FROM BROADWAY TO EAST COUNTY: MIDTOWN MEN TAKE STAGE SEPT. 3 AT SYCUAN

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By Lauren Radice

 

August 17, 2011 (El Cajon)--After a successful run on Broadway, not to mention a national tour, four stars from the original cast of Jersey Boys have now become men -- Midtown Men that is. The Midtown Men (comprised of San Diego’s own Christian Hoff, Michael Longoria, Daniel Reichard and J. Robert Spencer) will be performing their highly anticipated show at Sycuan Casino in El Cajon on September 3rd at 6 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.

 

This is not the first time the cast has performed in San Diego. In 2004, Jersey Boys premiered at the La Jolla Playhouse and became an instant success nationwide. The musical, which originally was set to perform for three months, gained so much popularity that it was extended for another three months at the Playhouse.

 

The story dramatized the turbulent rise to fame and eventual break-up of the hit 60s band, Franki Valli and The Four Seasons, with each Act narrated from the perspective of a different character. The musical went on to win numerous awards, including a Tony Award for Best Musical in 2005 and Best Performance by a Featured Actor to Christian Hoff.
 

Now the Boys have left the Broadway stage to pursue another one of their dreams. With a CD being released this fall and an upcoming nationwide tour, Hoff, Longoria, Reichard and Spencer have become their own bosses.

“Jersey Boys was truly amazing, but it’s also great to call our own shots and have everything how we want it to be,” Daniel Reichard explains. “Plus, it’s great to be out on the road with some great friends.”
 

The show, which includes jump to your feet musical numbers from iconic idols such as The Beatles, The Jackson 5, The Temptations and The Four Seasons, is sure to keep you dancing all night long.

For the Midtown Men, returning to San Diego will be an exciting homecoming, especially for native Christian Hoff. As a student of the San Diego Junior Theatre and The School of Creative and Performing Arts, Hoff credits San Diego for the performer he has become. Because of his contribution to local arts, September 12th has been named Christian Hoff Day in San Diego.
 

“On Broadway, we portrayed characters who, against the odds, became champions of pop music in their own right,” Hoff says in describing the show. “Now, with similar grit, talent and perseverance, my fellow characters and I are championing and putting to the test the timeless and ageless smash hits of the Sixties.”
 

There’s no doubt the Midtown Men are unlike any other artists currently in the music industry. Rather than attempting the new, the Men enjoy taking music back to its roots and back to a time that may ignite nostalgia into the hearts of their audience.
 

“I think people like seeing four young guys getting up there and singing these songs with the same passion and feeling as the ones who originally sang it,” says Daniel Reichard. “We all truly treasure these songs. They’ve become like our own.”
 

Tickets for the Midtown Men concert are available at the Sycuan Casino Entertainment website at www.sycuan.ticketsunplugged.com for $25/$35.
 


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