Autumn in New Jersey

Hello Everyone. So sorry to keep you waiting like this.

Man, there has been a lot of stuff going on lately. Between doing the show, doing the publicity events and extra rehearsals, and spending some time with my wife and kids, there's barely been time to sleep, let alone write about it all!

But, life is good these days. I'll try to catch you up with a quick recap of everything.

Most of October passed with a few interviews and a lot of fun, including our first fashion show! It's worth a look - FASHION SHOW

One awesome event of October was celebrating the actual one-year anniversary of my first day of work on Jersey Boys. Back on October 28, 2008 I was down in Nashville, meeting original Four Season Bob Gaudio in a glorious recording studio. Talk about culture shock. I just finished working at the Shaw Festival doing a couple of more traditional musicals, and had no idea what I was in for. Luckily I also met Katie Agresta, singing teacher to the stars, who was there to help me navigate the technical hills and valleys (no pun intended) in the score. Here I am one year later, singing better than ever, thanks in no small part to my weekly singing lessons with Katie. Makes me feel great thinking about how far I've come.

In early November the cast, musicians and crew all celebrated the first anniversary of our rehearsals in style atop the CN Tower. It was an awesome night. I remember our first day of rehearsal as a full cast - we had a meet and greet, a few brief introductions and speeches, then sat down to read through the script start to finish in the rehearsal hall. It was very exciting - and nerve wracking of course. I remember Jeremy Kushnier starting it off as 'Tommy Devito' giving a full volume performance at 10 in the morning, setting the bar mighty high. By leading by example, Jeremy and his wife Jenny Lee Stern, our original Mary, a lot of credit for making this Toronto as strong as it is. Man, I miss those two! Here's hoping I can tell you about our 2nd year anniversary!

A cool little project that kind of dropped into my lap was being asked to be a part of "Canadian Heroes", a single created to help celebrate the Canadian Forces. I was asked to sing on the song after the song writers came to see Jersey Boys and approached me afterwards. What a hoot. Normally it's my Mom and Dad meeting me at the stage door. All they offer me is dinner. And a place to crash. And unwavering love and support. OK - so maybe it's a trade-off.

Anyhoo, go to WWW.CANADIANHEROES.CA and check it out. Click on 'contacts' to see all the amazing Canadian rock and roll talent involved in the project. There's a video there, too, which is not to be missed. But the best place to get info is their Facebook group. There's over 3000 fans! If you feel so inclined, order a copy of the single. All the proceeds go directly to the troops.

The Fall held a few other surprising experiences for me up it's sleeve. I had the honour of singing the National Anthem at Canada's Sports Hall of Fame Induction Ceremonies. This years honourees included superstars Mark Messier and Warren Moon, who I watched excel in their sports on TV countless times as a kid. The event was first class all the way, with the who's who of Canadian Sports world - athletes, coaches, television and media personalities filled the huge room.

Aside from singing the anthem - which was way more nerve-wracking than I imagined, since I was standing about a foot to Messier's left - my brother Joel and I got to meet so many high achievers. It was so inspiring. OK - I'll drop some names: Aside from meeting Mark Messier and Warren Moon, I hung out with Paul Beeston and Alex Anthopoulos of the Toronto Blue Jays, met Olympic Gold Medalists Marnie McBean and Angela James, and several media members including Brian Williams and Dave Hodge. It was an awesome night.

In early November the four Jersey Boys - Michael, Dan, Quinn and I - were asked to be a part of a cute little TV spot for an important cause. Raising The Roof is a charity that raises awareness and funds for Youth Homelessness across Canada. It was nice to be asked to be a very small part of something bigger than just providing entertainment. I hope that we can team up with other charitable causes and do some real good, as we did raising over $20,000 for the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation.

Go to WWW.RAISINGTHEROOF.ORG for more information. Here's the link to the 30-second clip: 30-sec AD

Finally, I want to say thanks to a brilliant actor who runs a top drawer theatre company in Toronto, my good friend Avery Saltzman. Avery asked me and the boys if we would perform at a fundraiser for his company, the Harold Green Jewish Theatre Company. Of course we said yes, and put together a great couple songs - the Sinatra hit A Very Good Year and (of course) an Andrews Sisters hit, Bei Mir Bistu Shein, complete with a 'dance off' between Avery and I. It was, um... special, to say the least. The whole event was first class all the way, hosted by Colin Mochrie and Deb McGrath, and featuring Brent Carver, Michael Burgess, Sharron Matthews and so many more, we were in really good company. Thanks again, Avery. (BTW, his company's website is WWW.HGJEWISHTHEATRE.COM).

More to come soon, readers. I promise.

September Song

What's been going on lately with 'Jersey Boys, Great White North' edition?

The highlights:
*** Jersey Boys Toronto and their audiences helped raise over $22,000 for the CIBC Run for the Cure in support of the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation. We did a short gig in front of easily 10,000 people at the race- and it went great. Enjoy the video! Click here:RUN FOR THE CURE MEDLEY VIDEO

*** We'll be appearing in a fashion-show of sorts on CITYLINE, CITY TV's morning program this WEDNESDAY, October 7th, 10am on CITY TV - check your local listings. It's my debut as a fashionista. Not to be missed.

On top of our regular 8 shows a week, here's the extra stuff that happened to keep us busy since the last blog post:
August 27th - Photo shoot for H. Halpern Esq., a fashionable upscale menswear store. They saw the show and loved what they saw - the costumes especially. It reminded them of their new line of fall clothes, so they made a few phone calls and decided to use the four of us guys (Me, Quinn, Dan, and Michael) as models for their Fall catalogue. Check out their website... um, they have a 'Mailing List' section ... I'm just saying... Click Here for H. HALPERN ESQ.

September 1st - Globe and Mail interview. It appeared in an article in the September 24th issue, in a special Performing Arts Pullout section. I can't find it online, however, so you'll never lay your eyes on it. But, rest assured, I was brilliant.

September 5th and 6th - I was graciously given Saturday and Sunday the 5th and 6th off from Jersey Boys to attend the funeral proceedings for my grandfather. With the Labour Day holiday, I had four days off in a row.

September 9th - Back to work. The show on the 9th was particularly hard for me. I didn't realize just how emotionally drained the funeral proceedings had left me. I wrote an entire blog post about the events of that night. It's called "A Fallen Angel", and it is below this one. Please check it out.

September 15th - Live TV Interview on CH Morning, channel 11's Breakfast News program. It was a fun five minutes of chit chat on a striking orange couch about Jersey Boys. They even ran the B-Roll of our cast doing Sherry. I'll try to get a copy online for you asap.

September 17th - My daughter Sydney's 3rd Birthday. I now have less than 10 years to live worry-free. God help me.

September 21st - About 30 Jersey Boys Toronto family members take in the Jays Game vs. the Orioles. My buddy O's starting pitcher Jeremy Guthrie pulls some strings and gets a bunch of us Field Passes before the game. It was awesome. Kid in a candy store. Among others, I chat a bit with Aaron Hill, Kevin Millar, and perhaps most impressively Buck Martinez, yes, that Buck Martinez - former Jay Catcher, former Jay Manager, and current ESPN Colour commentator. He regailed us all with the events of his career-ending collision at home plate where he single-handedly tagged out two runners at home plate on the the same play with a BROKEN LEG. Someone has to find it on You Tube and send it to me. It's unbelievable.

September 24th - Another 30 - this time, a bunch of us celebrate our 'Nick Massi' Michael Lomenda's 30th birthday in style by hitting the Spoke Club all night after our show. The 'Mad Men'-inspired theme made it extra fun.

September 25th - We have a costume fitting for our "Cityline" TV appearance - coming up this Wednesday! Don't miss it - I believe it's on at 10am on CITY TV. We were wearing new duds from RW & Co.

September 26th - Baseball fever strikes once again, as I go to my last game of the year. The thrill to this game, aside from going with my good friend and huge ball fan Marisa, was to spend a few innings in the Fan 590 Radio Booth, watching the game be broadcast live by Jerry Howarth, Alan Ashby and Mike Wilner. Jerry and Marisa go back a long time, and Jerry and I met a few years back. He was incredibly kind to make us this offer. In return, he'll be seeing Jersey Boys again (his 2nd time) this very Tuesday night.

September 29th - This week we start collecting money in the lobby after each performance for the CIBC Run For The Cure in support of the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation. We are performing live at the Run's closing ceremonies on Sunday Morning, when Tommy Devito will give them a big duffel bag full of money.

On a side note, going out into the lobby at the end of the show was great. It was truly amazing seeing the generosity of the audience members. But also, seeing the joy on their faces at the end of the show and hearing their incredibly supportive comments has really re-invigorated us. We usually don't get to see how the show affects people immediately after the show. It was very insightful.

September 30th - We film the Cityline TV spot live before a studio audience. Had to be there for 9:15am - awfully early after doing a show the night before. But, hey, that's show biz. It was actually quite a lot of fun. I can't wait to see it on TV tomorrow.

October 1st - Our final rehearsal for the Run for the Cure gig. It's a full cast medley of Sherry, Big Girls Don't Cry, Walk Like A Man, and Oh What A Night (December '63). I am not loving singing this crazy high stuff at 10am after the Saturday night show. But, hey, that's Show Biz...

October 4th - We do the Run for the Cure gig in front of easily 10,000 people - and it goes great. AND, we donate over $22,000 from our incredible audience members in one week!!!! Unbelievable. It is truly thrilling to see so many people coming together to fight for a cause. I hope Jersey Boys can do more of this in the future. Enjoy the video! Click here:
RUN FOR THE CURE MEDLEY VIDEO

A Fallen Angel

I wanted to share with you, Dear Readers, the details of an interesting experience I had last month. Something unusual happened to me in the middle of a show that I'd never experienced before.

As a bit of back-story, this past August 31st, my grandfather Larry Bensette ('Pepe' to the family) passed away, at the vibrant young age of 92. He was a pretty amazing man, having lived the last 10 years of his life independently in his own home, driving himself around, playing the odd piano gig, and going on dates with his lady friends. We should all be so lucky, really.

Nonetheless, his death was unexpected. He suffered a fall down exactly 2 steps, breaking a hip. The resulting surgery and therapy ended up being too much for his body to recover from.

I have always felt a deep bond with Pep. We saw so much of him throughout the various stages of my life, and aside from bearing his name as my middle name, I felt that he gave me an awful lot of the musical talent I have. Surely, the style that I play jazz piano is almost exactly his.

Barely one week before his fall, Pep had made the trip to Toronto to see Jersey Boys. It was a special occasion to be sure. My Mom and her two sisters were all there, with their husbands in tow, and it had the air of a real special event for everyone. The show was great that night, and when I met them in the lobby after the show, my mom and two Aunts were singing along to the Four Seasons music being pumped through the speakers, as loud as could be!

As they sang and bopped along, Pep just beamed, ever the proud father and grandfather. Later, over a drink, he asked me many probing questions about the show, especially how the music was played, who played live onstage, where the microphones were positioned, how the sound was mixed, etc... I answered the best I could, marveling at how sharp he was at his age. I felt proud, as I often do when large groups of family come together to see a show of mine, that I was the reason for this reunion and these great memories.

When I heard about his fall and subsequent heart attacks, I grew weary. I tried not to think about his plight as I carried on to do my show night after night, figuring he'd make a recovery. But it was business as usual for me.

Two weeks after the fall, he finally passed away peacefully with my mother there at his side.

I was graciously given Saturday and Sunday September 5th and 6th off from Jersey Boys, and with the extended two-day break for Labour Day, I had four days off in a row. Everyone gathered together in Windsor to attend the funeral proceedings. My brother Chris and his family flew in from Japan, some Aunts, Uncles and cousins flew in from Michigan, Calgary, and Northern BC, and friends and family all came too.

Everyone gathered at his house. It turned out to be a great family reunion, in spite of these sad times. The funeral was touching, the reception heart-warming, the burial beautiful. I sang a few songs in the proceedings, and was glad to do so.

Now, to the point of this blog post:
On September 9th, I was back to work. My body was rested, my brain was sharp, and I was eager to be back at work. I was excited to have a few family members in the house that night too. In my dressing room at the places call I dedicated the show to Pep. Although I had my normal pre-show routine and felt great, the show that night became particularly hard for me.

Although my brain was focused and the lines were exactly right, my voice tired unusually fast that night. I was getting raspy and battling the falsetto from the middle of Act 1 right through to the end of the show. When I began to sing "Fallen Angel", something occurred that has never happened to me before. Tears welled up in my eyes almost immediately. Only seconds later, after singing the first few lines of the song, I simply lost my breath. I mean, I literally could not take a breath. I was completely overwhelmed.

Now, as most of you know, the scene preceding "Fallen Angel" is when Frankie learns that his daughter Francine has died. And during the song, while Frankie sings the words he would say to Francine if she could come back to life, her ghost visits him for a moment.

Well, there I was. Sitting on the bench. Tears in my eyes, without a breath of air, in a tight spotlight on a bare stage with almost 1700 people staring at me. I clearly heard the band continuing to play, I could see the conductor waving her arms on the TV monitor, yet I still couldn't make a sound. It was the strangest thing.

On one hand, it felt like an eternity, and under normal circumstances something like this would make any actor freak out. But surprisingly, I wasn't nervous. I never felt scared or worried. In fact, I felt unusually calm.

I think the silence lasted exactly four bars, or about 12 seconds. Then all of a sudden -- like literally in one millisecond -- I just started singing, as though I had never missed a note, right at the top of the second verse. I finished the song without incident and carried on through the rest of the show -- a bit shell-shocked, but otherwise without a word out of place.

After the show, I was initially disappointed in myself. I'm a perfectionist, so I hate making mistakes, and was embarrassed that I made made such an obvious error. I felt as though I been unprofessional by letting my personal life interfere with the show too much.

Well, upon much reflection, I learned a few things about that night. First, I learned that grieving and mourning are incredibly powerful states of being. Without you even noticing, they can profoundly zap you of your vitality, leaving you emotionally fragile. Second, I discovered just how strongly the act of singing taps into your emotional core. And lastly, although I will never be able to prove it, and as kooky as it may sound, I believe that my Pepe visited me on that bench that night.

Oh, and I'm not embarrassed or disappointed anymore for 'forgetting' to sing those four bars. I've come to the realization that this event was an important life lesson that I was fortunate enough to learn. In that moment, I gained wisdom and clarity; about myself, about the nature of emotion, and the mystery of death. I mean, isn't that the goal of living? To learn? To make progress? To feel, and comprehend and grow?

I won't soon forget this lesson. I have the memory imprinted on my soul now. Forever.

I'm curious - I wonder, did any of you happen to have been in the audience that night? If you were, I would love to hear from you. I know some of you have seen the show many, many times and would notice a moment like this as being unique. And, anyone else who'd like to share some of their thoughts and experiences in relation to this, feel free to do so. I know we often don't talk about these things because it can be a bit uncomfortable... but it could be really neat to share on this topic.

Thanks for listening, everyone.

2 Videos, An Interview, and An Article

Hey Everybody,

I thought I'd re-post some links to 2 Videos, An Interview and An Article, as the title of this post so aptly (and subtly) suggests.

You may have seen/heard all these before, especially if you check out my website regularly... I always post everything in the NEWS section of www.jeffmadden.ca.

Just as a reminder, I update my personal schedule and exciting Jersey Boys Toronto events there regularly, as well as link all the content there too. So, if anybody asks where to see this stuff, just send them to my website.

Enough plugs... The links are below...

Lucy Zilio - 2-minute video: Click Here

Lucy Zilio - 30-second video: CLICK HERE

Spider Jones CFRB Radio Interview with Jeff: SPIDER INTERVIEW

Broadway World.com's 1-year Anniversary Article: BROADWAYWORLD.COM

Some Summer

And now, the understatement of the year: It's been a busy summer for this Jersey Boy.

Before I get into everything, here's some news for you:

* JERSEY BOYS Toronto just celebrated its One-Year Anniversary! More on this story at the bottom.

* JERSEY BOYS Toronto has recently been extended until the end of November! So, get over to www.jerseyboystoronto.com (the link is over on the right) or call Dancap at 416-644-3665 and get your tickets now. With any luck, we'll keep on going and going and going...

* There are 7 NEW VIDEOS on my website for you to check out. (The link is over on the right) If you haven't been over there in a while, do yourself a favour and check those videos out! Go to www.jeffmadden.ca and from the homepage, click "NEWS".There's the "ETALK Daily" video, National Anthem Videos, and 2 videos featuring our new "Sherry" B-Roll footage. My performance schedule is there too, so you can see that I'll be off September 5th-6th and 12th-13th.





OK - hit the rewind button - you want to know what's been keeping us so busy? The rest of this post spells it out for you. And remember, these events are all in addition to the eight (well, six in my case) shows we do every week.

June 7th - My radio interview on the FAN 590AM comes out. Check it out here if you like. It's about eight minutes long. Once you get to the link, click on Audio Archives in the menu on the left, the "Jeff Madden interview" is 6th down of the list. FAN 590AM Interview

June 26th - Four cast members play a round of golf with some lucky winners of a Father's Day Contest sponsored by Jersey Boys and the Toronto Star. I discover that spending five hours in the hot sun before a show is a bad idea.









June 29th - THE DORA AWARDS. I win my award, and all is right with the world. It was a stunning night, one that will always remember. I covered it at length in an earlier blog post, so check it out there.


















Canada Day, July 1st - CHIN PICNIC. Eight cast members kick off the opening ceremonies with an a capella version of O Canada. Check out the CITY TV video here or on my website. CHIN Anthem/Interview VIDEO











July 7th - I do an interview with Mad Dog, the energetic morning host at VIRGIN Radio 99.9FM. He raved about the show on air so much, I hardly got a word in edgewise!

July 8th - The Oakville Beaver article finally gets online. Check it out if you like.
Oakville Beaver Article

July 10th - I do an interview with CKOC, a London Radio station. We talk about the 'gas card' promotion to help get visitors down the 401 and QEW highways to see the show.

July 11th - I get the honour of singing the National Anthem at the Roger's Centre for the CFL's Toronto Argonauts Home Opener. Solo. This was a real thrill, as I am a huge sports fan and have heard countless singers sing the anthem at sporting events.Memories of the day include chatting with the Offensive Line Coach on the field a couple hours before game time, getting a nice handshake from Head Coach Bart Andrus just before I started, and after I finished singing, being surprised by a kiss on the cheek by a notorious 'Kissing Bandit', the Argos' 275-pound Adriano Belli. He kinda scared me a bit, and I'm not ashamed to admit it. Argo Anthem VIDEO



July 17th - I do an Interview for Toronto's freebie Newspaper 'Metro' about my freaking car of all things. Madden's Roadrunner Article We also had an extra rehearsal today.

July 22nd - Interview with Classic Rock Radio Station 103.9FM

July 23rd - A live phone interview with morning host Ralph Benmergui on Jazz FM 91.1

July 30th - The four boys all head off to a Toronto Recording Studio to record the Audio for our new commercial. It's called the "B Roll" and its only to be used on News broadcasts. We spent a couple hours hammering out "Sherry" over and over and over. Nevertheless, it was great fun to gain the experience of being in the recording studio essentially doing what the Four Seasons did.

July 31st - Another rehearsal, this time for the upcoming "Taste of the Danforth" performance.

August 6th - Another rehearsal, this time a Dance clean-up with our choreo-guru Danny Austin.

August 7th - We spend the afternoon filming the Video for our new "B Roll" commercial. We're onstage at the TCA, full costumes, set, lighting etc, only now we are filming shot by shot, 10 seconds here, 20 seconds there, and trying to match the audio that we recorded at the studio the week prior. It was very tiring, but ultimately, a lot of fun. Four hours of hard work for a 2-minute slot.

Aug 8th - I do a live radio interview with Spider Jones on CFRB 1010AM in the middle of one of Toronto's most famous streets, Danforth Avenue. It was about 30 minutes, with people walking by and listening in, and Spider was totally playing the crowd. He exudes such a positive energy and was so jazzed about Jersey Boys. I loved being around that amazing guy.




That night, MLB Pitcher Jeremy Guthrie and some of the Baltimore Orioles staff came to the show, and afterward we all hung out together. This was Jeremy's 3rd time seeing us, and it was a pleasure to spend time with him again. This time he brought more gifts - I got a Oriole Ball Cap, a signed picture and another ball. And, an invite to Batting practice the next day. He's the best.

Aug 9th - I join Quinn and Michael on the field at the Roger's Centre in the morning before the Jays/Orioles Game. For me, this is the best. Baseball was my first love, and here I'm truly living out my boyhood dreams. Chatting with ballplayers, hearing the crack of the bat from the cage, feeling the rush. Afterward, Jeremy hands me a glove and we actually play catch right there on the field behind home plate. It was unbelievable. And to top it off, I meet the Orioles Manager, Pitching coach, and get a tour of their clubhouse before hopping into a cab to take me to the theatre for the show.


After the matinee, we quickly get into a van and head over to the "Taste of the Danforth" for our 10-minute live performance. This was the end of a really long week. With all the extra stuff and the six shows, I was really tired. And to top it off, it was really hot and humid that day. And of course, the medley is all the big hits back to back to back, with no rest for me. I basically swallowed the mic and screamed it out. There was not a lot of nuance. Ah well, the trials of being a Rockstar. It was pretty cool though, seeing hundreds of people gather around the stage, dancing and cheering along.



August 14th - Another Rehearsal, this time with our incredible assistant director West Hyler. We're really tightening things up for our big 1-year anniversary show the following week.

August 19th - The four boys are interviewed for CITY TV's "In The City" segment on the news. It was pretty funny. If you're interested, check out the video. CITY TV Interview



August 20th -
It's Jersey Boys Toronto's 1-Year Anniversary Performance. Everything went great, the crowd was rocking, the cast was primed, and we knocked it out of the park. At the end of the show, Aubrey Dan was given a gift onstage by the TCA Board President, and then introduced Bob Gaudio and Rick Elice to the sold-out crowd. Oh, What A Night, indeed.





Once the show was finished, we mingled with Bob and Rick, took some photos, and then headed to our after-party. It was awesome - a big cake, lots of great food, plenty of drinks to send us all home happy. Bob and Rick couldn't be happier with our show, and that makes me a very happy camper.






August 24th - The cast and crew of Jersey Boys Toronto celebrate the summer that was on a beautiful Toronto Harbour Cruise. It was the perfect way to symbolize all that we've achieved together. To paraphrase myself in the show, 'We got something going here. It took a lot of work, and a whole year. We're not gonna let it come apart!'



PS - Look who's Taking the Wheel?!?!