Jye Frasca: “I am so proud and extremely excited that THRILL ME is transferring to The Charing Cross Theatre”

With book, music and lyrics by Stephen Dolginoff, the musical THRILL ME: THE LEOPOLD AND LOEB STORY is based on the true story of Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb, two Chicago students who murdered a young boy in 1924 in order to commit “the perfect crime”.

Jye Frasca plays the role of Nathan Leopold in this multi-award winning musical that after a sold out run and rave reviews at the Tristan Bates Theatre in London will be transferred to the Charing Cross Theatre for 4 weeks only, from 17 May to 11 June 2011.

Frasca was the original Joe Pesci in the West End production of JERSEY BOYS and has regularly played the role of Frankie Valli in the show. Other theatre credits include WICKED, MARY POPPINS (both West End) and Trevor Nunn’s productions of ‘Love’s Labour’s Lost’ and ANYTHING GOES (National Theatre).

Jye Frasca tells us about his work in THRILL ME and about his musical theatre career.

HOW WOULD YOU INTRODUCE ‘THRILL ME: THE LEOPOLD AND LOEB STORY’? AND HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR CHARACTER?
THRILL ME is a two handed musical set against the backdrop of 1920´s murderous Chicago. The show recounts the chilling true story of the legendary duo who committed one of the most notorious crimes of the 20th century. I play Nathan Leopold, a law student who takes his obsession for his best friend way too far. Nathan´s character relays the story through a series of flashbacks during his 1958 parole hearing.

AFTER THE SUCCESS AT THE TRISTAN BATES THEATRE THE SHOW WILL BE TRANSFERRED
TO THE CHARING CROSS THEATRE. WHAT DOES THIS TRANSFER IT MEAN TO YOU?
I am so proud and extremely excited that the show is transferring to The Charing Cross Theatre. The initial run at the Tristan Bates Theatre was such a wonderful experience. It felt like we were sharing a thrillingly intense experience with the audiences every single night, so the chance to do it all again - scaled up a little for at Charing Cross Theatre - is wonderful.

YOU AND GEORGE MAGUIRE ARE THE ONLY PERFORMERS IN THIS MUSICAL. HOW
IMPORTANT IS YOUR CHEMISTRY ON THE STAGE FOR THE SHOW? WHAT DO YOU LIKE MOST
ABOUT WORKING WITH HIM?
It has been a privilege to work alongside George. He is extremely talented and I have a tremendous amount of respect for his work. When there are only two of you in the show and you´re working so closely the chemistry is a huge factor. Thankfully, from the moment George and I started to work together everything just clicked! We have become such good friends off stage throughout the show and I am so grateful to be sharing this experience with him.

HOW DID YOU GET INVOLVED WITH THIS PRODUCTION? WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO YOU
TO BE PART OF IT?
I was sent the script and after reading it I felt very drawn to the piece and the character of Nathan. The show is completely different to anything I have ever been part of before and I was really wanting to challenge myself as an actor. I then went to meet with our brilliant director Guy Retallack and musical director David Keefe. I knew after meeting with Guy and David, and speaking with them about their vision for the show, that this was going to be a very special and powerful piece of theatre. Thankfully they chose me for the part, and here we are!

WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE ROLE OF THE MUSIC AND THE SONGS IN THIS STORY? DOES
IT EMPOWER THE STORY?
The show really is a thriller and the music plays a huge part of that. It has a score brilliantly played on a single piano by our musical director David Keefe that pulsates under the emotional struggles of the characters  and excitingly erupts at all the dramatic high points.

YOU WERE PERFORMING IN THE WEST END PRODUCTION OF ‘JERSEY BOYS’ FOR THREE
YEARS. HAS IT BEEN SO DIFFICULT FOR YOU CHANGING A BIG STAGE AND A BIG
AUDIENCE FOR AN INTIMATE ONE? WHAT DO YOU ENJOY MOST ABOUT PERFORMING IN
SMALLER VENUES?
I believe every actor is always trying to be as truthful and as intimately connected to the character they´re portraying no matter what venue size they are playing to. The wonderful experience of playing in a smaller and more intimate space is that you can more readily feel the audience coming along
on the journey with you. It really is brilliant.

HOW WOULD YOU ASSESS YOUR EXPERIENCE IN ‘JERSEY BOYS’?
I absolutely loved my time in JERSEY BOYS! Creating the role of Joe Pesci and had the privilege of playing Frankie Valli on numerous occasions was a dream come true. I had the most brilliant opportunity recounting his wonderful life story and singing all of those superb Four Seasons hits! I
really felt a deep connection to both parts I played in the show; the over enthusiastic coupled with a dry sense of humour Joe Pesci or the deep thinking and huge hearted Frankie Valli that was seemingly most at peace when he was in the spotlight. Also the challenge in JERSEY BOYS of portraying two worldwide legends is something you feel as the actor you have to get absolutely right, not only for yourself and the audience but more so for the real Joe and Frankie.

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THE QUALITY OF THE OFF-WEST END MUSICALS? DO YOU THINK THAT MUSICAL THEATRE PROFESSIONALS AND AUDIENCES SUPPORT THEM AS THEY
DESERVE?
I think it is really great and I urge people to go and see as much of it as they can. It is so important that we support new writing and nurture all the amazing talent out there!

Jye Frasca (Nathan Leopold) and George Maguire (Richard Loeb) in THRILL ME