Fresh Face: Michael Longoria
Age: "I'm a child of the '80s."
Hometown: Pomona, California
Currently: Portraying superstar Four Season Frankie Valli in the smash hit Broadway musical Jersey Boys.
Born to Perform: "I was singing before I could speak," says Longoria, whose parents were from East Los Angeles Dad drove a truck for a while; Mom sang in a band before taking administrative jobs. "There are videos of me at seven years old, singing in front of 1,000 people at some park. I grew up with a microphone in my hand." Eager to pursue the arts, Longoria took a 45-minute bus ride each morning to a magnet high school of the arts in L.A., staying late for extra dance classes and performances. He then attended NYU, getting by with a combination of scholarships, work-study jobs and "massive amounts of loans." His parents, whom he describes as "hard-working, blue-collar people," questioned his decision to go east to an expensive private college: "In East L.A., there's no such thing as musical theater; they didn't even know what Broadway was. But as soon as they saw me as Frankie Valli, they understood what I'd been working for."
Sing for Your Supper: For his first post-college survival job, Longoria underwent a typical rite of passage for aspiring New York actors: He became a singing waiter at the popular theater district eatery Ellen's Stardust Diner. "It humbled me and made me realize what I would do to survive until I got my break," he says now. "And I actually learned a lot. The song that I booked Hairspray with, I 'workshopped' and sang about 100 times at Ellen's before my audition." And that song was…? "'Runaround Sue,' baby!" he says with a laugh. "Little did I know when I was singing all those '50s and '60s songs in that diner that I would be doing them on Broadway in Jersey Boys."
Pesci, Valli; Valli, Pesci: After building his resume at regional theaters including a rare male turn as Peter in the American premiere of Peter Pan and Wendy at Philadelphia's Prince Music Theater, Longoria spent two years as a swing in Hairspray. "I was their go-to guy in emergency situations," he says, which proved to be ideal prep for shifting between the roles of Joe Pesci six times a week and Frankie Valli Wednesday and Saturday matinees in the original cast of Jersey Boys. This unusual arrangement was born when the creative team realized that no actor should be expected to belt 27 songs, many in falsetto, eight shows a week. "I learned both roles at the same time, so it seemed like a natural progression," says Longoria, who was John Lloyd Young's understudy from the beginning. Playing Frankie and Joe in a single day "was just a matter of reminding my body to change shape," he explains. "You see Joe as a teenager and he's very fast; very upbeat. Frankie is a grown man who has been through a lot—the challenge is to transform physically."
You've Got the Part! After Young announced his departure from the role that won him a Tony, Longoria cooled his heels backstage for several weeks. "I knew I was right for the part," he says simply. "I had been working on it for two years; I had met Frankie Valli several times and it was like looking into the mirror. He actually came to see me do a matinee and was so supportive and so genuinely nice. He's been a father figure for me." Pesci, on the other hand, "wasn't as open as Frankie," he says diplomatically. Finally, director Des McAnuff called the theater with good news: Longoria was promoted. How did he feel? "Relieved!"
Too Good to be True: Longoria gets the ultimate moment of Broadway musical glory in Act Two when he performs "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" center stage, with a horn section swaying above his head—and the crowd goes wild. "That moment has changed so many times for me," he muses. "As Frankie, I'm stepping out on my own and feeling a little fearful, and as Michael, I've gone though the experience of understudying, doing the matinees and finally taking over the part. Sometimes in that moment, it will hit me: You're on a Broadway stage, starring in a hit show, and this is your 11 o'clock number. It makes me a little emotional because of the journey I've had—from humble beginnings in California, putting myself through college and finally achieving my dream. It really is too good to be true."
Healthy Living: "I'm just trying to be the nun you have to be to do this role," Longoria says of his daily routine, insisting he has no time for a social life. "The only night I can go out and do something is Sunday. After shows, I have to be quiet, drink a lot of water, eat right away and stay up for two hours to let the food digest. It's ridiculous how scheduled my life has to be! I drink protein shakes to help my voice recover, go to the gym to run before the show and then steam to make sure everything is open. But once I do all that, I can go out and have a great show. A lot of people wait for a year to see us, so I want to deliver something Frankie Valli would be proud of."
