Matt Bogart to Join the Broadway Company of Jersey Boys

Matt Bogart will join the Broadway cast of Jersey Boys as Nick Massi on September 30. J. Robert Spencer, who originated the role, will play his final performance on September 14. In the interim, the role of Nick Massi will be played by John Leone.

Spencer is the third of the four original leading actors to depart Jersey Boys since the show opened at the August Wilson Theatre on November 6, 2005. Tony winner John Lloyd Young was replaced by Michael Longoria as Frankie Valli and Daniel Reichard was replaced by Sebastian Arcelus as Bob Gaudio. Christian Hoff, who won a Tony as Tommy DeVito, is set to play the title role in the upcoming Broadway revival of Pal Joey. His departure date from Jersey Boys and replacement have not been announced.

Bogart's Broadway credits include Aida, Miss Saigon, The Civil War and Smokey Joe's Café. He recently played Lancelot in the national tour of Camelot and appeared in McAnuff's world-premiere production of Zhivago. Other premiere productions include Ace, Himself and Nora, Camille Claudel, People Like Us and Two Cities. Bogart has performed at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center and the Kennedy Center and is an Affiliated Artist for Arena Stage in Washington.

Written by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice, with music by Bob Gaudio and lyrics by Bob Crewe, Jersey Boys tells the story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, who wrote their own songs, invented their own sounds and sold 175 million records worldwide—all before they were 30. Director Des McAnuff's Tony-winning production has been a smash hit since opening on Broadway and is currently playing in New York, Chicago, Las Vegas, London and on a national tour. Jersey Boys will open in Melbourne, Australia, in March, 2009.