Seasoned Stories from Ron Melrose

Although Ron Melrose doesn't appear on stage during Jersey Boys, he's still a triple threat. As the show's musical director, vocal arranger and incidental music composer, he is the person who helps make the guys and the band sound so sweet. Yet ironically, Melrose is somewhat of an unsung hero. But that's OK. He wouldn't have it any other way.

Jersey Boys: You had a really tough job—or should I say jobs--on this show.

Ron Melrose: Well as a vocal arranger and musical director, I was dealing with known recordings, all of which had their own arrangements. So I had to be very specific about generating the right sound. But my arrangements aren't identical to the originals. For example, "Rag Doll" is used at the end of the show [when The Four Seasons are inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame]. That particular moment is about all four of the guys. But on the original recording, Frankie Valli sings the lead while the other three "oooo" and ahhh" behind him. Since I didn't want the song to be about just Frankie, I gave it a more balanced four-part harmony.

JB: Was it difficult working with pre-existing material?

RM: I had to be careful not to let my work show. Good lighting design doesn't call attention to itself. The audience should be aware of the play not the lights. Musical direction is similar in that I can't come to it as a hungry, needy artist who wants recognition. I am lifting up something that already exists.

JB: But you were allowed a certain amount of leeway to change the songs?

RM: Yes, Des [McAnuff, the director] gave me a huge amount of room to evoke The Four Seasons' records without recreating them. The pace of life has increased dramatically since their songs were released over 40 years ago. Music has moved on, in large part because of the group, so a lot of my tempos are faster. But ultimately storytelling was my most important job. I couldn't just do what they did and expect it to have the right impact for the show. The arrangements had to echo the emotional and narrative design of the play as it moves through each scene.

JB: It sounds like Des really trusted your instincts.

RM: We had worked together before, on the Sinatra show at Radio City. Des is the auteur who oversees all the departments and smoothes out the theatrical journey. Luckily, he is startlingly at home with every department he works with. I am used to a director who is an actor's director or a designer's director. Des is an everybody's director. He dips his toe into every department and he wants all the aspects of the show to complement each other. If a song sounds good but for some reason doesn’t work with the art projected in the background, Des has me adjust it. Maybe a trumpet becomes an oboe. Ultimately everyone needs to be telling the same story.

JB: What was your experience as a composer on the show?

RM: I was thrilled with the permission I was given to write incidental music to smooth out the journey for the audience. Act One is a non-stop toboggan ride that includes 16 songs. The music between the numbers establishes segues to the following scenes. I use it to adjust the emotional color or set up a key or tempo change so that it's a seamless transition. The band never puts their instruments down. It's fun to play.

JB: The band really gets a workout!

RM: More than you realize. You'll find as you watch the show that you keep seeing new faces on stage. Well, most of them are the musicians. Some appear as part of the brass section in "Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You" or once in a while a band member will walk across the stage. It was so funny watching these tough New York City guys learn to dance—or at least move in unison. I'd see them at the stage door talking intently in their leather jackets and I'd think they were discussing their jobs or their wives. But they were actually talking about steps they had to learn! I ended up nicknaming my three wind players Nijinsky, Nureyev and Baryshnikov.

JB: That's pretty funny. You seem to have a wonderful sense of humor. I noticed you are working on a musical called Superdimensional Microbabes?

RM: (laughing) Yes! I was hunting around for material and I fell over the world of anime and manga [Japanese styles of animation] and I thought they were great. Every story was its own little musical. So I decided to write one. It's about three high school seniors in Tokyo who have to get into university, deal with boyfriends, become rock-and-roll stars and fight a giant squid, all at the same time. It's in development right now.

Come back every Monday for a new seasoned story from a Jersey Boys' insider. Next week, find out how co-book writer Marshall Brickman enjoyed collaborating with someone other than Woody Allen.