The Story Behind the Four Seasons

Many of you may know their songs and have heard the name, but do you really know everything there is to know about Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons? Well, I do not have enough time to tell you everything but here are some talking points - some great party facts if you will.

With less than seven weeks until the arrival of Jersey Boys (the story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons) in Memphis, we will work to reacquaint our patrons with behind-the-scenes information about the band, the show and everything in between. Our E-Blast this week will be profiling the band, the show and each Jersey Boy.

Frankie Valli and Tommy DeVito started playing in a group in 1954. In 1956, they settled on the name 'The Four Lovers.' After a few line-up changes and 18 different stage name changes, Nick Massi and Bob Guadio joined with Vallie and DeVito to form 'The Four Seasons' in 1961, after having no success with The Four Lovers name. The Four Season was actually the name of the bowling alley where they were turned down for an audition, thus beginning the Four Season Partnership.

The band went on to sell 175 million records-worldwide-all before they were 30 years old. All total, The Four Seasons had five #1 hits and a total of eleven songs to crack the Billboard's Top Ten.

All in all, The Four Seasons managed to be successful and weather the musical changes of the 1960's and 70's through the Do-Wop, Motown and Disco eras of music.

The Four Seasons were introduced into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990

For more information on Jersey Boys coming to Memphis, click here:

http://www.orpheum-memphis.com/index.cfm?section=comattrac&page=details&showid=646

Tune your radio dial in next week for the story behind the musical.

It is Kid's Night

This past Thursday was the Orpheum's first Kid's Night on Broadway for the new season. Kids visited the Orpheum to see the magical Cirque Holidaze. Each kid got a free ticket with the purchase of an adult ticket which is a great deal! And, there were games, face painting, balloons and prizes for every kid that came through the door.

Our next Kid's Night on Broadway is during the Wizard of Oz. Be sure to check it out. It is a great, inexpensive way to expose children to Arts and Broadway. Call 901-525-7800 for more information.

Here are some pictures of Kid's Night during Cirque.

The Holidays are Upon Us

So this week, Memphis kicked off the Holidays with some cold weather. Temperatures in the 40s always mean that everyone will be complaining but on a good note that the Holiday Season is here!

In order to keep people thinking positively about the Holiday weather, the Orpheum had Cirque Dreams Holidaze come to Memphis! I personally saw the show last night and met some of the wonderfully, talented cast members. The show was a success. The talent, flexibility and amazement of the acrobats in the show made for an awesome performance! If you have not seen it yet you should go. The tightrope act was my personal favorite and I found myself holding my breath the entire time!

Following last night's show was a Cast Party at the Silly Goose. Almost all the cast and crew were present and very friendly. Even the little boy in the show stopped by. One of the cast members has been doing these 'cirque' shows since he was six and he is now in his forties. Needless to say he was very talented! Special thanks to Silly Goose for hosting the Cast Party.

Want to hear more about Cirque Dreams Holidaze check out the blog post from Downtown Memphis:

http://download.downtownmemphis.com/uncategorized/cirque-dreams-holidaze/

Tickets to the show are still available at the Orpheum (525-3000) or through Ticketmaster. Check out our website at http://www.orpheum-memphis.com/.

Memphis: It's all the Rave

So if you have somehow not turned on your TV, not opened your Facebook, not checked Twitter, stopped reading all of the blogs, and completely failed to stay up to date on current affairs than I guess you may have not heard about 'Memphis' a new musical! And, for those who have heard about the show continue to spread the positive words.

Memphis opened on Broadway this past Monday, October 19th; needless to say it was a hit and the city of Memphis was represented! See the photos of some of the Memphians who came below and do not forget that the Peabody Ducks were also present!

Kevin Kane from Memphis CVB

Kerry Crawford, Memphis CVB, I Love Memphis

The Neelys even made the trip!

And of course Pat Halloran from the Orpheum

Now the best part was when the Star, Felecia, said "On my way to the Orpheum" in the show! Even though this was not a sporting event, all the Memphians wildly cheered. I mean what a honor!

For anyone who is making a trip to New York or is thinking about taking the trip, I highly recommend going to see this show. Having not seen it myself, I can only speak about what I have heard and quite frankly, it has all been good. I heard the energy is amazing, the story line is heart wrenching, and the songs and voices are inspiring and astonishingly wonderful.

For more information on the show visit their website at www.memphisthemusical.com or check out the I Love Memphis blog for a full report of opening night http://ilovememphisblog.com/

Have you seen Memphis or heard anything about the show?

A Compilation of Facts

So this week at The Orpheum will unofficially be called 'Fact Week'--highly similar to Shark Week only awesomer cause you are getting facts about the Orpheum as opposed to killing creatures.

Listed below are all the facts I have posted on Twitter and Facebook plus more! Want to know a fact or have a question? Well than ask it and I can answer it!

The Orpheum has brought CATS to Memphis over 13 times and people still ask for it to come back!

The Orpheum Theatre was originally The Grand Opera House and was built in 1890!

The Orpheum was renovated in 1996 to expand the stage so we could bring in big shows like Phantom, Wicked, Lion King etc.

It can cost far more than $600,000 to bring a Broadway Show to Memphis! Thanks to our donors we are able to bring Broadway to Beale

During our Vaudeville days, we hosted stars such as Harry Houdini, George Burns, Madame Sarah Bernhardt and Helen Keller

The Orpheum has over 400 Volunteers that help with Ushering Shows and daily operations. Wow 400! How would we operate without our Volunteer Ushers!?

In 1940, M.A. Lightman, bought the Theatre and made it the flagship of Malco Movie Chain.

The Orpheum contributes over $500,000 each year in Sales Tax to the city, county, and state!

The Orpheum Theatre is a 501c3 and provides over 17 Arts Education Programs to the Mid South, including Star Search this Saturday!

It cost over $700,000 a year to maintain The Orpheum and keep it true to its history! Thanks to all our donors, The Orpheum continues to be a beautiful historical landmark!

The Orpheum Theatre actually loses over $1 Million each year due to the expenses of mataining the Theatre and bringing in shows. Thanks to donations we are able to recoup this loss and stay a premier Theatre.

An SEC Battle

Next Friday, October 17, 2009, there will be an SEC battle of sorts at the Orpheum Theatre. That is correct I am talking about Orpheum Star Search. We have star students competing from Ole Miss, The University of Tennessee, The University of Alabama and The University of Memphis will join as well. These students along with performers from local high schools will compete among each other to hold the title of Winner of the 2009 Orpheum Star Search.

This competition is dare I say better than your weekly SEC football battles because it only happens once a year not every week, the students are truly talented, and this year you, the audience, will get to vote for the People's Choice Award. I mean you do not get to vote which Football team wins each week. So be sure to come on out and vote because you do not want to let your school down. Come on out UT graduates, for you do not want Alabama beating you. Ole Miss, do not let UT cream you because the people did not vote for your talented schoolmate.

Here are the contestants for this year's show:
Daniel Ashmore (Ole Miss)
Suzanne Chapman (Harding Acad)
Alex Goldman (Lamar HS)
Henry Lui (Madison Academic Magnet HS)
James Curtis Mays (Bartlett HS)
Melodie Moore (GCS)
Rakeem Sprinkle (Bolton)
Melanie Stanek (UofM)
Kristian Alexius Thomas (UofM)
Amanda Tittle (UT)
Ashley Wieronski (U. of Alabama)

So be sure to come on out and support your school and favorite performer. The talent is sure to impress you. Check out the contestants by clicking the link below. Orpheum Star Search is next Friday, October 17 at 8:00PM. Tickets are on sale now.

http://www.orpheum-memphis.com/index.cfm?section=backstage

Oh What a Night or Day...

It has finally arrived! This Friday Jersey Boys will go on sale to the public. Oh what exciting times. On sale events are always loads of fun and include give-a-ways, food, and fun with local radio stations like WRVR and KIM FM.

The On Sale Events begin at 8:00AM this Friday at both the Orpheum and David Kidd Bookseller.

Below is an interview from on of the actresses in Jersey Boys!

Though her roots are technically Philadelphian, all those summers spent at the Jersey Shore while growing up helped Alayna Gallo get in character for the role of Lorraine in Jersey Boys. While strutting her stuff on stage in Chicago, Gallo can be found post-show sipping a glass of rose at the Wit or chowing down on boneless chicken wings at Bull & Bear. Dying to approach this starlet but can’t find an opening line? Ask her about her past gigs singing at events/weddings for Donald Trump, Clive Davis and Jerry Jones. Or just get her talking about her favorite guilty pleasure: MTV’s “The Hills.” It works every time.

What is your favorite thing about Chicago?
Lake Michigan!! A long run or walk along the beach rocks my world.

What songs do you like to listen to while getting ready for a show?
Haha...Love this one! Honestly, Jason Mraz, Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross, Neo, Black-Eyed Peas. Love, "Livin for the City," "Closer" and "I'm Yours."

Favorite scene in JB?
Ooooh...tough one!! There are too many. All of the scenes are brilliantly written along with having a gifted cast....hmm...too hard

The best part of my day is…
Is when my cat Orchard wakes me up in the morning. Even when it's too early, he's too cute to get mad at.

How do you stay in shape?
Harmony Yoga is my favorite! Hot Vinyasa rocks my world. When you're doing 8 shows a week, although it's its own workout, muscle memory kicks in. To stay in shape (physically and mentally) I do yoga at least 4-5 times a week. I also try to run 2x a week along the lake.


3 things you never leave home without…
keys, money, gloss!

Best vacation spot…
Vegas Baby!

Secret guilty pleasure…
Well now if I told you, it wouldn't be a secret! Lol...Fine, I'll let you in on one... "The Hills" on MTV. Not sure I'll watch it now that LC is gone. Ssssshhhhh!!

Hope to see you all at the On Sale on Friday!