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The 2025 Tony Awards gave a warm welcome to first-timers tonight by awarding four actors for their Broadway debut. This accounts for half of the ceremony's acting categories — one of the best showings for debut performances this century.

Sarah Snook also portrayed multiple roles to win Lead Actress in a Play for The Picture of Dorian Gray. The Succession star impressively swaps between 26 characters in this adaptation of the Oscar Wilde classic, often acting opposite recorded versions of herself projected onto a giant screen center stage.

Cole Escola became the first nonbinary performer to win the Lead Actor in a Play category for their wild performance in Oh Mary!, which they also wrote. Escola portrays a comically demented version of first lady Mary Todd Lincoln, who craves nothing more than becoming a “rather well-known niche cabaret legend.”

Nicole Scherzinger won Lead Actress in a Musical for Sunset Boulevard in an upset...

Just in Time star Jonathan Groff in currently in second place in Gold Derby's Tony Awards predictions for Best Actor in a Musical, only behind fellow Glee alum Darren Criss for Maybe Happy Ending. The former triumphed for Merrily We Roll Along just last year, so if he prevails again, he'd be the first individual in history to win this category consecutively.

Prior to Groff, five men were Tony nominated for Best Actor in a Musical two years in a row, but didn't emerge victorious:

Gregory Hines in 1980 for Comin' Uptown and 1981 for Sophisticated Ladies George Hearn in 1983 for A Doll's Life and 1984 for La Cage aux Folles (the latter of which resulted in a win) Patrick Wilson in 2001 for The Full Monty and 2002 for Oklahoma! Michael Cerveris in 2006 for Sweeney Todd and 2007 for LoveMusik Brian d'Arcy James in 2023 for Into the Woods and 2024 for Days of Wine and Roses...

At this year’s Tony Awards “Suffs” managed to win prizes for Best Musical Book and Best Score, both of which went to Shaina Taub. Historically, winning those two accolades in particular would bode well for a show’s chances at Best Musical. Yet in a shocking turn of events, the top award went to “The Outsiders.” But this is not the first time something like this has happened.

SEETony Awards: Every winner (and nominee) in all 26 competitive categories

In 1978 “On the Twentieth Century” won Tonys for Best Score and Best Book (Comden and Green). It also won Best Actor in a Musical (John Cullum), Best Featured Actor in a Musical (Kevin Kline), and Best Scenic Design (Robin Wagner). Yet Best Musical that year went to Murray Horwitz and Richard Maltby Jr.‘s revue “Ain’t Misbehavin’.” A tribute to the music of Fats Waller, it also won Tonys for Best...

Maleah Joi Moon has become the 101st performer to win a Tony Award for their first outing on a Broadway stage for her performance in the musical “Hell’s Kitchen.”

She won Best Actress in a Musical at the 77th Tony Awards for portraying Ali, a 17-year-old girl searching for her place in the world while living in the titular New York City neighborhood and also being restrained by her overbearing mother. She is the 10th person to win the category for her Broadway debut. She joins:

Elizabeth Seal, “Irma La Douce” (1961)

Anna Maria Alberghetti, “Carnival” (1962)

Liza Minnelli, “Flora the Red Menace” (1965)

Leslie Uggams, “Hallelujah, Baby” (1968)

Alexis Smith, “Follies” (1972)

Natalia Makarova, “On Your Toes” (1983)

Lea Salonga, “Miss Saigon” (1991)

Catherine Zeta-Jones, “A Little Night Music” (2010)

Cynthia Erivo, “The Color Purple” (2016)

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Other performers who pulled off this accomplishment in recent years include...

April’s showers brought in a garden flowers that have bloomed into an entire new selection of movies landing on HBO’s streamer Max in May.

Each month, streamers drop some brand new cinematic goodies that any and everyone can enjoy. From action-packed faves, funny female-led comedies and iconic biopics, there’s tons of stories to get into and we’re here to make it a little easier for you.

While Max’s slate of new films in May stretch way beyond these seven titles, TheWrap wanted to point your attention to best ones on its lineup. Here’s our curated list of some of the best new movies on Amazon Prime Video in May.

“Mad Max” (1979) “Mad Max”

There’s nothing like taking all the back to the original. If you’d like to see Hollywood’s first go at the dystopian action sci-fi flick, Max has George Miller...

That Girl Lay Lay is ending after 2 seasons on Nickelodeon – Just Jared Jr Pierce Brosnan has plead guilty and is apologizing – Celebitchy Karen Pittman explains how she “influences the storytelling” for her characters – Popsugar First look teaser for Hulu movie Prom Dates revealed – Just Jared Jr Tony Award winner John Lloyd Young, best known for starring in Broadway’s Jersey Boys, has announced his return to the iconic New York City concert venue Cafe Carlyle with a Golden Era-centered set. He’s one of the current longest-running recurring performers in the legendary cabaret venue. The shows will be performed May 14-18 and tickets are on sale now.

Jodie Comer has become the 100th performer to win a Tony Award for their Broadway debut for her performance in the play, “Prima Facie.”

She won Best Actress in a Play for portraying Tess, a lawyer who concentrates in providing legal defense for men who are accused of sexual assault but soon has the unthinkable happen to her. She is the 11th person to win the category for her first outing on a Broadway stage. She joins:

SEE2023 Tony Awards: Every winner (and nominee) in all 26 competitive categories

Martita Hunt, “The Madwoman of Chaillot” (1949)

Beryl Reid, “The Killing of Sister George” (1967)

Phyllis Frelich, “Children of a Lesser God” (1980)

Jane Lapotaire, “Piaf” (1981)

Joan Allen, “Burn This” (1988)

Pauline Collins, “Shirley Valentine” (1989)

Janet McTeer, “A Doll’s House” (1997)

Marie Mullen, “The Beauty Queen of Leeane” (1998)

Jennifer Ehle, “The Real Thing” (2000)

Deanna Dunagan, “August: Osage County” (2008)

Below are the Broadway debuts in the seven other...

This year’s Tony race for Best Musical Revival has two Stephen Sondheim shows (“Into the Woods” and “Sweeney Todd”) in contention. Will one of them win or will they cancel each other out? Let’s go over both of them.

“Into the Woods” combines several fairy tales and explores the consequences of the characters’ quests. The main storyline focuses on a childless baker and his wife as they go into the woods to break a spell set upon them by a witch. There they run into various classic fairy tale characters, all before revealing what happens after “happily ever after.”

The original production won three Tonys in 1988 for Best Actress (Musical) for Joanna Gleason, Best Musical Book for James Lapine, and Best Original Score for Sondheim. Meanwhile, Best Musical that year went to “The Phantom of the Opera,” which wound up with six other awards. The last remounting of...

Christopher Walken is one of the most unique character actors of all time. Walken is renowned for his idiosyncratic mannerisms and has reinvented himself for audiences of many different generations. He has attracted some younger viewers with his frequent appearances on "Saturday Night Live" and Fatboy Slim's infamous "Weapon of Choice" music video.

Although Walken is largely associated with his comedic roles, he has delivered many riveting dramatic performances. At 79, Walken hasn't shown any signs that he is slowing down. He has recently found success on television with his roles as Burt Goodman on Apple TV+'s acclaimed science fiction series "Severance" and Frank Sheldon on Amazon Prime Video's crime series "The Outlaws." It was recently announced that Walken will be joining the cast of "Dune: Part Two" as Emperor Shaddam IV. It will be exciting to see Timothée Chalamet's Paul Atreides face off against the most fearsome antagonist in the "Dune" universe.

Myles Frost became the latest addition to the list of people who have taken home a Tony Award for their Broadway debut. His win makes him the 98th member of this particular winners’ club.

Frost, who won Best Actor in a Musical for playing Michael Jackson in “Mj,” is the 13th person to win that category for their first time stepping into a character on a Broadway stage. He joins:

Ezio Pinza, “South Pacific” (1950)

Robert Alda, “Guys and Dolls” (1951)

Robert Lindsay, “Me and My Girl” (1987)

Brent Carver, “Kiss of the Spider Woman” (1993)

Alan Cumming, “Cabaret” (1998)

Hugh Jackman, “The Boy From Oz” (2004)

John Lloyd Young, “Jersey Boys” (2006)

Paulo Szot, “South Pacific” (2008)

David Álvarez, Trent Kowalik and Kiril Kulish (joint nomination), “Billy Elliot” (2009)

Douglas Hodge, “La Cage aux Folles” (2010)

See 2022 Tony Awards: Every winner (and nominee) in all 26 categories

Below are the Broadway debuts in the seven other acting categories that have...

Exclusive: Clear Talent Group’s Founder Tim O’Brien has promoted Brianna Ancel to President of the bi-coastal talent agency, upping Jamie Harris to Vice President.

Ancel has headed up Ctg’s Adult Theatrical Department since its inception in 2003, and has served as Vice President since 2009. Her client list includes actors Richard Brooks (Law & Order), Judy Gold (Better Things), Brandee Evans (P-Valley), Kiowa Gordon (Dark Winds), Emma Pasarow (Along for the Ride), Eric Graise (Peacock’s Queer as Folk), Tre Hale (Platonic), Robert Longstreet (The Haunting of Hill House), Drake Rodger (The Winchesters) and Camron Jones (Panic).

Ancel in 2018 helped facilitate a strategic partnership with Producer Entertainment Group, a premiere management company representing drag queens and LGBTQ+ performers, working collaboratively as agents for talent including RuPaul’s Drag Race alums Ginger Minj, Manila Luzon, Jujubee, Lady Bunny and BenDeLaCreme, among others. The Talent Manager’s Association nominated her for the Seymour...

Richard recently caught up with with Tony winner John Lloyd Young, who headlines a holiday concert at The Space tonight,December 4 9pm Et. 'The Space acts like a soundstage and these livestreams are as exciting as you can get, because it feels like you're doing a TV shoot in a live theatre space,' said Young'i like both of those types of performance. I like it and I find it kind of challenging and fun to play the cameras and figure out which one I need to sing to.'...

On the new interview episode of BroadwayRadioMatt Tamanini speaks with Tony and Grammy Award winner John Lloyd Young about his special livestreamed holiday concert on Friday, Dec. 4 from The Space in Las Vegas. In the episode, they talk about the must have songs and styles in Young's set list, his favorite childhood holiday memories, and what it's like returning to the stage in the middle of the pandemic.

Following the success of two previous live stream concerts from The Space in Las Vegas, Tony and Grammy Award-winner John Lloyd Young returns on Friday, December 4 with John Lloyd Youngs Vegas Holiday, an intimate and unforgettable evening of holiday classics and beloved favorites that will offer an up-close and personal experience to be enjoyed with family and friends from home.

David M. Rudy’s Armada Partners is expanding its ranks, adding Scot Reynolds, formerly an agent with Clear Talent Group, as a new manager. He is expected to begin officially at the company later this month.

“We have been looking for the right person to join Armada, not only on the talent representation side but also to be able to have a voice in the creative process as we continue to develop content,” said David M. Rudy, founder of Armada Partners. “Scot’s relationships and dedication to his clients were exactly what we wanted in a new team member and couldn’t be happier to have him make the transition to management.”

A graduate of Florida State University, Reynolds began his career at David Shapira & Associates in 2012 as an assistant before being promoted to junior agent and overseeing his own talent roster. In 2014, Reynolds moved to Ctg where he...

Tony and Grammy Award-winner John Lloyd Young returns to The Space in Las Vegas on Saturday, October 3 with John Lloyd Young's Broadway, an intimate and unforgettable evening of Broadway favorites and classic showtunes. While we await he big night, we're getting inside John's head as he counts down ten Broadway performances that have excited, entertained, and inspired him throughout his life and career...

2000: Days of our Lives' ghoul girl revealed herself.

2001: Guiding Light's Meta read the Declaration of Independence.

2002: One Life to Live featured "Babes Behind Bars."

2003: As the World Turns' Jack learned he was Sage's father."History speaks to artists. It changes the artist's thinking and is constantly reshaping it into different and unexpected images."

― Anselm Kiefer

"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.

On this date in...

1955: Backstage Wife switched networks, moving from CBS Radio to NBC Radio.

1965: Actress turned news anchor Lisa Howard committed suicide with an overdose of pills at her East Hamptom home at age 35. Howard played Trudy Bauer on The Guiding Light before she...

For only the third time this decade, none of the acting winners at this year’s Tony Awards did so for their Broadway debut. This is the 21st time that this has happened over the 73-year history of these top theater honors. Most of the winners were actually on the opposite end of the spectrum, winning for the first time after years of Broadway experience and several nominations to their name including André De Shields, Celia Keenan-Bolger and Stephanie J. Block. Check out the complete list of winners here.

The previous instances of Broadway debuts being shut out at the Tonys were in: 1948, 1952, 1953, 1956, 1959, 1960, 1970, 1971, 1974, 1976, 1978, 1982, 1990, 1991, 1994, 2001-2003, 2012 and 2017.

Below, you can see the names of all 96 people who have won Tonys for their debut on the Great White Way.

SEE2019 Tony Awards: Best Musical ‘Hadestown’ sweeps with 8 wins, ‘The Ferryman’ takes Best Play

Best Actor In A Play: 16 winners

Paul Scofield, “A Man for All Seasons” (1962)

Cliff Gorman,...

As of this writing Stephanie J. Block (“The Cher Show”) is the front-runner to win this year’s Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical with 16/5 odds after prevailing at the Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards. But the last time this Tony category went to a performance in a show that wasn’t nominated for Best Musical or Best Musical Revival was 2000 when Heather Headley won for “Aida.” “The Cher Show” received three nominations overall, but the other two were for costumes and lighting design, not in the top category. So is Stephanie as far out front as the Experts think she is?

In the biographical musical about the life of Cher, we see the legendary recording artist at three stages of her life, with three actresses portraying her as “Babe,” “Lady,” and “Star.” While the show overall received a mixed critical reception when it opened on Broadway back in December,...

What good is sitting alone in your room this week If you don't already have plans to see a Broadway show, come out to see your favorite Broadway stars in a cabaret act instead. After Broadway orchestras begin their overtures, ensemble members take their dance breaks, and performers belt out their eleven o'clock numbers, the party continues at various cabaret venues throughout New York City. Highlights this week include Joe Iconis amp Family, John Lloyd Young, and Matt Doyle.

What good is sitting alone in your room this week If you don't already have plans to see a Broadway show, come out to see your favorite Broadway stars in a cabaret act instead. After Broadway orchestras begin their overtures, ensemble members take their dance breaks, and performers belt out their eleven o'clock numbers, the party continues at various cabaret venues throughout New York City. Highlights this week include Derek Klena, John Lloyd Young, Jennifer Holliday, and more...

Tony Award winner John Lloyd Young returns to Cafe Carlyle with an all-new show, February 19 to March 2. At this residency, he will perform an expertly curated set of rock and pop classics. From the raw emotionality of Roy Orbison the retro cool of 007, Young will bring the iconic room alive with a timelessness, mystery and warmth that hearkens back while heralding into the future and Broadway World's own Richard Ridge caught up with Young a few days before his opening.

Attention casting directors for “Dancing with the Stars”! The results are in from our recent poll: these are the male celebrities audiences would most like to see in the upcoming 27th season from the suggestions we made.

Broadway actor John Lloyd Young was our readers’ top choice with 38% of the vote. After conquering the Great White Way in 2006 with his Tony Award winning breakout role as Frankie Valli in “Jersey Boys” he brought his skills to the small screen with guest appearances on “Glee” in 2009 and “Vegas” in 2013. Then Young was cast by Clint Eastwood to reprise his Broadway role in the 2014 film adaptation of “Jersey Boys.” Another Tony winner, Marissa Jaret Winokur, almost managed to make it to the finals in the sixth season in 2008 (she finished fourth), we’d love to see what another Broadway star could do in the ballroom.

Jc Chasez came in second with 28%. Two...

2000: Days of our Lives' ghoul girl revealed herself.

2001: Guiding Light's Meta read the Declaration of Independence.

2002: One Life to Live featured "Babes Behind Bars."

2003: As the World Turns' Jack learned he was Sage's father."All true histories contain instruction; though, in some, the treasure may be hard to find, and when found, so trivial in quantity that the dry, shrivelled kernel scarcely compensates for the trouble of cracking the nut."

― Anne Brontë in "Agnes Grey"

"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.

On this date in...

1955: Backstage Wife switched networks, moving from CBS Radio to NBC Radio.

1965: Actress turned news anchor Lisa Howard committed suicide with an...

Ari’el Stachel became the latest person to take home a Tony Award for their Broadway debut. This victory puts him in a freshman club that now has 96 members. Watch him discuss his victory in the Tonys press room in the video above.

Stachel, who won Best Featured Actor in a Musical for playing Haled in “The Band’s Visit,” is the ninth person to claim that particular honor for his first Broadway outing. He joins:

Harry Belafonte, “John Murray Anderson’s Almanac” (1954)

Sydney Chaplin, “Bells are Ringing” (1957)

Frankie Michaels, “Mame” (1966)

Wilson Jermaine Heredia, “Rent” (1996)

Dan Fogler, “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” (2005)

Levi Kreis, “Million Dollar Quartet” (2010)

John Larroquette, “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying” (2011)

Daveed Diggs, “Hamilton” (2016)

Sign UPfor Gold Derby’s free newsletter with latest predictions

Below are the Broadway debuts in the seven other acting categories that claimed Tony Awards.

Best Actor In A Play: 16 winners

Paul Scofield,...

The four-week, all-athlete edition of ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars” got mixed responses from fans, but the show’s 27th season coming up this fall will return the show to its normal schedule, and there’s a long list of celebrities who deserve to compete on the dance floor. Below is a list of male celebs I think the show should consider inviting to the ballroom to vie for the next Mirror Ball Trophy. Do you agree with my picks? Check them out below, and vote in our poll at the bottom of this post to let us know which you’d most like to see on “DWTS.” And feel free to let us know in comments what other stars you would like to see when the show comes back in September.

Jc Chasez

Chasez was a cast member on “The Mickey Mouse Club” along with other future stars like Britney Spears,...

Revolutionizing the live musical theater experience, the acclaimed company For The Record makes its triumphant return to Los Angeles in a new production, For The Record Scorsese - American Crime Requiem. The stellar ensemble cast-drawing talent from the worlds of stage, screen and music-includes Tony Award-winner John Lloyd Young Broadway's Jersey Boys, Tony Award-nominee Carmen Cusack Broadway's Bright Star, amp many more.

Broadway's 40 theatres aren't the only places to catch performances from your favorite stars Well after Broadway orchestras begin their overtures, ensemble members take their dance breaks, and performers belt out their eleven o'clock numbers, the party continues at various cabaret venues throughout New York City. Below, BroadwayWorld brings you some cabaret highlights for this week as picked by our theatre editors, including 54 Sings 1776, John Lloyd Young at 54 Below, Caroline Bowman at 54 Below, The Skivvies, with Matt Doyle, Lesli Margherita, and More, and Tony Yazbeck in 'The Floor Above Me'.

Having won critical praise for his previous Cafe Carlyle residencies, Tony Award-winner John Lloyd Young returns with an all-new show titled Yours Truly, February 9-20. After seeing his first appearance at the storied venue, where he performed selections from his debut album My Turn, Stephen Holden of The New York Times said Young 'has a disciplined one-in-a-million high tenor shading into falsetto that he can direct through the stratosphere.' Upon his second residency, Mr. Holden praised Young for 'tapping into the raw feelings and intensity of a teenage romantic dreaming out loud.' Yours Truly, his first engagement back in NYC since starring in Clint Eastwood's Jersey Boys film, will feature a fresh set of lushly romantic '60s-era RampB ballads and a few brand new songwriting collaborations. A full band list will be announced soon.

Many broken men populate Clint Eastwood’s knotty cinematic sandbox. An inciting action forces them to brazenly jump from normal life in search of revenge or salvation, burying themselves in self-righteousness and self-pity along the way. Still, despite this stubborn resolve their endgame often hinges on a homecoming of sorts, whether it’s written in blood or tears. By the end of 2014, Eastwood will have released two new films in very different genres that complicate this motif. Both Jersey Boys and American Sniper examine elite professionals whose work takes them on the road, away from the domestic confines of family and femininity to an isolated place where chaotic situations are common. But instead of doing everything in their power to return home, these men manipulate the classic “hero’s journey” as a selfish way to avoid the complex perspectives of those they’ve left behind or forgotten. Being on tour...

Fade in on a boy talking to the camera, and you can already tell that this is a tired film. Helmed by Clint Eastwood (working behind the screen only, this time), Jersey Boys is a film adapted from the hit Broadway jukebox musical. It tells the origin story of The Four Seasons, their rise to fame, and the self-destruction of their personal lives. It’s a tale as old as showbiz, and this film shows a desperate lack of originality. The boy talking to us, giving us unnecessary narrative set-up (and not even doing it particularly well) is Tommy DeVito (Vincent Piazza). He introduces us to his brother Nicky (Johnny Cannizzaro), their friend Nick Massi (Michael Lomenda) who performs in a musical trio with them, and a wannabe singer named Frankie Valli (John Lloyd Young). The boys, as boys in Jersey are wont to do, get caught up in gangster...

You can figure out everything you need to know about the big-screen version of the dazzling, Tony Award-winning musical Jersey Boys from the opening studio logos alone. A familiar piano cue from The Four Seasons’ catchy classic “December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night)” plays over greying silver studio logos. In other words, you are going to get the electrifying pop staples but over a drab, lifeless execution. Director Clint Eastwood is no stranger to music, as he worked as a composer on many of his most recent films, but Jersey Boys is one musical adaptation that he should have left alone.

Jersey Boys is probably the most beloved of all of the jukebox musicals that blended the lights of Broadway with the biggest pop hits of yesteryear. In the stumble to the big screen, though, the behind-the-music story about how some delinquent boys growing up just outside of Newark became one...

Blu-ray Review

Jersey Boys

Directed by: Clint Eastwood

Cast: Vincent Piazza, John Lloyd Young, Johnny Cannizzaro, Michael Lomenda

Running Time: 2 hrs 14 mins

Rating: R

Due Out: November 11, 2014

Own “Jersey Boys” on Blu-ray Combo Pack, DVD, and Digital HD on 11/11

Plot: (courtesy Warner Bros. Home Entertainment) “Jersey Boys” tells the story of four young men from the wrong side of the tracks in New Jersey who came together to form the iconic 1960s rock group The Four Seasons. The story of their trials and triumphs are accompanied by the songs that influenced a generation, including “Sherry,” “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” “Walk Like a Man,” “Dawn,” “Rag Doll,” “Bye Bye Baby,” “Who Loves You,” and many more.

These classic hits are now being embraced by a new generation of fans through the stage musical, which has been running on Broadway for more than eight years and has also enjoyed successful tours around the globe.

For fans of Jersey Boys, today is the day you have been waiting for because the film adaptation of the musical is now in stores. Available on both DVD and Blu-ray, the fascinating film is directed by Clint Eastwood. John Lloyd Young reprises his Tony Award-winning portrayal of Frankie Valli. Erich Bergen stars as Bob Gaudio, with Michael Lomenda as Nick Massi, Vincent Piazza as Tommy DeVito, and Christopher Walken as mobster Gyp DeCarlo.

Blu-ray, DVD & Digital Release Date: Nov. 11, 2014

Price: DVD $28.98, Blu-ray/DVD Combo $35.99

Studio: Warner

The Four Seasons come to life in Jersey Boys.

Based on the Tony Award-winning musical, Jersey Boys is a music-filled drama featuring The Four Seasons’ songs that influenced a generation, is directed by the seemingly immortal Clint Eastwood (J. Edgar, Million Dollar Baby).

Jersey Boys stars tells the story of four young men from the wrong side of the tracks in New Jersey who came together to form the iconic 1960s rock group The Four Seasons. The story of their trials and triumphs are accompanied by the songs that influenced a generation, including “Sherry,” “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” “Walk Like a Man,” “Dawn,” “Rag Doll,” “Bye Bye Baby,” “Who Loves You,” and many more.

John Lloyd Young reprises his Tony Award-winning portrayal of the legendary lead singer of The Four Seasons, Frankie Valli. Erich Bergen stars as Bob Gaudio,...

Clint Eastwood's Jersey Boys adaptation may not have blown up the box office when it released earlier this Summer, but if you're a fan of the broadway show it's based on, you're more than likely going to want to pick up this title when it releases in November. Warner Bros. has revealed exactly when you'll be able to pick this blu-ray up, and what all is included on the disc. Come inside to learn more!

Based on the Tony Award-winning musical, “Jersey Boys” arrives onto Blu-ray Combo Pack, DVD and Digital HD on November 11 from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment. Directed by Oscar® winner Clint Eastwood (“Million Dollar Baby,” “Unforgiven”), “Jersey Boys” is an inspiring drama featuring The Four Seasons’ songs that influenced a generation.

“Jersey Boys” stars John Lloyd Young, who reprises his Tony Award-winning portrayal of the legendary lead singer of The Four Seasons, Frankie Valli. Erich Bergen stars as Bob Gaudio,...

Before The Beatles came to our shores in the mid-1960s, I don’t think there was a bigger rock band in America than The Four Seasons. The Four Seasons are one of the best-selling musical groups of all time, having sold an estimated 100 million records worldwide. The story of the band’s formation, success, and their eventual break-up has already been dramatized in Jersey Boys: The Story of Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons, a jukebox musical which debuted on Broadway in 2005. And now that musical has been brought from the stage to the screen. The new movie Jersey Boys is a lot of fun and quite entertaining, but unfortunately the film suffers from narrative and structural issues that prevent it from reaching its full potential.

Obviously, the focus of the cast is on the four members of The Four Seasons – John Lloyd Young as frontman/lead vocalist Frankie Valli,...

Jersey Boys

Directed by: Clint Eastwood

Cast: Vincent Piazza, John Lloyd Young, Johnny Cannizzaro, Michael Lomenda

Running Time: 2 hrs 14 mins

Rating: R

Release Date: June 20, 2014

Plot: The story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, based on the Broadway musical of the same name.

Who’S It For? Eastwood fans to be disappointed, or music fans to be bored.

Overall

In my interview with Paul Haggis for his recently-released film Third Person, the former Oscar-friendly screenwriter brought something to my attention about his working relationship with Clint Eastwood, which I could have guessed, but didn’t know: with Haggis’ scripts like Flags of Our Fathers, Eastwood didn’t ask for any rewrites, and began shooting with a first draft. It explained so much, especially when I finally caught up with Jersey Boys. Eastwood’s stories are as strong as his scripts, his directorial ability to really influence a project as...

It’s easy to see how Warner Bros. turned to their A-list director-producer Clint Eastwood, known for his calm, economic, unpretentious, methodical filmmaking, for the 60s period musical “Jersey Boys.” After directing 37 movies, he can do period in his sleep, from “Invictus” to “Changeling,”–on a budget. He’s a composer and jazz pianist who knows music (Cannes prize-winner “Bird”). “It’s just a lot of good songs,” he told Vanity Fair. “You go home humming a different one every night.” And he’s great with actors. The Tony-winning musical also had a good chance of being Oscar bait–likely to play well to the seniors in the Academy who have voted Eastwood movies many Oscars over the years, from “Mystic River” to Best Picture-winners “Unforgiven” and “Million Dollar Baby.”

But the movie looks bland and brown: while it may be accurate for the period, it’s not visually compelling.

Over at IndieWire Max O'Connell writes an impassioned essay about the terrible direction that keeps sinking movie musicals. While I do not agree that Clint Eastwood's Jersey Boys is the best-directed musical of the past 10 years (yikes!) the case is stronger than I was expecting that that is at least debatable.

Why does Hollywood have such a hard time making musicals?

Many of the essay's points are memorize / share worthy. I merely wish that Max didn't succumb to the tired notion that there simply aren't enough charismatic stars with musical theater chops for the genre to really be alive again. This notion is brought up nearly every time people talk about the state of the film musical (or when they're casting and have to defend strange choices) but it's just patently false. 

Here's that bit of the otherwise stellar article:

Maybe there aren't enough modern equivalents to Gene Kelly,...

To hear it directly from Tommy DeVito (Vincent Piazza), there were only three choices for the youth of Belleville, New Jersey in the 1950s: join the Army (and get killed), join the Mob (and get killed) or get famous. He and his performing pals embraced that last option and rose to fame as the Four Seasons. Chances are that you know their hits — “Sherry,” “Walk Like a Man,” “Who Loves You,” “Big Girls Don’t Cry” — recently given new life by the Tony-winning success of the Broadway show,”Jersey Boys,” and effectively deprived of it by Clint Eastwood’s subsequent screen adaptation. The most famous of the four was Frankie Valli (John Lloyd Young), whose distinctive falsetto was nurtured by Tommy in between his six-month stints in prison. With fellow ex-con Nick Massi (Michael Lomenda) on bass, the group just needed some great songs and got ‘em courtesy of Bob Gaudio (Erich Bergen). (Introductions were made by...

Now playing in theaters is director Clint Eastwood’s Jersey Boys. The film, which is based on the extremely popular stage musical, tells the story of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons, chronicling the group’s rise in the 1960s with such hits as “Sherry,” “Big Girls Don’t Cry” and “Walk Like a Man” and subsequent troubles that came with their success. The film stars John Lloyd Young, Vincent Piazza, Erich Bergen, Michael Lomenda, Renee Marino, Mike Doyle, and Christopher Walken. For more on the film, watch the trailer or these clips. At the New York City press day, I was able to participate in a press conference with Clint Eastwood, John Lloyd Young, Erich Bergen, Michael Lomenda, Vincent Piazza, and screenwriters Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice. They talked about making the film, how Eastwood got involved, the challenges in bringing the stage musical to life, the clever director cameo,...

Jersey Boys

Directed by Clint Eastwood

Written by Marshall Brickman & Rick Elice

USA, 2014

American music history has had its fair share of notable moments. The 1950s and 1960s in particular, were an era in which catchy songs and talented performers reigned supreme. One such group was Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons. These gifted young men were responsible for hit after hit including but not limited to “Sherry”, “Walk Like a Man”, and “Big Girls Don’t Cry”. A highly entertaining Tony Award-winning Broadway musical was created to detail the rise of The Four Seasons and it ran and continues to run, selling tickets to this day about a decade after its debut. It was only a matter of time until a big Hollywood film adaption would follow and it did. Helmed by veteran filmmaker Clint Eastwood, Jersey Boys is now in theaters and ready to transport you back to...

A Tony-winning musical about a Hall of Fame rock group by an Oscar-winning director—on paper, it sounds like a sure-fire hit. So why did Clint Eastwood’s Jersey Boys fall flat in theaters this weekend?

Simply because Clint Eastwood should have never directed it in the first place.

When Jersey Boys opened on Broadway back in 2005, it broke the mold of the emerging trend of “jukebox musicals”—that is, musicals that repurposed pre-existing songs and placed them into stories—by using the songs of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons that were already loved and adored by millions to tell their own story.

Title: Jersey Boys Warner Bros Reviewed for Shockya by Harvey Karten. Data-based on Rotten Tomatoes Grade: B+ Director: Clint Eastwood Screenplay: Marshall Brickman, Rick Elise Cast: Christopher Walken, John Lloyd Young, Vincent Piazza, Michael Lomenda, Erich Bergen, Renee Marino, Mike Doyle Screened at: NYC, Opens: June 20, 2014 If you wonder why the 1950s are considered the most boring decade in U.S. history, you need only look for some videos of NBC’s show “Your Hit Parade.” The Saturday night festivities featured the top seven hit tunes, playing number one on the charts last, holding TV viewers in suspense. The trouble is that was nary a hit that was not some [ Read More ]

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“Jersey Boys,” the Clint Eastwood-directed movie adaptation of the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical, was never going to be “Mamma Mia,” “Les Miserables” “or “Grease.” But the soft $13.5 million that it made in its nationwide debut this weekend had to be disappointing for distributor Warner Bros. Those successful Broadway-to-big-screen productions had Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway and John Travolta hitting high notes, while the biggest name in Warner Bros.’ biopic about the 1960s pop group Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons was the director. ”Jersey Boys” stars John Lloyd Young as the lead singer with a soaring falsetto voice, along with Erich Bergen,...

‘Jersey Boys’ movie review: Great music fails to save Clint Eastwood-directed film version of the 2005 Broadway musical (photo: John Lloyd Young as Frankie Valli of the Four Seasons in ‘Jersey Boys’) Clint Eastwood’s semi-historically accurate biopic of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, Jersey Boys, is based on the hit 2005 Broadway musical — and it is a crushing bore. But we shall start with the positive: In Eastwood’s film, the music and the performances of the music (which are not the same thing) are great. That is to be expected, as the Jersey Boys movie cast is mostly composed from cast members of the stage show, including Tony winner John Lloyd Young, who happens to look a lot like Frankie Valli and who has a four-plus octave range. Lucky boy. Lloyd Young is also a serviceable actor with a number of (mostly stage) credits that did not require a piercing falsetto.

Clint Eastwood is such an amazing director, and he managed to turn the Broadway Musical hit Jersey Boys into a wonderfully entertaining movie that I think anyone could enjoy. Eastwood have never really done a musical before, so I wasn't really sure how this would turn out. But, he pulled it off brilliantly. The director once again proves that he's still one of the best directors working in Hollywood.

I know a lot of people in the "geek" world don't really care for musicals like this. If Jersey Boys doesn't seem like your thing… I understand, but I've got to at least ask you to please give it a shot. It's more than just a musical, it's got a timeless heartfelt story that has the power to inspire the people that see it.

The film is based on the true story of the classic four-man band Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons.

Now playing in theaters is director Clint Eastwood’s Jersey Boys. The film, which is based on the extremely popular stage musical, tells the story of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons, chronicling the group’s rise in the 1960s with such hits as “Sherry,” “Big Girls Don’t Cry” and “Walk Like a Man” and subsequent troubles that came with their success. The film stars John Lloyd Young, Vincent Piazza, Erich Bergen, Michael Lomenda, Renee Marino, Mike Doyle, and Christopher Walken. For more on the film, watch the trailer or these clips. At the New York City press day, I landed an exclusive video interview with Vincent Piazza, who plays Tommy DeVito. He talked about landing the role, his month-long process of preparing for the film before the shoot, how he was the only principal cast member who didn’t come from the show, Clint Eastwood’s style of directing,...

The box office continues to bow down to Kevin Hart. The comedian, already the cock of the walk with his Ride Along victory just five months ago, has another hit on his hands with Think Like a Man Too. The sequel to Steve Harvey’s best-selling relationship opus cruised to the #1 spot on Friday with a $12.2 million haul. (Take that, 23% score on Rotten Tomatoes!) The Tim Story-directed laffer, which also stars Michael Ealy, Regina Hall, and Meagan Good, follows the gang to Las Vegas for a wedding weekend. Think Like A Man Too played in 2,225 theaters and is on...