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Meet the show's biggest fan
Retired Las Vegas resident Kathy Johnstone says she has seen "Jersey Boys" at least 70 times.
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Kathy Johnstone, a retired medical professional who lives in Las Vegas, has seen the show "70 to 75 times," she said. "I'm 58, even though I don't feel or act it. I have a CD of the play that I've not taken out of the car since January '07."
Johnstone has seen every company in the production -- Broadway, Chicago, Las Vegas and the touring ensemble. She's coming to the Twin Cities this week to see the show at the Orpheum Theatre, and is considering going to London, where the show opens soon. She may also go to Australia for the Down Under version.
"The only thing that might stop me from that is if I get a job in the gift shop of the Palazzo" in Las Vegas, where "Jersey Boys" is playing. "I don't have to work, but I'd like to do it for fun."
But don't call Johnstone a groupie. The mother of three and grandmother of nine says that sounds like something for younger folks who go to rock concerts.
"I've gotten to know so many of the cast members on a personal level -- have gone out with a few of them before the shows, after the shows, and they are all fantastic kids," she said.
Her favorite Frankie? Christopher Kale Jones, who plays Valli in the show that starts Wednesday in Minneapolis.
"He's got a voice to die for," she said.
Surprisingly, Johnstone has never met any of the real Four Seasons. "Not yet, but that's my dream," she said.
And how much has her rabid fandom cost?
"You can't put a price on something this good," she said. "When you go into the theater, you leave everything behind. The show gives you an amazing high."
Johnstone, who has thrown parties for the cast in San Francisco and has vests custom-made with the show's logo as gifts for company members, has become a legend to the creators and casts of "Jersey Boys."
"She's a California doctor or something, and I guess you could call her a part of the family," said former Four Seasons member Bob Gaudio.
ROHAN PRESTON
