Want to bring out the A plus crowd? Just say Clint Eastwood is showing “Jersey Boys.” That’s what Warner Bros. did last night, and the guests showed up in droves. From Clive Davis and Barbara Walters to Regis and Joy Philbin, plus Broadway stars like Andy Karl from “Rocky” and Reeve Carney aka “Spider Man,” and last year’s Tony nominee Billy Magnussen, not to mention Soon Yi Allen, Nancy Shevell McCartney, the great Bebe Neuwirth and Roger Rees (a little “Cheers” reunion). Whew!
The group convened at the swanky Angelo Galasso men’s store in the Plaza Hotel, dined in the Oak Room, and then proceeded to the Paris Theater. Talk about a mob scene! I ran into “Sopranos” creator David Chase and his wife, “Boardwalk Empire” creator Terry Winter, as well as Candice Bergen, Tommy Tune, Melissa Leo and Alan Cumming. Lena Hall, who won a Tony on Sunday night, was thrilled to meet Clint Eastwood, and vice versa.
Not only Clint was there, but “Jersey Boys” screenwriters Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice, plus the cast including John Lloyd Young, Kathrine Narducci, Renee Marino, Erich Bergen, and so on.
It’s been a while since I sat through a screening in which the audience applauded and cheered during the film. But they do in “Jersey Boys,” as the musical numbers generated also a lot of clapping and humming. And everyone got a big chuckle out of Clint’s “Hitchcock” moment in the film, which I wrote about yesterday.
I hope Frankie Valli is ready. Because the Four Seasons are going to get another big push this summer– some 50 years after first sang “Sherry Baby.” Their music just gets better and better.
