INTERVIEW: Richard H. Blake enjoys four seasons in iconic ‘Jersey Boys’ musical

The story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons has been exciting Broadway audiences for years thanks to the hit musical Jersey Boys. One of the most iconic and memorable roles in the show is Tommy DeVito, one of the founding members of the Four Seasons. Each night Broadway alumnus Richard H. Blake plays the real-life character and helps bring this American songbook to life.

“Jersey Boys is one of those shows that you really feel lucky that you get the chance to do it,” Blake said recently in a phone interview. “One because it’s a long-running hit, but two because it’s a great show. I’ve had the luxury of working on a lot of shows, a lot of great shows and a lot of not-so-great shows, and when you get the chance to be part of something that is this good, and you get to say the words that are this good, it makes going to work easy.”

Blake’s credits are numerous. On Broadway, he has played Fiyero in Wicked, Warner in Legally Blonde, Glen Guglia in The Wedding Singer, Link Larkin in Hairspray, Radames in Aida and Roger in Rent, among many other important roles. To play DeVito, Blake has looked at the character’s nuance and motivations, and he has found a lot of material to work with to sculpt a character.

“I mean Tommy was pretty much the catalyst to Jersey Boys existing,” he said. “He’s the one who was trying to make stuff happen and discovered Frankie, if you want to put it that way. … So he had Frankie kind of following him around, and he saw potential in this kid, and put him on stage and then finally got everybody together. He had his flaws, as we know, but I think all of that contributed to what makes this group and this sound so successful. They were real people. They were real guys from the neighborhood, and they were relatable.”

Their success and legacy continue to this day. Their songbook includes “December, 1963,” “Working My Way Back to You,” “Rag Doll” and “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” among many others. In several ways, Valli and the Four Seasons documented the 1960s for residents in the New York and New Jersey area, and then their success branched out to the rest of the world.

“I was actually definitely familiar with their songbook,” Blake said. “I was not familiar with their story before I saw the show. I think many people were unaware of what exactly they went through. … It’s amazing to me actually watching the show how many people are familiar with their songbook from all different ages. You look out into the audience, and the first few rows you can see people mouthing the words. And they range from teenagers all the way up to people in their 80s, so it’s unbelievable. So, yeah, I’m definitely familiar with the music, but the story was fascinating to me when I got to see it.”

The show kicked off a wave of so-called jukebox musicals on Broadway. However, Jersey Boys is different. For one, the songs are presented as concert experiences rather than the characters using the lyrics to advance the story. This gives the musical two feelings at once: The audience learns about the singers’ stories and also receives a quality concert.

“In a traditional musical, you act, and when the scene gets to a point where you can’t say it in words anymore, you sing,” Blake said. “The way Jersey Boys works is we tell the story about how we got to the next song basically, and then we do the next song as if it were where it happened. We perform on The Ed Sullivan Show. We perform in the clubs, doing all things. So you’re kind of being brought in to watch a concert performance almost of each song, so you do get that concert feeling from the audience. And also just this show being so specific regionally, we do have a really, really amazing prideful fan base, Jersey pride.”

Jersey Boys comes at a nice time in Blake’s professional life. He recently wrapped his work on the new musicalization of Chazz Palminteri’s A Bronx Tale at the Paper Mill Playhouse in New Jersey, and he’s looking forward to more performances in Jersey Boys.

“When you’re younger, I think you can get a little bit more antsy, and you’re constantly looking for new creative inspiration,” he said. “As you get older and you have a family and a child, stability and normality actually become a little bit more enjoyable and comfortable, but also you find as you get older different ways to have that creative outlet. … I’ve learned to be able to enjoy the stability of one job and keep my creative juices flowing through other avenues.”

He remembered leaving the show for three months to perform in A Bronx Tale. When he returned to the Jersey Boys family he decided to watch the show a couple of times from the audience’s perspective to make sure he didn’t forget anything.

“I watched the show, and I was just so moved watching it and so excited to get back on the stage that it actually is a really great thing if you get the opportunity to do that in the long run, take a break and go do something else,” he said. “In a perfect world, that would be the dream, have a job that you can do, and once a year you take a little sabbatical to do something else and come back.”

By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com

Jersey Boys is currently playing the August Wilson Theatre on Broadway. Click here for more information.