INTERVIEW: Michael Lomenda of Clint Eastwood’s JERSEY BOYS

I met Mr. Eastwood in San Francisco when he came to one of our matinee performances.  I had been with the stage show, Jersey Boys, for several years and had been with the First National Tour for almost a year and a half at that point.  I had heard Mr. E might be in the audience that day, but I didn’t believe it until one of my cast mates texted me a pic of himself standing beside Eastwood in the lobby of our theatre… Luckily it was about 3/4 of the way through my matinee, so I didn’t have much left to be nervous about!  We met briefly after the show but I had no idea he was still casting the film.  I assumed he was there brushing up on the stage play before he started filming, and so was totally surprised when I got a call a few weeks later to audition for the movie in NYC.  I flew down to New York, did my audition, had a great weekend with my friends and, honestly, was hugely grateful to be seen by Mr. E and Geoff, his casting director, but didn’t expect to go further in the process.  The next call was a few weeks after that saying I had booked the movie.  I was ecstatic.  That’s a massive understatement.  It turned my world upside down in the best possible way.

As Massi, you round out the Four Seasons as the bassist, both on guitar and vocals. What was your musical background like prior to the role?

I’ve been a musician in some capacity ever since I can remember.  I started playing classical piano at a young age when a good family friend gifted me his piano.  I studied classically for several years and then got in to orchestra as a clarinetist.  I didn’t sing much as a kid – I was a bit shy and had quite bad stage fright.  Even when I performed my piano or clarinet solos, I struggled always to calm my nerves.  It wasn’t really until my first year of college that I started singing.  The acting program I was in did A Chrismas Story as a musical and I had been cast as chorus in several small singing roles.  However, about two weeks before we opened, the powers that be realized their lead couldn’t sing the role and so they slotted me in.  Baptism by fire.  I couldn’t sing above a middle C and had never really performed in that kind of solo vocal setting on that scale before.  I got through it and caught the musical theatre bug.  I already knew I loved singing, just not that I loved singing in a musical.  I auditioned for Sheridan College in Oakville, Ontario – it was an esteemed Musical Theatre school a four hour flight from my family, but I went on a whim with college friends and got directly accepted into their program.  I called my folks and said I had to go.  They were terrified of course, but hugely supportive as they’ve always been, and so I went.  Three years later I had graduated and was auditioning in the busy Toronto theatre scene.

Did you have to change any aspects of your performance for the transition from stage to big screen? 

Luckily the initial director of the stage version of Jersey Boys, Des McAnuff, did a brilliant job of capturing a gritty cinematic vibe in the musical, so I think it really lends itself to the film genre.  For me, I just really had to trust that I was in the best hands possible with legendary film maker Clint Eastwood at the helm and rely on my history with the stage show.  The real change comes in the fact that the four of us “seasons” had to discover who we were as a group and what our identity was for this specific film.  I can say that my performance in the film is very uniquely special to the film because of that.  And, of course, there is a fun liberty that happens on a set vs a stage because all the details of the world that need to be edited out for the logistics of a stage production that moves quickly from scene to scene, are added back in on a film set.  A kitchen that was represented by a table and chair on stage suddenly becomes an entire functioning room in a house… your world is expanded and your mind goes a million miles a minute.  I’d show up to each of these incredible locations every day like it was Christmas to see what new cool stuff we had to explore and play with.  It was wild.

When preparing for the picture, what do you find, as an actor, is the biggest difference between theater and film?

I think truth is truth, regardless of film, stage, tv, or life… As long as you remain open, alive and courageous, you’re set regardless of the medium.  There is a different skill set involved with projecting to the back of the house in a 3000 seat theatre – when you step down stage centre and the spotlight is lit, you are responsible for taking all those people into your heart and on your journey.  On film, it’s the same thing, but you can talk to them as though they’re in your living room.  Incidentally, when I was on stage, I always challenged myself to marry the two and, in spite of having to project to the back of the theatre, do my best make the audience feel like we were in my living room.

What was it like to work with Clint Eastwood?

It was the best and most consummately incredible experience an actor can ever hope for.  In my humble opinion, Mr. Eastwood is a legendary filmmaker in part because he was an actor first.  On set, it felt as though he was engineering a vibe and experience for us actors that he would have enjoyed acting in.  He was collaborative, patient, hilarious, focussed…he’s all the things you’d expect that made him the icon he is and then, he’s one of the guys too – completely accessible and down to earth.  The best boss a guy could hope for.

After playing the role for several years and multiple iterations, are you finding any parallels between yourself and the real Massi?

I definitely think my portrayal of Massi is rooted very much in who i am.  It’s wild when you spend this much time with a character, you get to know a version of them very well and they can almost take on their own identity off stage.  It starts to feel like a family member or a close friend you visit 2 hours a day 8 times a week.  In rehearsals, I was luckily encouraged by the creative team of the stage production of Jersey Boys to “make the character my own” and so I worked toward finding the essence of Massi’s heart and dignity as well as his iconic vocals.  I based some of my character development on early footage of the guys, but I really had to find out who Nick Massi was to me.  I’m a 5th generation Czech/Hungarian/UK mutt from a rural town on the Canadian prairies and Nick grew up Italian American in the 50’s and 60’s in the heart of Jersey.  Even physically we were quite different – I’m tall and relatively lanky, he was short and stocky.  So I really had to find our common ground and build my version of Nick Massi from that.  So, ultimately, I ended up rooting my portrayal of Nicky in those parallels we shared.

After more than a decade, Jersey Boys remains one of the most popular modern musicals on stage. What do you think makes this story such a smash?

People love the music of the Four Seasons and everyone has a personal history with their music because it’s underscored their lives for decades.  I was amazed when I first got involved with the show that the same people who wrote Big Girls Don’t Cry, wrote, Dawn and Who Loves You.  Their music is, simply put, masterful pop music.  Consequently, it truly stands the test of time and transcends generations and borders.  And what Jersey Boys does is pairs this incredible music with a totally unexpected story that no one knew back then.  The Four Seasons hit big in a time when social media didn’t exist.  Nowadays if Beiber gets arrested, it’s almost good press for his music career.  Back in the 50’s and 60’s, it could spell the end of a career if it was discovered you came from the wrong side of the tracks, were mobbed up, and had a record (not the gold ones!)  I think Jersey Boys does so well because it’s a gritty human story of four underdogs who make it big and in spite of all the shrapnel that comes from exploding pop superstardom, and how it tests their bonds of brotherhood, they each manage to thrive in their own way.  All interspersed with incredible pop music.  I think that’s what keeps people coming back.

Do you have any Broadway-to-Film movies that you’re particularly fond of?

I’m a huge fan of classics like Cabaret, Rocky Horror Picture Show, Little Shop of Horrors, West Side Story, Grease, and more recently, Chicago, which I really think knocked it outta the park.

I’d love too!  I definitely have caught the bug and love the process of film making.  I really found all aspects of it so interesting and can see myself down the line producing, directing and maybe even writing as well.  I also love this golden age of T.V. we’re experience too.  There’s so much great stuff out there.  I’d love to be part of a new groundbreaking T.V. series as well.  LA is a very creatively infectious town.  I’m feeling incredibly creative these days and can’t wait to start my next project.