Author Archives: angieleo

By the time Jersey Boys bids farewell to Chicago with its Sunday matinee at the Bank of America Theatre, actor Michael Ingersoll, who plays the role of Nick Massi, will have sung “Sherry” well over 1,200 times. That statistic (which includes his pre-Chicago appearances in the national touring company that played San Francisco and Los… Continue Reading

Over the years, Wrigley Field has seen its share of earplug-worthy crooning during the seventh-inning stretch- from Mike Ditka’s infamous shouted rendition to this year’s off-key performance by NFL quarterback Tony Romo. However, this season Cubs fans were treated to one of the most beautifully harmonized versions of Take Me Out To The Ball Game… Continue Reading

SHOWBIZ COUPLES LEARN TO COPE WHEN PARTS KEEP THEM APART — AND BRING THEM BACK TOGETHER AGAIN John Cudia and Kathy Voytko celebrated their fourth wedding anniversary together on a recent Thursday night. Both were in the arms of another person. Such is the life for married actors who are in separate shows. “We both… Continue Reading

It’s a story of rags to riches, of victory for the underdog, a Rocky for the ages. The hit musical Jersey Boys is the story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, Italian boys from the wrong side of the tracks who chose a life of song over lives of crime, and it has already… Continue Reading

Michael Ingersoll, 29, wasn’t born and bred on Broadway. A native of Dayton, Ohio, he didn’t spend his childhood going on casting calls and auditions. Instead, Ingersoll was bitten by a late-onset acting bug during his senior year of high school, while doing a stint in an equity-caliber production of Me & My Girl. “That… Continue Reading

Jersey Boys, the Broadway musical telling the story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, is sure to be this season’s hot ticket. Directed by two-time Tony Award-winner Des McAnuff, the show follows a group of blue-collar boys as they become the biggest American pop pop stars of all time. With a jam-packed performance schedule… Continue Reading

Earlier this month, I sat down with the stars of San Francisco’s Jersey Boys, the quartet driving audiences into a frenzy every night as Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. Here are some tidbits that didn’t make it into the newspaper. If this were a DVD, we’d be in the “special features” section right now.… Continue Reading

When Kettering native Ingersoll took on the starring role in a recent Chicago production of Tick, Tick… Boom!, Chicago Sun-Times critic Hedy Weiss offered a bit of sound advice that would inadvertently catapult his career. In praise of Ingersoll’s performance, Weiss believed he should “start learning the score for Jersey Boys,” because he “might have… Continue Reading

You might think Michael Ingersoll is an overnight success based on reviews of his performance in the late Jonathan Larson’s semi-autobiographical rock chamber musical Tick, Tick…BOOM!.  Though the actor has only lived in Chicago seven months, it’s taken him much longer to get to where he is now. Q.  Chicago has the reputation of the… Continue Reading

Bat Boy Begins Body Work Year In Advance There’s nothing like standing naked in front of 200 people to get you to the gym. It was all actor Michael Ingersoll needed to get motivated to work out. Continue Reading