Quinn VanAntwerp has played the role of Bob Gaudio,the man behind The Four Seasons' music, all over America and Canada since he's 22 years old—that's a lot of "Oh, What a Night". Now the longtime Jersey Boys star is home on Broadway and BroadwayBox is talking to him about joining TV's The Affair, meeting his wife on tour, and becoming a legit Garden State resident.
1. You been playing this part for years; it must seep into your sleep. What’s your recurring Jersey Boys nightmare?
To me, the biggest fear of mine is getting my microphone in my hair. Frankie and I don’t leave the stage enough to change out our mics if there were ever a problem, so we wear these double mic packs and it’s this big wire that has to go up through your hair. In the early years, it was just the bane of my existence. So I have this recurring dream where I’m up in my dressing room and I hear my music, and I can't get my microphone in my hair and get downstairs.
2. What’s the coolest thing you picked up for yourself while on the Jersey Boys tour?
I bought these photographs that look like paintings. It’s a series of Detroit mansions that show the dilapidation of Detroit and they are super exposed to look like paintings. I did meet my wife [Victoria Lamond] while doing Jersey Boys, so that’s the best thing I picked up on the road. We were in the show together in Toronto—she was my dance captain and put me into the show—and when I went off to the tour, she realized she didn’t want to be an actress anymore. She became a gemologist for Cartier and she came on the road with me.
3. What’s the last TV show you’ve binge-watched?
We are trying to binge-watch Bloodline right now—it’s such a cool family drama. We’re also trying to binge-watch The Affair because I have this small recurring role on season two, but we can’t get through both intense family dramas at the same time.
4. I noticed on your resume you took a master class with Marin Mazzie and Jason Danieley; what was the biggest takeaway from that experience?
I was a junior in college and took this class with them, but later on to be part of the community they are a part of—working with them and being at award shows they are a part of—is such a cool deal. It’s one of the coolest things. It makes you feel like A. you've made it, and B. that Broadway isn’t this far off distant thing. It’s just another theatre community that exists here in New York and you can come and be a part of it.
5. Ready for a Jersey lightning round?
Favorite Sopranos character: Big Pussy.
Jersey Shore character: Snooki, obviously.
Go-to order at an Italian restaurant: Chicken parm.
Is it gravy or sauce: For me, it was always sauce but I should know better by now.
Finally, is there such thing as Central Jersey: I don’t know. I’m moving to Jersey right now—I just bought a house there—but don't know the state well enough yet to know that. We’ll see.
See Quinn VanAntwerp in 'Jersey Boys' at Broadway's August Wilson Theatre.
