This transcript was automatically generated and might contain errors.

[0:01] Lauren Van Hemert: Welcome to the Beltline to Broadway podcast.

[0:07] Lauren Van Hemert: Oh my, that's good through about tough times.

[0:11] Lauren Van Hemert: Broadway hooray!

[0:14] Lauren Van Hemert: Let's all tune in to Beltline to Broadway.

[0:19] Lauren Van Hemert: What do you say?

[0:22] Lauren Van Hemert: You could binge any day, listening to Beltline to Broadway.

[0:33] Lauren Van Hemert: This is the Beltline to Broadway podcast.

[0:40] Lauren Van Hemert: I'm Lauren Van Hemert, your host, and on this episode, I'm chatting with Rob Marnell. Rob is no stranger to the jukebox musical, having been in the Broadway productions of Tina: The Tina Turner Musical and Beautiful: The Carole King Musical. But as you will hear, reprising the role of Bob Gaudio in the Theater Raleigh production of Jersey Boys is a homecoming in more ways than one. Here's our conversation.

[1:12] Lauren Van Hemert: You are no stranger to the jukebox musical genre. I feel like this genre is so ever-evolving. So how do you see the jukebox musical genre changing as the industry is changing, as storytelling is changing? How's this genre evolving?

[1:37] Rob Marnell’s: Yeah, things are changing. It's funny that I keep finding myself in these jukebox musicals. I'm classically trained. I thought I'd get out of school and hop into Les Mis or something like that, you know, Phantom of the Opera, and they're like, no, you're gonna play songwriters and sing pop music for ten years. The jukebox musical has always been this thing I feel like people, well, it's just it either hits or it's kind of like, okay, I see what you did there. The problem for me with it is when the story isn't really strongly constructed and the music and the song choices don't really support the story as they should, it's just kind of like a hodgepodge, like let's get this song in there. How do we get this song in there?

But it does seem like it's changing. I feel like there's kind of two versions right now. It's like let's do the biopic, you know, like Beautiful: The Carole King Musical or Tina: The Tina Turner Musical, or let's just get a bunch of songs that we love together and try to throw a story together. And with Jersey Boys, I just feel like they were so meticulous about where they placed certain songs, and there's a lot of songs I didn't use, and it just really supports the storytelling from start to finish, in my opinion. So I think that's like a high standard to strive for. I feel like it's a hit or miss thing, but it's more and more common these days. Listen, as long as I keep making them and they're good enough, I'll happily be in them, but I'll happily do other things too. You know, I'd love to do an original, completely new musical piece. But I really love the music in Jersey Boys.

[3:38] Lauren Van Hemert: You know, when I think of Bob Gaudio, which you're playing him in this show, for me, he is the keeper of the keys. I feel like he's the driving force behind it. In your experience working with the show in Vegas and in the film version, have you met him? Did he have any advice or pearls of wisdom to share with you about the show, about his role in this story?

[4:10] Rob Marnell’s: Yeah, I actually did get to meet him a couple times. When we opened the show in Vegas at the Palazzo, I think it ran for maybe a year or two, and then possibly longer, I don't know. But then it closed down, and I joined the cast right at the end of that production closing. Then there was a little bit of a break, and then they reopened it at the Paris Las Vegas, and that's where I got to open that show with that specific cast as Bob. So, you know, they all came back, Frankie and Bob, and yeah, I had some brief conversations with him. I was just kind of like a little, you know, starstruck. More than that, I mean, I didn't know who Bob Gaudio was, and I really loved the music of the Four Seasons that I knew about, but I didn't know their whole catalog.

So it had more to do with, okay, I'm playing this guy's life, you know what I mean? Like, of course, it's theatricalized, but it's kind of like I hope he likes me, you know, because I'm him. So we talked a little bit afterwards. He said, I think he said, you know, good job, and he said, everybody kind of plays it a little bit differently. So yeah, playing someone who actually existed and exists, it could be a little intimidating, especially when they come to watch the show. But it was surreal. I mean, getting to meet him. The thing that I really admire about Bob and his journey is it seems like he knew what he wanted from a very young age. He wanted to be a writer, he wanted to be a producer.

As he says in the show, you know, the performing aspect, being in the spotlight, wasn't really what excited him. He wanted to write and produce, and at such a young age, to find that success, it's just wild.

[6:14] Lauren Van Hemert: The interesting thing about this Theater Raleigh production of Jersey Boys is you, along with the other members of the cast and the director of this production, have such history with this show. So, what lessons learned are you all collectively bringing into the room from your previous experiences with this material?

[6:42] Rob Marnell’s: Yes. So the cast is really phenomenal. It's very exciting because we all kind of know people. You know, it's like I haven't worked specifically with the other three seasons, but Candy Boyd, our choreographer, we worked out in Vegas together. She was a universal swing. She was on the Broadway cast. She was all over the place. Matt Bogart, our amazing director, he played Nick Massey on Broadway. I think it might have been like the longest anyone's ever done it. I feel like it was like eight years or something. Sorry if I'm wrong, Matt. I'll Google it later. So everyone's bringing, like you said, their history into the room, but we're also like, let's shake it off. You know, Matt's like, and Matt said early on, he's like, I'm not trying to reinvent the show, I'm not trying to fix the show because it's not broken.

But I think we're all kind of like having a lot of fun leaning into, you know, making it a little bit different. Again, it's still classic Jersey Boys, but for me, it's been fun to, if you can't tell by now, I love the show. Doing it out in Vegas for almost three years, it was a huge part of my life. A lot of life things happened during that time, and I loved everyone I worked with. It really was a family. So just to have this opportunity to come back to Raleigh, where I'm originally sort of from, and do this show, it's bringing back so many memories and also bringing an awesome opportunity for me and probably everyone else to try to shake it up a little bit. I'm looking at Bob in a little bit of a different way, just naturally, because it's been, I think, ten years since I've played him, ten or eleven years.

[8:32] Rob Marnell’s: Um, so I'm a different person, naturally, and you know, I'm telling the story, I think hopefully still authentically and genuinely, but things are I'm hearing things differently. Um, and I I think I think this is a unique opportunity for all of us. And again, it's not like Matt was saying, you know, like I'm not trying to like do everything different or whatever, but we definitely are doing some things different, and um it's really cool, it's really fun. We're we're trying to approach it like a blank page again. Um, but really, you know, we're just trying to honor the story, the amazing story of these four guys, namely, you know, Frankie, Frankie Valli. I think I feel like his story is at the forefront of it all.

[9:19] Rob Marnell’s: You and Laurel, you you mentioned your Raleigh roots. Um tracing back to Raleigh Little Theater. Um, I'm I always uh hear the stories during during COVID. I did so many interviews, including with Laurel. And during my interview with her, you were actually hanging out the window banging and clapping for the healthcare workers as they were parading by. So um it got this is my image of the two of you all the time during COVID, but so much has changed for you both. So talk about what it is to now return to the hometown stage for this show.

[10:09] Rob Marnell’s: Yeah, for sure. I mean, what a ride it has been for all of us and still is. Um, but uh yeah, it's funny. I was doing Tina, the Tina Turner musical, Laurel was in Jagged Little Pill, and we just thought, oh wow, four weeks, you know, they're shutting down for four weeks. Like, all right, well, maybe we can take a little trip, you know, whatever. Two and a half years later, um it was very different. But I'm just so happy, obviously, for for many reasons that live theater is back, it has been back. It's you know, and and it's slowly getting stronger and back to what it was. Um, you know, we we need this, and I think we're all well, I'll speak for myself. I I we're not taking this for granted. Um, you know, being able to tell this amazing story at this amazing theater.

Lauren Kennedy has done an incredible job with Theater Raleigh. And this is actually my first experience, you know, working here for sure. And and also just I've been in New York for 15 years, and I haven't um unfortunately had the chance to to see one of their amazing shows, which I hear is just the work they do is just phenomenal. Um, so I'm very, very happy and grateful to be back in Raleigh. My I say hometown like this because I was born in New York, but it really is my hometown. Um, but yeah, it really is Laurel and I, as you mentioned, we met doing a production of Cinderella at Raleigh Little Theater, and theater brought us together, and not to harp on our love story too long, but it is pretty cute.

Um theater brought us together and it brought us back together. And um, you know, I'm at her parents' house right now. Um and it's been great to well, I first of all I have to say thank you, Laurel. I love you so much, and thank you to my in-laws for making this happen because we do have a 16, 17 month-old baby boy named Elliot, who is amazing and he's our world. And um, you know, everyone's here. We shipped everyone down here so that I could do this. So I'm very grateful for everyone. You know, it really does take a village. Um, and my wife has been flying to New York and back for auditions and callbacks, and in fact, she I literally just said bye to her before this interview. She's heading back to New York tonight for a callback. Um, so it's surreal, you know. This is where I kind of began my theater journey um really in high school.

[12:44] Rob Marnell’s: And I I attended the governor's school um during one summer, but this was like formidable years, you know, and then Elon University. Um, shout out to Kathy McNeil. I love you. Um that completely, you know, Raleigh gave me this like starting point, and then I went to Elon and then I got some actual training. And so yeah, I mean, this is where it all began for me. So it's exciting. In talking about Jersey Boys, what is it about the Four Seasons songbook that makes this music so timeless?

[13:23] Rob Marnell’s: Gosh, it's a it's a great question. Um I mean, yeah, it's so true. I mean, you you there are remakes of "Beggin'," I don't know, every other year. Um this music, it's so so good. And what makes it timeless is you know, I I don't know, it's magic, I guess. It's just wonderful for people to get in the theater and just hear the song, and you know, we we may not necessarily want you to sing along, but if that moves you to sing along, then I'm you know, to each to each their own. Um, but it is that vibe. It's like, oh my gosh, yeah. Um I think for some people it's you know, reliving those some of those life's moments. Um for others, it's like, oh, they wrote this, they wrote "Beggin'," that song that was just on that commercial. Wow. Um I guess it's just it's a testament to the songwriting of Gaudio and um you know musically and lyrically.

[14:39] Rob Marnell’s: Um I don't know exactly why it's timeless, except that the music's just good, you know. It's like comfort food. Yeah, I like that. And spans so many decades. They weren't a flash in a pan, so it's amazing. But um, I can't wait to see the show. I'm excited to look at it through um a fresh lens. And what I love about Theater Raleigh is every time they do something, there is some sort of fresh take, fresh spin, fresh takeaway. And um, and I'm so excited about the work they're doing. So I also want to give a shout out to the amazing ensemble that they put together. Um, so perfect for the show, very versatile, great to work with. Um, you know, as you know, the ensemble does a whole lot, especially the women.

You know, there's only three women in the show, which is very surprising. Everyone always is very surprised. There's only three, um, because it's just a lot to do. But they did a great job with casting this. You know, we've got some local people, some people picked from New York, um, someone's from Atlanta. Uh so yeah, they we have a really strong ensemble, and and shout out to the swings too. Holding it down, swings, swinging nation. So we we've got we've got deep benches, and uh yeah, it's been a joy. It really has.

[16:07] Rob Marnell’s: The Theater Raleigh production of Jersey Boys runs through April 23rd. I'll put a ticket link in the episode notes. If you like what you've heard today, please consider subscribing to this podcast. Follow us on social media, on Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok at Beltline to Broadway, or visit us online at www.beltline to broadway.org. Until next time, I'll see you at the theater.