.

I think the biggest thrill of the night was after we all took our company bow, we were joined onstage by the real Frankie Valli, Bob Gaudio, Tommy DeVito and Bob Crewe. From there, they stood by their counterparts and the audience just erupted into an ovation like I have never seen or heard. All of us onstage dropped our hard stare forward to the audience, and joined them in applauding these legends...these men who we have learned so much about theses past few months. These men whose lives are placed on stage 8 shows/week...their pain, their success, their highs and their lows. I wish there was more we could all do then simply applaud - but at the time, it was everything we could give...and you could see in their faces how much it meant to them.

From there, we all escaped into our dressing rooms and washed up and got into our finest suits and nicest dresses and made our way to Ruby Skye for the opening night party. We were greeted with photographers and photo ops and publicity people ushering us to the bar, to the food, to the VIP areas, and to each other - where the entire cast danced for hours on end and closed that place down!

I'm sure that every city will have an opening night party. I'm sure when we get to performance #100 or #500 there will be a nice reception. But last night was something like I will never forget. I mean , i don't want to sound ubiquitous (true JB fans will like that), but we officially launched the most anticipated show in years and I will never forget a few things:

First, that I will always have a place in this shows history. I will always be known as someone who was in the first National Tour of this triumphant show.

Secondly, that I have been able to work with great people like Ron Melrose, Sergio Trujillo, Rick Elice, Marshall Brickman, Steve Orich, Bob Gaudio, and our illustrious captain, Des McAnuff.

Lastly, that I got to dance with Sarah all night (she looked GOOD) and she got to experience this with me.

Don't know what else to say - so I leave this post with a few pictures from opening night. Again, keep checking in. I will be posting later this week to discuss understudy rehearsals, more reviews, and what my mother thought of the show (she'll be in the audience this Saturday night).

Thanks again everyone for sending me emails and good thoughts - I appreciate every one of them.

The Anticipation is Killing Me (Dec.9)

well folks...tonight was the final preview performance of Jersey Boys. tomorrow we officially open to the press and we anticipate a packed house chock full of celebrities, producers, family and important people. more on that later.

the last few days have been a blur. i remember getting up every day. i remember taking the #6 (or #71) bus to work every day. i remember (vividly) the 5+ hours of rehearsals and the performances following those rehearsals. and of course i remember the lengthy note sessions with Des, Ron, Sergio, Holly-Anne, Kelly, Danny, Andy, Bob, Steve, etc, etc, etc, etc...

but here's the tally: since we got to San Francisco, we have had 2 days off in the last 20 days and we certainly all deserve a fantastic opening night and a subsequent fantastic opening night party. but i have mine and sarah's party passes and (please don't read this next part parents and Bubi Goldie) i'm ready to throw down and take full advantage of the open bar, the food, the free booze, do some dancing, and drink a bunch. we'll see if there's any plastic cups available and maybe i'll play "flip cups" with Frankie Vallie, Robin Williams, Grace Jones, and Sharon Stone.

the last few shows have been great. our audiences continue to scream for us and many wait for us after the show for autographs, pictures and questions answered about the show. i actually told Des the other night that with this show, i am living out my theatrical dream and rock star fantasy all in one.

i wish i had more to blog about - i know it has been a few days and i have gotten some requests to stay on it. but friends and family - i am freaking exhausted. tomorrow is literally the biggest day of my professional career and though our call is at 5pm (thank goodness), it's still going to be hard to fall asleep tonight.

so with that - i send two final good nights: first, to my cast mates in the show with me. it has been a treat working with every one of you and i can't wait to hear those first few chords in Ces Soirees-La and hearing that audience as Deven, Michael and Miles make their way downstage. secondly, to my parents who can't be here on opening night...i promise to give you a full report on monday. i wish you all could be there and i thank you all for your amazing support not only through this adventure, but ever since i dropped it on you guys over 10 years ago that i was going to college for music theatre. it seems to have worked out :)

(p.s. Reviews will be posted as I find them to my homepage at www.ericgutman.com - so keep checking in the next few days).

Some Great Advice (Dec.4)

well i am writing you from my day off. a nice, relaxed day spending time at Costco and Bed, Bath and Beyond to make the new pad feel more like "home".

where did all my money go?

the reason for this blog is because i have had something on my mind...and wanted to share them with you.

on Sunday, the cast and creative team met about 2 hours before the show to go over notes from the prior night's performance. this is a typical practice for us and a good way to get some feedback from "those who make the decisions" to make our show as good as it can be.

so Des gets up in front of us and said something that has stayed with me. i wish i could type it to you verbatim because it was pretty damn spectacular.

"i know this show is fresh. i know these audiences have been great. but every once in a while we aren't going to have the audiences that laugh on all the laughs, or applaud where you typically get the applause. there are going to be days when you come in and just aren't feeling it - maybe you didn't get the sleep you needed, or maybe you stayed out too late the night before - and you think to yourself, 'the audience isn't responding as well, i don't have to give as much'. before you do that, think about that one person in the audience who has never seen a musical until they sit down for ours. perhaps its someone who has been saving for 3 months to get enough extra money for a good seat in the orchestra. maybe it's a husband who bought these tickets for he and his wife's first anniversary...maybe their 40th. or even more, there is someone in the audience who is going to get into this industry because of this show...because of your performance in the show. so when you are tired or just not feeling it, please try and remember that."

and he was so right. this show brings such joy to people. looking out into the audience when "Sherry" starts and seeing the 50-year old man who usually hates musicals bopping his head along smiling the whole time. Seeing a woman stare directly at center stage and mouth every word of "Can't Take My Eyes Off of You"...and being mesmerized the entire time. Hearing the audience scream with the last chord of "Who Loves You."

this cast has been working their asses off. today was our first day off after 10 days in a row of working 10 hours/day - some of which included performances at night. but i want you to know we appreciate every one that has been there to support us. every single person...every single show.

my experience that i was able to relate to Des' speech actually occurred this past Sunday. after the show, a few of us walked out the stage door to the street and were greeted by about 60 or so people applauding for us. many asked for autographs and pictures of Michael and Erich (2 of our great leads), and a few made comments to us saying how much the loved the show.

that's when a young girl, maybe 14 years old came up to me and said, "are you the Eric that does the blog?" "yes, i am", i said. then she says, slightly nervous, "i just want you to know how much i love it. please keep doing it because i really like reading it."

i originally started this blog for my parents. i wanted them to keep up with me while i traveled the Country. to get emails from people like Audrey (out of the New Jersey area), Jim (Greg Marmalard in "Animal House"), Mr. Alexander (a former TIME editor who wrote the liner notes for the JBoys CD), and so many others is inspiring beyond what any of you can imagine. to get emails from people simply saying "i was there opening preview - you guys were fantastic" makes me feel that show was something special for someone.

i don't want to sound cheesy in these blogs...and certainly not preachy...i'm just a lucky guy living his dream with his girl and dog by his side. but thank YOU for enjoying this blog. thank YOU for enjoying our musical so much.

that being said, please keep the emails coming. if you have something to say to the cast, i am happy to pass it on. if you just want to say a quick something, i will do my best to respond to everyone.

lastly, for that young girl at the stage door, that show on Sunday was for you.

First Preview Performance (Dec.1)

Let me preface this blog by first talking about last night…now commonly referred to as the train wreck:

Last night was an invited dress rehearsal. What that means is that the cast, crew, and people in charge of the theatre get to invite their friends and family and such to watch our final dress rehearsal; still professional show quality with full tech and costumes and everything…and a great way for us to feel out some bits in the show with a real audience.

So about 500 or so people showed up and the first segment was beautiful…

Then 20 minutes later the dreaded voice comes over the house speakers: “Ladies and Gentleman, we are having some difficulties, please bear with us.”

You see, we have AMAZING effects in the show, and I don’t want to give too much away, but a winch was caught up on the bottom of one of our drum turtles and the dog line couldn’t move the set piece downstage.

How’s that to confuse the hell out of you. Trust me, it all makes sense and it spells out big problems.

So the audience sat and waited…for 50 minutes.

After that, everything went rather smoothly. Our friends and family gave us a wonderful reception and it was great to hear their applause.

Nothing, however, could have prepared me for tonight.

Again, please keep in mind that this is our first PREVIEW. So we are still definitely working out the kinks and half of us are still figuring out which wing we change our next costumes in. The audience, typically, is quieter and more forgiving (in case something does go wrong).

They were not quiet. There was not a seat empty in the house. It was a freaking rock concert.

I have never, in all my years doing this, felt the kind of pride I felt when we hit that stage for the final number. The audience, for 2 ½ hours were with us for the entire ride…every song…every transition…every joke…every scene. “Sherry” knocked their socks off. “Walk Like a Man” got them screaming. “Can’t Take My Eyes Off Of You” almost brought the show to a standstill because the applause wouldn’t stop. When we ended “Who Loves You”, there was such a noise from the house like I couldn’t believe; the walls were going to come down.

This is just the first preview people!!!!!

Suffice to say, all the hard work, all the long nights, all the notes, all the exhaustion running through this whole company’s bodies was worth it tonight when almost 1,600 people jumped to their feet when our Four Seasons took the stage for the final bow.

It is 1:22am now…I have two shows tomorrow. I need to get some sleep.

For any of you reading this that were in the audience tonight, thank you. For any of you reading this that haven’t gotten your tickets yet, you have got to be crazy.

More to come. Love to my family who were in my thoughts tonight.