I saw Bobby recently in Ladies in Black and he was fabulous (as was the whole musical)!! Looking forward to seeing him in something again soon.
The interview was originally posted on Arts on the AU.
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Frankie Valli himself handpicked Bobby Fox to star in the Australian production of Jersey Boys, a show which he has since performed over 850 times! The AU caught up with Bobby to discuss this honour, adoring fans and what to expect in his latest show Four Seasons In One Night.
You have had quite the career- 4 times World Irish Dance Champion, tours with dance productions such as Riverdance, starring roles in several successful musicals and even realising your own debut album. What has been the standout for you?
The standout in my career so far was completing my role in Jersey Boys after three years of playing Frankie Valli. It was such an amazing feeling to get the part of course but I knew there was such a huge task ahead of me. I wanted to do it and do it well. What I’ve learned from playing that part will stay with me for as long as I’m a performer.
You were handpicked to star in Jersey Boys by Frankie Valli himself. Was there a lot of pressure with that kind of responsibility?
I suppose there was. But I just refused to think of it that way. I just thought, ‘do the work and the practice and it’ll all fall into place.’ There was an amazing team of directors and choreographers there to guide me though all the way so I felt I was in great hands.
Were you familiar with the Jersey Boys before being cast in the musical?
I was. I had seen the show a year before the auditions started in Australia, which actually worked against me! Because I loved the show so much I was beside myself with nerves before my first audition. Thankfully though the panel saw through that and gave me a second shot.
What is it like working with such amazing jukebox material as in Jersey Boys?
Sometimes being part of “jukebox” shows can have its difficulties. The material can be hard to make work. But in Jersey Boys it’s so unbelievably well crafted and written and directed that it was nothing but a wonderful challenge every night. Some of the finest pop music ever written by some of the finest writers that ever lived.
How do you keep your performance fresh each night after having performed for over 3 years and with 850 performances?
The role of Frankie in Jersey Boys was so hard and the writing so complex and layered that no matter how good you thought you were getting at it, there was always more to learn and improve on. I loved it. I’d love to play it again someday.
The musical is known for its adoring fans, do you have any experiences/stories from fans that you can share?
I got a call from my agent one day with a strange request – to appear as a ‘special guest’ at a 35th birthday party. It’d never happened to me before so I was intrigued. The deal was made and I was to stay for two hours directly after my show on Saturday night. Honestly, I was quite nervous about what was going to happen. They ended up being the nicest people you could ever meet and we are now very close friends to this day. In fact, five years on, I’m going to her 40th this weekend and performing at the party!
What can audiences expect from Four Seasons in One Night?
The show is basically a backstage pass to what it was like seeing and getting the role of Frankie… to learning and performing the role over 850 times… to anecdotes about what it was like performing at the Footy Grand Final to seeing Frankie himself perform live. All intertwining the greatest hits of Jersey Boys and The Four Seasons.
And finally, do you have a favourite song to perform?
I love ‘My Eyes Adored You’. It’s simply stunning.
DASMUSICALKAT 