A role in a hit West End show proved irresistible for musical theatre star Jon Boydon, writes Roz Laws.

Stepping into one of the leading roles in the hit West End show Jersey Boys was the break of a lifetime. But what he hadn’t expected was having to immerse himself in the world of the Mafia.

Jersey Boys tells of the rise to fame of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons, the boys from the wrong side of the tracks who went on to sell 100 million records.

A major part of the story is about their tough New Jersey backgrounds and their links to the local Mob.

So when Jon Boydon, from Solihull, won the role of lead guitarist Tommy DeVito, he was sent to America to experience the real-life world of The Sopranos.

Jon, 33, says: “I’m a Birmingham boy, as far removed from a New Jersey gangster as it is possible to be. I’m even blond, so I’m fighting against type. I’ve had to dye my hair darker and get a tan.

“Jersey Boys is set in a particular part of New Jersey called Belleville – this is the world of Goodfellas and The Sopranos.

“After eight rounds of intense auditions, I finally got the part and was sent off to New York to Jersey Boys boot camp. For the first three days, I got a potted history of Italian migration and the structure of the Mafia.

“I had a very intense day with dialect coach Stephen Gabis, who’s worked with Broadway stars like Scarlett Johansson.

“Then we spent a night at the Belmont Tavern in Belleville where The Four Seasons hung out. Guys who knew them, and their Mob friends, were queuing up to tell us stories.

“There’s someone in Jersey Boys called Gyp DeCarlo, a Mob boss who admitted several murders and went to prison. But when we asked them about him in Belleville, they said, ‘He was a great guy, a gentleman’.

“They don’t regard any of these characters as anything other than heroes.

“On the taxi ride back, I asked the driver about whether the Italian Mob families were still around and he said, ‘Maybe the guy that owns this cab – but you didn’t hear that from me’.

“When we went to pay, he said, ‘It’s taken care of’.

“The Sopranos really isn’t fiction, and I think it’s still going on there now.”

Tommy DeVito served six months in prison for helping a friend with counterfeit money and now lives in Las Vegas, aged 73.

Jon says: “I heard there was a time when he was involved with some major gangsters and couldn’t leave Vegas for fear of getting his kneecaps shot off by people he’d borrowed money from.

“So although he is friendly with the guy who plays him in the Vegas production of Jersey Boys, I don’t think he’ll be coming to see me in the show.

“In Jersey Boys he’s portrayed as a bit of a bully, a gambler and a womaniser, but still quite likeable.”

Jersey Boys has won 21 major awards since first opening on Broadway in 2006 and is celebrating its second anniversary at the Prince Edward Theatre in London.

“It’s such a fantastic show, with great songs,” enthuses Jon.“The moment we get to Sherry, then go into Big Girls Don’t Cry and Walk Like A Man – what we call the Big Three – is magical. My family were thrilled when they came down to see it, though they weren’t expecting me to swear quite so much.

“They loved seeing my picture up outside the theatre. It’s a relief for them that I’m finally successful and not just a waster.”

Jon was born in Great Barr but grew up in Solihull, attending Tudor Grange School. He spent his free time performing with the Birmingham and Midland Operatic Society Youth Theatre, putting on shows at the Old Rep.

After a drama degree, he returned to Birmingham, doing fringe theatre at the MAC and Crescent Theatre “for pocket money”.

Then he won a part in a Bill Kenwright tour of Blues Brothers, which opened the door to other touring musicals.

Midland audiences saw him play Brad in The Rocky Horror Show in 2003 and Judas in Jesus Christ Superstar in 2005. Jon spent two years in We Will Rock You in the West End, playing Gallileo, before joining Jersey Boys.

It was while he was on tour with Rocky Horror that he met his wife of three years, Nicky Wilson.

“I was Frank ‘n’ Furter, so I was the one wearing stockings and high heels,” he laughs. “For a long time we were touring with different shows, so I’d be in Aberdeen when she was in Penzance. That’s tough, but we’re lucky at the moment to be working in the same city.

“She’s now in Mamma Mia in the West End, so we almost have a normal life, albeit a topsy-turvy one. We get the train in to work together, just as everyone else is coming home.”

* Tickets for Jersey Boys are available from 0844 4825151 or at www.jerseyboyslondon.com