Toll HO C
TO HOMO
Homegrown Talent
The Jazz Gospel Messiah,
99
FAMILY
4 PACK!
Royal Oak's Eric Gutman is part of
the ensemble cast in Jersey Boys.
Includes tickets and
parking while quantity
lasts!
Sponsored Dg macR mime Records
One show 01119!
Saturgag December 12, 2009
at 8:00 p.m.
The Holing Event Thars "Too Hot To miss"!
Eric Gutman:
"I'm playing
Norm, the bad
guy, as well as
a half dozen or
so other roles."
Presented by the Detroit Opera House and the Rackham Symphony Choir
With tenor Rodrick Dixon, Soprano Atfreda Burke, Alto Karen Marie Richardson.
Joined by Alvin Waddles, piano, Dave Taylor, drums, Marion Hayden, bass and the Too Hot Orchestra.
Conducted by Suzanne Mallare Acton
FREE! PRE-PERFORMANCE CHAT WITH THE ARTISTS AT 7:00 P.M.
For Group Sales, Call 313.404.0222
New This Year! Take the "Too Hot" Express from Dirty Dog Jazz Cafe
on Kercheval to the Opera House, Just $15 Round Trip. Call 313.404.0222 for details.
Suzanne Chessler
Special to the Jewish News
E
ric Gutman has been in the
ensemble cast of Jersey Boys
on Broadway, in Chicago and
along stops on a lengthy tour, but his
upcoming run in Detroit is anticipated
as the most dramatic experience on a
very personal level.
Gutman, who grew up listening to
the singing of his grandfather, Cantor
David Gutman of Temple Beit Kodesh
in Livonia, soon will be singing as the
97-year-old joins an audience watch-
ing the Tony Award-winning produc-
tion at the Fisher Theatre.
"After three years of being in the show,
I find it awesome that my grandfa-
ther will be seeing it:' says Gutman, 32,
based in Royal Oak and pursuing stage
work amid business opportunities.
"My grandfather always has given
me his full support, and that's meant a
great deal over the years:"
The show, which spotlights about 30
songs as it follows the lives of Frankie
Valli and the Four Seasons, includes
Gutman performing in nearly 80 per-
cent of the numbers. During some of
the songs, the ensemble singers are
backstage adding harmonies and giv-
ing the effects of recordings.
"I'm playing Norm, the bad guy, as
well as a half dozen or so other roles:'
explains Gutman, who earned a fine
arts degree from Western Michigan
University and has appeared locally in
Forbidden Broadway Strikes Back and
Forbidden Christmas. "The bad guy is
kind of a fun departure for me:'
Norm loans money to the group's
guitarist, Tommy, who uses the cash to
indulge in gambling. Norm also goes
between Tommy and other lenders and
has to find ways to get the money back.
"The great part of the musical is
that it's a true story about four blue
collar kids who came together and
[established themselves] in pop
music history," says Gutman, who also
has been in the cast of Tony n' Tina's
Wedding in New York.
"It's a dramatic story with great
humor, and I think people will relate
to the characters and the problems
they have as they become superstars:'
Gutman has met the three surviving
members of the Four Seasons: Frankie
Valli, Bob Gaudio and Tommy DeVito.
Gutman, who started with Jersey
Boys for the national tour, moved on
to Broadway for a year. He returned
to Michigan so his wife, Sarah, could
deliver their daughter, Riley, close to
family and friends. Soon after the
birth, he was asked to join the Chicago
troupe and left that company to
appear in Detroit.
"Dawn" is one of Gutman's favorite
songs in the show. He likes the up-
tempo sounds and the visual effects in
the staging at the end of the number.
"The music of the Four Seasons
is pretty close to the kind of music
Detroit lived and breathed back in
the big days of Motown," Gutman
says. "They talk about Detroit in the
musicar
Jersey Boys runs Dec. 17-Jan.
23 at the Fisher Theatre in
Detroit. Show times and ticket
information: (313) 872-1000;
www.BroadwayinDetroit.com .
DETROIT
Home of lAchigen Opera Theatre
David DiChiera. General Director'
FOR TICKETS AND PRE-PAID
PARKING CALL 313.237.SING
or visit michiganopera.org
`Tod HatTo Harder made poesi* by
lark Aver ue Recces
10-voi 0
The Pre Party"
First Seating - 7:30pm
$65 per person ++
4-Course Dinner
7
6
5
"The Party"
Second Seating - 9:30pm
$85 per person ++
4-Course Dinner
Champagne Mast at Midnight
Party Favors
Live Entertainment
3
2
For New Years Eve
Reservations
Call 313-962-9366
•
Mosaic Gift Card',
make the
Perfect Holiday Gift
MOSAIC
2010
,4„.4110
4 501 Monroe Street. Greektown Detroit 1'v1148226
www mosaic-detroit corn
December 3 • 2009
47