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