How I Got To Jersey

So, how did it all happen? Details, I want details! Well, it’s a long story...

JULY

In late July, a casting notice came to my agent for upcoming auditions as “future replacements” for the various productions of Jersey Boys around the world. There was no time line for when a job might come up. This audition was basically for the producers of Jersey Boys to keep a long list of potential actors from which to choose replacements, if and when the time should arise. It’s pretty standard stuff with these long-running commercial shows.

My agent and I thought it would be a good idea to audition, thinking long term. Maybe next summer when I would be free, if things went really well something might come up. The audition notice said to prepare a song of my choosing, and I was sent about a million pages of scenes to prepare for the character ‘Frankie Valli'.

So, I auditioned. First auditions are always really nerve-wracking. You do hours and hours of prep-work on your own, with nothing but your own instincts guiding you. You could be on right track, or you could be completely off base. I was asked to sing first. I didn’t love how I sang, but afterwards they tested my range – waaaaayyyyy up high. Like crazy-falsetto high. I thought – ‘Hmm, that’s a good sign’. I got no feedback. Then I did a couple scenes with a reader. 'That went pretty well,' I thought. Again, very little feedback. Then, finally, “OK, thanks…”, and I left the room. So, I went home, back to work at the Shaw, thinking nothing of it.

The next day I get a call saying they want me to come back later in the week. They want to do a “work session” with me. I’ll be spending half-an-hour getting direction on the scenes and character work, and 20-minutes working on three songs from the show (Walk Like A Man, Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You, and Moody’s Mood). Oh yeah, and there’s a dance call, too. I remember thinking ,‘YES! This is a good sign!.

Then, I remember thinking, ‘UGHHHHH, Crap!’ Why a dance call??? I soooo love dance calls. They are so much fun. Too many guys thrown together into a room too small and too hot, trying to learn some choreography they’ve never seen before, and then performing this choreo in front of a panel an hour later. Even the memory of this makes me shudder.

Anyway, the work-session/dance call actually went well. I left that day feeling surprisingly upbeat. I got great feedback on the scenes and songs. And I didn’t fall over in the dance call. I felt, ‘Hey, maybe this thing could happen after all!’

The next day, back at Shaw, the phone rings. My agent Kish says "They want to fly you down to New York City to audition again, right away!" "That’s Awesome!!!" I say. "But, what for?" Kish explained that they were having some finals down there, and it seemed like I was being fast-tracked. Unfortunately, it turned out that I couldn’t make it - on the day of the audition, I had a 2-show day at Shaw. Ouch. I remember feeling really down. That one hurt.

AUGUST

About a month passed with no further word. Like before, I put it out of my mind… or at least I try to. Then, Kish calls with word of some final auditions in late September in Toronto. Same material as before, but for the original Broadway director. Oh, and another dance call, this time for the original choreographer. Yikes. I ask Kish, "But which production is it for – the US Tour, Chicago … Broadway?!?!?" "I don’t know. Nobody’s saying”, he replied.

SEPTEMBER

The day comes. We do the dance call. Luckily, it’s the same steps as before. I don’t fall down. Phew. My audition time comes. I go in. Say hi. Do the same three songs. “Good.” Do a bunch of scenes, one after another. “Good.” Silence. I wait. Then, “OK, thanks…” That’s it, about 10 minutes, and I walk out of the room.

Afterwards, I start feeling elated, actually. It was over!!! And, I did everything exactly the way I wanted to! Sure, I didn’t get a lot of feedback, but that’s nothing new. Amazing, isn’t it? All that work comes down to a measly 10 minutes in the room. What a crazy business I'm in.

So, I get the part, right? Not quite. A few days pass with no news. We get some feedback that they really liked me. Kish and I think, ‘OK, mission accomplished. Next summer, we got a chance at a great gig.’

A few days later, Kish is on the horn again. "Jeff, they want you to go back to New York." "What the heck for?" "I don’t know exactly, but they want you to audition for Bob Gaudio." "But I thought I was being seen for Frankie Valli." "No, Jeff – the real Bob Gaudio from the Four Seasons wants to see you. Same material… Congrats." Gulp. It seems that the finals weren’t really finals after all. Seems like Mr. Gaudio has some casting authority. It's all good, though.

One week later, I’m in a Yellow Cab and the driver is right out of the Sopranos. A real Jersey boy, he’s hilarious. Tells me about his friends, one who he helps out with his addiction to prescription meds, another who he gives advice to when he calls from his bender gambling trips to Vegas. I take this guy as a good sign. He should be a character from the show.

I’m put up at a nice hotel on 45th, right in the heart of Manhattan. Swank. I sleep well. I enjoy my leisurely morning before getting ready to go. It's a beautiful day, so I walk the 20 blocks to the audition studio. All is right in the world. The audition goes well. Same deal, quick hellos, say hey to Mr. Gaudio, do the songs, do the scenes, and Bob’s your Uncle. -Ish. I walk out of there feeling really good.

I fly back to Niagara, do my two shows and wait. I figure, ‘if they’re going to all this trouble and expense, they must really be interested in me’. But where? When? Who knows?

A couple days later, it’s Kish again. "Well, what’s the news?" I ask excitedly. "You have to go back to New York, Jeff. This time, Frankie Valli wants to see you." "WTF?!?!" I exclaim. "Any idea for which production, where, etc?…" "Nope. Just have fun."

OCTOBER

It’s the final week of my contract at Shaw, and as contemplate my future, I begin to dream about some well-earned time off. But a few days later, an interesting bit of information comes our way. It seems that the producers have officially decided to run a sit-down production of Jersey Boys in Toronto, to begin immediately after the touring production leaves town. Holy Crap. Now, it all starts to make sense.

Two days later, I’m back in NYC at the same hotel, eating the same breakfast, and walking to the same audition studio. But, this time, the nerves are different. I know what’s at stake. This is for all the marbles. It’s for Toronto. It’s for right now. It will very likely screw up my three upcoming contracts. And it could be the opportunity of a lifetime, if it works out.

My stomach is in knots. The audition starts 25-minutes late. And to make matters worse, the casting director wants us to read a paragraph of dialogue we’ve never done before. Finally, I go in. The real Frankie Valli is front and centre, staring at me. This must be really weird for him. He says something meant to make me feel at ease, but it doesn’t work. I feel like an imposter. ‘I don’t really know you’, I think. ‘I just learned some crazy high songs, and memorized some speeches. You’re gonna know I’m faking it.’

Crap! Time’s up. My mind is flitting about as I’m singing his songs. To him! I screw up a lyric here and there. ‘Jesus, man, hang on. You can do this,’ I tell myself. Somehow, I make it to the scenes. They go better. Maybe it’s because I have someone else to work off of. Phew! ‘Thank God there’s no dance call!’ I think. I walk out stirred, but not shaken. As I quickly change into my street clothes, I start thinking about how good that first drink is going to taste. (It was a Stella, and it tasted fabulous!!!).

When I get off the airplane, I turn on my phone. There’s a text from Kish. It has three words. ‘Offer coming tomorrow.’ Holy crap!!! I drive home floating on a cloud of Jersey goodness.

The week that followed was one of highs and lows, as it occurred to me just how quickly my life was going to change. First, my family has to move closer to Toronto. Second, we have to rent our house in Niagara-on-the-Lake. The other 500 things can get done later. Rehearsals are set to begin November 3rd. That gives me 17 days to move, find a tenant, and accomplish all these other tasks. What a crazy business.

BUT, wait... the craziness wasn't over yet! The week before rehearsals begin, I have to fly back down to New York again. And from there, I'm off to Nashville, TN for three days of work with the real Bob Gaudio and renowned voice coach Katie Agresta. We work through about a dozen songs from the show, trying to find a way in to make Jeff Madden sound like Frankie Valli without killing Jeff Madden. It's a work-in-progress of course, and an amazing experience.

Can this crazy ride get any crazier? Something tells me, this is only the beginning!

I guess this is what comes of

BIG NEWS!

IT’S OFFICIAL!

Well, sort of... It's official for me, just not for you yet.

In six weeks time, I’m going to be starring in a smash hit musical in Toronto. Unfortunately I can't write any more about it just yet. Although I have already started rehearsals, the company wants to make it's own casting announcement before I can tell you myself. Seems fair, doesn't it?

That's the good news. The bad news is, doing this show means I have to bow out of no less than three other engagements, which is a major bummer not only to me, but to the producers of those shows. I know for a fact that I’ve already been replaced by two awesome talents at Talk Is Free Theatre in Barrie for their upcoming productions of Kiss Me Kate and Variations on a Nervous Breakdown. Please, go see these shows – you will not be disappointed! And I’m sure that in the months to come, the same will unfold for The Boys in the Photograph in Winnipeg. I really, really wanted to do these shows. We tried very hard to work it out so I could do these shows and the new show, but it wasn’t meant to be. Unfortunately, sometimes these things happen in this crazy business.

I will have much more to say about the situation later, as soon as I'm given the green light. Meanwhile, I'll just say that my new and improved WEBSITE is almost ready to go. News about that will come soon, too.

Keep on Taking the Wheel, friends.

CHANGE!

Well, folks, it appears I have something in common with Messrs Obama and McCain. I, too, pledge that CHANGE is coming! Here's an outline of the changes coming my way in the near future.



1. Upcoming Gigs

Yes, I've got some NEWS about some gigs I've got coming up this fall. Fans of Cole Porter might be interested to know that I'll be taking part in a Concert Production of KISS ME, KATE November 5 and 6 at Gryphon Theatre in Barrie, produced by Talk is Free Theatre.
Tim French will direct (we worked together on The Mystery of Edwin Drood at Shaw in 2001 and Lady, Be Good! at Manitoba Theatre Centre in 1999 - my first Equity show!). Ryan de Souza will lead the orchestra of 19 (!!!) and musical direct. Ryan and I have collaborated on at least 11 productions at Shaw over the last eight seasons, plus Playground at Talk is Free Theatre in Barrie in 2006.


Immediately after Kiss Me, Kate finishes, I begin rehearsals on a new and exciting piece of Canadian Musical Theatre called VARIATIONS ON A NERVOUS BREAKDOWN. It is basically a song-cycle for 4 actors written by (and will be performed by, too) actor/singer/composer Jonathan Munro. Jonathan is currently acting in his third season at the Stratford Festival. Other cast members include Chilina Kennedy (who also stars in Shaw's Wonderful Town) and Elizabeth Beeler (whom I worked with in Scott White's Dance of the Dead). The show will be directed by none other than Richard Ouzounian (yes, he who moonlights as the Toronto Star theatre critic) and Reza Jacobs is musical director. It'll run from November 27 through December 6th at this point at TIFT's Downtown Theatre in Barrie. I can't wait to sink my teeth into some of his fresh, contemporary musical theatre tunes. Exciting!


After these two shows, I hope to have some down time over the holidays. I love having time off over the Christmas season to hang with our extended families. But I have a few irons in the fire for some work early in the new year, and hope to squeeze in one more show before heading west to Winnipeg March 16. (For those of you who didn't see the article in Playbill.com about THE BOYS IN THE PHOTOGRAPH, and all the dish to follow, check my Blog Post immediately below this one!)


2. New Website Updates

Yes, I've got the fine folks at Indiepool putting together a fab new website for me. Indiepool is the company that manufactured my CD 'Taking The Wheel'. Their design of the cool 12-page booklet and the layout of the many gorgeous pictures made me so excited that I had to have them design the website. And with so many of you complimenting me on the CD, I'm sure you'll love the new website too. Should be done sometime this fall.

3. Family Changes

No, not another baby - don't get excited. But, to fill you in on the kid situation, Sydney turns TWO years old this week, and is beginning Montessori school soon! Her vocabulary continues to make me feel inadequate most days.
And baby Emily turns six months old next week. She smiles all the time, has begun exploring her voice with a few Da-Da-Da-Da's (which makes me VERY happy!) and is already starting to creep around a bit. What a pleasure these girls bring us each and every day.

4. Leaving Shaw

This is perhaps the biggest change coming my way. Surprisingly, it has been eight years for me with this company, proving the old adage true once again, 'Time flies when you're having fun'. My life has changed tremendously during these eight years. Since my first season, I have gotten engaged, bought a condo, gotten married, learned to play cricket of all things, had a baby girl, moved into a new house, had another baby girl... oh, I almost forgot... and done 16 Shaw Festival productions among countless other readings, workshops, and projects.

Sure, I've worked elsewhere six or seven times in the winter between seasons, but I always knew I was coming back to Shaw. Well, not this year. When I leave Shaw this October 5th, I have no idea when I'll be back. That gives me an odd feeling. In some ways, I feel as though I have grown up here, both as an actor and as a man. I know it probably sounds corny, but The Shaw does feel like my home. I have always looked forward to coming back each year, to see so many familiar faces and places, to feel the comfort and excitement of beginning a new artistic journey in the friendly confines of Shaw's rehearsal halls. I will certainly miss that. I'm sure I'll write more about this in later posts.

Now, don't get me wrong, people. Change is not a bad thing. It's necessary. It's healthy. It's exciting! I am about to begin a new chapter in the book of my life, and like reading a good book, I'm anxiously looking forward to turning every page, to find out what's going to happen next. It's a thrilling feeling, this anticipation of discovering the future.

After all, that's what Taking The Wheel is all about. If I'm not driving, who is?

Comments? Click it. You know you wanna.

BOYS in the NEWS

Hey Everyone,

For those of you who didn't catch it last month, a story promoting THE BOYS IN THE PHOTOGRAPH appeared in the mother of all Broadway theatre websites, Playbill.com.

Copy and paste this url into a new tab to read the full article entitled "Madden, McMillan and Peck to Star in Lloyd Webber and Elton's Boys in the Photograph": www.playbill.com/news/article/120410.html

Hmmmmm. This is a fascinating story. You may recall that my offer was to play the lead dude in TBITP in Winnipeg in April-May 2009, followed by a Toronto run in May-June. There were full-page colour ads in the newspapers advertising the show in the Mirvish season. Excited, I eagerly agreed. Then, things started to get, well, interesting. The contracts were slow to arrive. And when they did, they were quickly revised to eliminate the Toronto portion of the run. Meanwhile, the Toronto run of the show was still being advertised. Confused, we waited for answers, explanations, anything. None came. Nothing changed.

The popular sentiment was that maybe Mirvish had to pull out of the Toronto run because of their legal issues with their competitor, Dancap. But then this Playbill.com story appears August 13th, out of the blue, saying the show will play Toronto after all. But, no changes had been made to our contracts. Still confused, nobody I spoke to could figure out why this story ran when it did, nor why it still contained erroneous information.

Then, exactly one week later, the newspapers reported the court case between Mirvish and Dancap has been resolved in the Mirvish's favour. Meaning that they will go ahead with their purchase the Canon and Panasonic theatres, and program whichever plays they like. Good news! TBITP is going to play the Canon after all. Just like it says in the Playbill.com article, right?

Uh, not so fast, Mister. If one goes to the Mirvish website today (copy and paste this url: www.mirvish.com/ComingSoon/) it appears that their May-June show is none other than... RIVERDANCE! Huh?

It appears there may be other goings-on behind the scenes. I have some suspicions, but won't waste space on them here.

So, now what? These are the facts, as I know them. The Winnipeg run is still on. The Mirvish's are still co-producing TBITP with the Manitoba Theatre Centre, meaning they are throwing a bunch of money into the production. The Mirvish's still hold the rights to produce the show in Toronto, and apparently intend to do so. But nothing is set in stone.

OK. So, what am I going to do? Well, I actually decided months ago that I would go ahead and do the show anyway. I mean, in spite of all this crazy stuff, this is still a very good offer to play a great part in an exciting show with top-notch musical theatre artists. Trust me, these types of offers do not come along very often.

However, accepting it means I will not be back at Shaw next year, after eight consecutive seasons. It's taken quite a while, but after much soul-searching, I have come to peace with this decision. I believe getting this offer happened for a reason. I am ready to go wherever it takes me. Whatever happens, I know I'll land on my feet.

One thing's for sure, though. This story surely isn't over yet. I'd bet this journey continues to be very interesting!

Let me know what you think, friends. That little icon below that says "comments"... please use it.

Good News, Bad News

It’s been a bit of a wild ride these past 10 days.

First, the Good:
A week ago last Saturday, we officially opened "Wonderful Town" to great reviews in all the major papers (NOT THAT I READ THEM). The sold out crowd was charmed into loads of laughs, making the evening a fun night for us on stage. We continue to run the show around four times a week through to October 5th, so plan to come on down to see it if you haven’t yet.

When I’m not running Wonderful Town, I was finishing tech rehearsals for "A Little Night Music". This past Sunday we did our first preview to an enthusiastic sold out house. Of course, it has been a lot of work, but learning this show has also been a fun and enriching experience . We have 15 more previews before our official opening July 4th, and each and every one of them is sold out! So, if you really want to see this show, book ahead!

Speaking of looking ahead, and proving that good news comes in threes, I will have the honour of singing in front of none other than Prince Edward. Yes, THEE Prince Edward. You know... 7th in line to the throne (I think). He’ll be in NOTL this weekend, and there is a function at which he will be entertained (or so we hope) by myself and four other Shaw folk. How cool is that? Actually, the Prince and I go way back. We met once before, in 1999 after a performance of “Emily” when he visited Charlottetown, PEI. After the concert I think we’re going bowling, then hitting the Angel for a few pints.

And now, here’s the Bad:
The Mirvish’s have backed out of the Toronto run of “The Boys in the Photograph”. This is the Andrew Lloyd Webber/Ben Elton musical that I was offered the lead in, which was to play in Toronto’s Canon Theatre after opening in Winnipeg. Well, it seems the Mirvish’s may be in a little legal trouble with another theatre producer, Dancap, over who runs the Canon. Dancap, the only other major commercial theatre producer in Toronto, is trying to block the Mirvish’s from using the space so that it can run its own plays there. Apparently they still hope to produce the show at some point down the road, but there is no guarantee of it happening.

So, it seems I have a major decision to make. I could still do the one-month Winnipeg run, and be a part of an amazing team debuting a new musical by a major composer, and then cross all my fingers and toes that there will be a future engagement of the show somewhere down the line. Or, I could turn this offer down and hope to be back at Shaw for a 9th season, where I have enjoyed myself immensely. I just can’t do both. It’s one or the other. It seems I have to make this major decision without knowing how it’s all going to work out. And it's not just me I've got to worry about these days. I've got to be on the lookout for Christine, Sydney and Emily too.

Ah, the life of an actor. You just never know how it’s all going to turn out. Good news, bad news, ups and downs. Just another week in the life. I can hear my Dad saying... “What? And quit show business?”