While there is only Frankie Valli, he has many doppelgangers. One of them, Aaron De Jesus, will be bringing his take on the legendary Four Seasons frontman to the District this week when the Broadway smash “Jersey Boys” bows at The National Theatre Wednesday evening.
“Jersey Boys” tells the true story of how Mr. Valli and his childhood friends emerged from humble beginnings in the Garden State to become a musical act powerhouse. There is even a character called Joe Pesci — in fact the very same Joe Pesci who would one day win an Oscar for the film “GoodFellas.”
Mr. De Jesus spent the first few years of his life in New York — just across the Hudson from New Jersey — before the family moved to Utah when he was still young. He has lived out west ever since, requiring him to listen to and channel his father’s South Bronx idiolect to get back into the accent of the Northeastern musical act.
“My mom had us singing when we were little kids in school and church, so I’ve been singing all my life.” Mr. De Jesus told The Washington Times. “I started performing professionally almost 20 years ago — that’s kind of when I realized I can make a living doing this.”
Mr. De Jesus has performed in “Spamalot” and as Mr. Valli’s avatar in Las Vegas, as well as taking the latter character on the road throughout 2016 and into 2017.
Mr. Valli’s singular — and extremely high — falsetto requires both vocal mastery and stamina. Mr. De Jesus has trained extensively with Katie Agresta to master the tenor’s timbres; she has in fact worked with all of the actors portraying Mr. Valli in various productions of “Jersey Boys.”
“She specializes in rock ‘n’ roll singing,” Mr. De Jesus said of Ms. Agresta, whose clients have also included Jon Bon Jovi and Cyndi Lauper, among others. “The training that we do with her helps us kind of even out the extreme demands of singing Frankie Valli every night.”
Mr. De Jesus in fact performed as “Frankie Valli” for the real McCoy recently in California, describing singing as Mr. Valli in front of him “nerve-wracking,” but he kept in mind his theater training to act as if no one is watching.
“But it was exciting and fun, and he’s always super supportive and happy with the show,” Mr. De Jesus said of Mr. Valli. “I didn’t get any complaints,” he added with a laugh.
Mr. De Jesus has only been to the District before as a traveler, and says he is excited to be in residence with the traveling play until it moves on from the National Theatre April 24. He and his castmates will perform as part of the National Cherry Blossom Festival parade on April 16, and Mr. De Jesus will sing the national anthem Thursday evening at Nationals Park for the baseball club’s season home opener.
“My wife and father-in-law and her family are all big baseball fans. I was never a baseball fan, but I have become a fan having been married to her,” he said, adding he enjoys going to new parks whenever his travels take him to a new city.
“But opening game of the season, that’s awesome — I’m super excited.”
• Eric Althoff can be reached at twt@washingtontimes.com.
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