Jersey Boys (SF/Vegas Cast)

I had the chance to see Jersey Boys in San Francisco twice last week. The first time was the matinee on the 26th and the second time was the matinee on the 30th. It was a pretty amazing experience and I'm sad to see the cast leave. Most of the cast will be heading to Las Vegas; however, Bryan McElroy (who plays Tommy DeVito) will be heading to Chicago to reprise his role.

Joseph Leo Bwarie (who plays Frankie Valli alternate) played Frankie Valli. And I must say I had chills whenever he had his solos. He was entertaining to watch and played his character well. I waited three hours for rush and sat in seat B13 and it was worth every minute of waiting. It was a close shave since my friends and I, luckily, got the last four rush tickets. We were split, but it didn't matter since we got the tickets.

After the show, my friends and I got to meet the cast at stage door. I wanted to purchase a window card, but they were sold out. :( We got photos and autographs with everyone except Andrew because he slipped away early. Bryan was really nice and he signs in the same spot every time "so people will know it's real, not like it's worth anything." After he said that, it took me a while to comprehend, but his autograph was worth more than he thought. However, I didn't react quickly enough to respond back. Joseph was the last guy to come out. He saw that we were missing one guy (which was Andrew) and he said that we could maybe come back after the evening show, but it might be too late. But I was determined to come back and get his autograph before closing night.

I loved the show so much that I decided to watch it again on closing day. This time I rushed again and got to the theatre an hour earlier. I was afraid there would already be a long line, but thank goodness I was seventh in line. A man was selling orchestra tickets rows 1 through 10 with "upgrades available." Many people were curious so they walked up to him and asked. Apparently, the tickets were $200. I didn't know if it was for the pair or just a single ticket. Never would I spend $200 tickets when I can wait in line and buy them legally at the box office. Never. Waiting in line is part of the experience. Ironically, I was next to the blonde lady who cut in line at the Wednesday matinee. She was nice though. Also, the guys who waited behind us with chairs for the matinee rush were know in front us. What a coincidence. A lady was in line in front of us, next to the blonde lady, waiting for evening rush tickets. She had waited for evening rush on Wednesday and was one off from getting tickets. So this time, she decided to play it safe and began waiting at 7:30am.

I thought Rick Faugno (who was Frankie Valli understudy and later alternate for the first national tour) did a fairly good job, but not as good as Joseph. The falsetto was still amazing, but there was just something about his voice. And this time around, I finally noticed Andrew Rannells voice when he sang "Cry For Me." His rendition was really something. I wished I had seen him when he played Link Larkin on Broadway because he would have made a good Link.

This time, I was determined to get a window card AND get Andrew's autograph. The girl at the merchandise booth recognized me and told me she saved one for me since I missed it last time. I got one for my friend too. At stage door, I caught Andrew, but unfortunately, I left my memory card at home which sucked. Oh well, but he was nice about it. Maybe I'll go and find him in Vegas at the Palazzo. I had made copies of the photos for the cast members. Bryan really liked it and thanked me quite a lot. I asked him to sign it and in turn, he asked for my autograph too. HAHA. He's an interesting guy.

But overall, I enjoyed the experience. Waiting in line for hours on end was actually a fun part of the experience. I would never buy tickets from someone off the street just so I didn't have to wait hours on end. It was fun being with my friends and family, chatting and having a good time. I had so much fun, I can't wait to do it again!