Arts & Entertainment
Crewe club
Gay actor plays fey in long-running ‘Jersey Boys’
Jonathan Hadley as Bob Crewe in ‘Jersey Boys.’ He says the long-running show has been a blessing. (Photo by Joan Marcus; courtesy Center Stage Marketing)
‘Jersey Boys’
Through Jan. 7
National Theatre
1321 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
$36.50-$151.50
800-447-7400
nationaltheatre.org
After four years playing in the Tony Award-winning musical “Jersey Boys,” gay actor Jonathan Hadley shows no sign of slowing down.
“My entrance line is, ‘Watch your mouth Toto, you’re not in Newark anymore.’ How great is that?”
Based on audience reaction, it’s pretty great and so is Hadley’s performance as Bob Crewe the flamboyant manager of the legendary Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. Hadley’s is a showy supporting part in a terrific production that follows the professional and personal fortunes of the group’s members over four decades (approximately1963-2003). A little limp-wristed and plenty camp, the Crewe character is an integral part of the dream machine that catapults four streetwise Italians boys from New Jersey to the stratosphere with songs like “Sherry,” “Walk Like a Man” and “Stay.”
“Today we’d identify Bob Crewe as a gay man,” Hadley says. “He dated women but he had boyfriends. What’s extraordinary to me is that these tough straight guys totally click with this sort of Paul Lynde type. They accept him for who he is — a talented and brilliant producer, manager and lyricist.”
Without Crewe, there would not be the mega-success and long careers. In addition to managing the group, Crewe wrote great lyrics, Hadley says. For instance, late one night while admiring his sleeping boyfriend, he jotted down a little something titled “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You.” The song was a huge hit, arguably one of the biggest pop songs ever and unbeknownst to most, it’s basically a gay love song.
Hadley first played Crewe on Broadway, then in Vegas, and for three-and-a-half years he’s been on the road with the national tour.
“It an adjustment. At times [the cast] feels like carnies. But for me it’s been really interesting not only exploring the country but observing how the show plays in different regions. In the Northeast where there are a lot of Italian Americans, audiences totally get the humor. In the South, they sometimes get upset with the language — we’ve had to modify the script in some places. In the Midwest, they respond to the music. They were wild in Omaha. Wherever we are audiences always leap to their feet to applaud at the end.”
He says the music is a guaranteed pick me up.
“Touring can get tiring, but once you’re onstage and the music starts, you get on that train and ride for two-and-a-half hours. Also, it’s easier to remain engaged with ‘Jersey Boys’ because the book is so good. Every night we tell a story about people living their dreams, seeing them fall apart and putting them back together again.”
Hadley has no plans to give up the role anytime soon. On tour breaks back home in New York City, Hadley sometimes stops by Splash for a drink. Out-of-work actors with an eye on playing Crewe will ask if he’s ready to leave the show. He simply says “Not yet” and buys them a drink.
Growing up in Charlotte, N.C., as part of a theatrical family — more academic (instructors and heads of drama departments) than show biz — Hadley began acting in plays as a child. He did a lot of community theater before studying classically at North Carolina School of the Arts. After graduating, Hadley headed to Broadway and began working right away.
His first job was “Into the Woods,” the famous Stephen Sondheim/James Lapine musical.
“I thought, ‘Hey, I can get used to this, and I’ve been doing the New York thing ever since,” he says.
Although Hadley has never met Crewe in person (they’ve exchanged e-mails), he has studied his voice, photos and quotes.
“Crewe started out as a model in L.A., and despite wanting to become a star, he ended up behind the scenes,” Hadley says. “I’ve heard that he’s very pleased with ‘Jersey Boys’ because he’s finally a star. And I like that I play a part in that.”
Celebrity News
My evening with Madonna
Gay icon headlined the World Pride Music Festival in Amsterdam
Editor’s note: International News Editor Michael K. Lavers and Photo Editor Michael Key will be on assignment in the Netherlands through Aug. 10. They will be covering World Pride in Amsterdam.
AMSTERDAM — Madonna and 6,000 of her closest friends celebrated World Pride at Amsterdam’s AFAS Live concert hall early Sunday morning. I was fortunate enough to be one of them.
Madonna last Wednesday nearly broke the internet when she said on social media in Dutch that “I got somethin’ I wanna talk about,” referring to an opening line in “Danceteria,” one of the tracks on her “Confessions II” album that has received rave reviews since its July 2 release. The track has been on near constant replay on my playlist since I first heard it.
— Madonna (@Madonna) July 28, 2026
MISTR — a telehealth platform that offers free access to PrEP, Doxy PEP, STI testing, and long-term care that has organized Madonna’s Club Confessions shows in the U.S. and the U.K. — later confirmed the rampant speculation. I woke up on July 30 to an email in my inbox from MISTR and the World Pride Music Festival PR team that said I was on the press list.
Madonna was indeed going to headline the World Pride Music Festival that Jake Resnicow and Insomniac produced, and I was going to be there. OMFG!!!!
The gay icon had one more surprise in store.
The Dutch internet on Saturday once again broke over speculation that Kylie Minogue was going to appear alongside Madonna. I was getting ready to leave our hotel in Amsterdam on Saturday night when I saw a video of the two of them together.
“Madonna is now teasing Kylie Minogue on her social media … she may be one of her ‘special guests’ tonight,” I wrote in a text to Washington Blade Editor Kevin Naff at 8:46 p.m.
“Have fun! This is turning into the gayest concert ever,” he responded.
I arrived at AFAS Live shortly before 11 p.m. My press contact walked me and two other Dutch journalists into the venue’s cavernous main room known as the Black Box. We made small talk for a few minutes before I started to walk around and listen to Josh Harrison who was on the decks.
Madonna was scheduled to take the stage at 1:30 a.m., but she is known for being late — she is Madonna and she does what she wants. Hayla, a British singer, and Bebe Rexha are among those who performed ahead of Madonna. Thousands of sweaty men — including a group of Australians next to me who were eagerly awaiting Kylie’s anticipated appearance — packed the Black Box and were dancing, anticipating what was to come.
MISTR CEO Tristan Schukraft at one point came on stage and declared Madonna was indeed in the building. The moment for which we were all eagerly waiting finally came shortly before 2:30 a.m.
“Mother is here and this is gay heaven,” said Madonna when she took the stage.
Stuart Price, who produced her “Confessions on a Dance Floor” album in 2005, manned the decks during Madonna’s set.
She opened it with “I Feel So Free” from “Confessions II.” Madonna then sang “Bring Your Love” and “Danceteria” to which this reporter — and everyone else — sang along.
Madonna then teased a surprise before she began to perform “Love Sensation.” Kylie soon appeared on stage. It was nearly too much for my fellow partygoers from Australia. It was indeed the gayest concert ever!
Madonna and Kylie performed “Love Sensation” together. They then sang “Hung Up” and “Sorry” from “Confessions on a Dance Floor” to round out the set that ended shortly after 3 a.m.
Madonna and I share the same birthday — Aug. 16 — and I would like to think she and Kylie gave me an early birthday present. In all seriousness though, it was an amazing night for me and for everyone else who was fortunate enough to be there.
“On the dance floor I feel so free,” says Madonna in the opening of “I Feel So Free.”
For those few precious hours at AFAS Live I did not think about the Trump-Vance administration and the myriad ways it is destroying the U.S. I did not think about the National Guard troops deployed to D.C. I did not think about the pointless wars that continue to ravage Ukraine and other countries around the world. I simply lost myself on the dance floor and celebrated an icon who has always stood with my community.
Thank you, Madonna.
The Petal Release Party and Drag Show was held at Spark Social on Friday, July 31. Performers included Tiara-Missou, Labianna and Darcy de la Cuadra.
(Washington Blade photos by Landon Shackelford)
Celebrity News
Madonna headlines World Pride Music Festival in Amsterdam
Kylie Minogue made surprise appearance alongside gay icon
AMSTERDAM — Madonna on Sunday headlined the final night of the World Pride Music Festival in Amsterdam.
The gay icon took the stage shortly before 2:30 a.m. local time (8:30 p.m. ET on Saturday) during Club Confessions, a set that MISTR, a telehealth platform that offers free access to PrEP, Doxy PEP, STI testing, and long-term HIV care, organized.
“Mother is here and this is gay heaven,” said Madonna when she took the stage inside Amsterdam’s AFAS Live concert hall that can hold up to 6,000 people.
Stuart Price, who produced Madonna’s 2005 “Confessions on a Dance Floor” album and “Confessions II,” which debuted on July 2, DJed the set.
Kylie Minogue made a surprise appearance. She and Madonna performed a new remix of “Love Sensation” from “Confessions II.”
(Washington Blade video by Michael K. Lavers)
“Throughout my career, I’ve always supported efforts to fight HIV and AIDS, and that fight begins with education and access,” said Madonna in a MISTR press release. “With MISTR, (CEO) Tristan (Schukraft) is expanding access to HIV prevention and sexual healthcare for everyone. Through this work, he’s helping preserve and strengthen LGBTQ+ spaces while investing in the communities and culture that have long sustained us.”
Minogue in an Instagram post thanked Madonna, Price, Schukraft, and MISTR.
Madonna appeared at The Abbey in West Hollywood, Calif., in April. Madonna in June celebrated Pride month with a pop-up performance in New York’s Times Square.
Jake Resnicow and Insomniac produced the World Pride Music Festival that also featured Bebe Rexha and Paris Hilton, among others.
“Pride has always been about bringing our community together,” said Resnicow. “At a moment when too many people are being told to hide or make themselves smaller, gathering openly, joyfully, and without apology matters more than ever. I couldn’t be prouder of what this festival brought to life in Amsterdam — one dance floor, completely free.”
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