According to JoAnne Edwards of Lawrenceville, her son John is nothing like the character he will play when he makes his Broadway debut Tuesday in “Jersey Boys.”
“John is very humble, the sweetest person you ever want to meet,” said Edwards. “He’s the total opposite.”
Of course you’d expect a mother to say that, but John Edwards has done such a bang-up job of portraying outlandish DJ Barry Belson, it’s really hard not to wonder if he's like that offstage. It's even harder not to take note of his musical talents.
With the right combination of acting, dancing and singing on the national tour, Edwards "is a perfect complement to the New York company," said West Hyler, associate director o Jersey Boys.
"An impressive talent offstage and a generous actor backstage, I'm thrilled to see him on Broadway," Hyler said.
JoAnne Edwards first saw her son perform in the biographical musical about Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons during a stop in Memphis.
“He was amazing,” said Edwards. “I couldn’t believe that was my baby.”
Edwards’ baby is actually 25 years old, the eldest of five children. The Collins Hills High School graduate has been honing his singing and acting skills for at least half his life.
Edwards has been performing in his church choir, at school and around the house for, well, as long as he can remember.
“I was in every school choir,” he said while waiting for a plane to New York City Monday.
People started talking about the bari-tenor’s voice. Then, in 2002, he was asked to audition for the part of Jean Valjean in a community college production of “Les Miserables.”
Edwards got the part and the trajectory of his life changed.
Playing the role, he said, “opened my eyes to a whole new world.”
“My plans changed and I started going for parts in musical theaters, school plays and community theater,” he said.
Edwards figured he could have a part in both worlds – singing and acting.
“After I graduated, I knew I had to go to New York,” he said.
And he did. After taking a year off, Edwards enrolled in the American Musical and Dramatic Academy, graduating in 2006.
He auditioned for acting gigs in between odd jobs waiting tables, selling boutique jewelry and managing a pottery story.
“My first big show was Dream Girls,” he said. “I actually got paid $100 a week.”
The show only lasted five weeks but Edwards said playing Jimmy Early made it worth it.
Eventually, roles started coming more frequently and with more money, and in 2008 Edwards went on his first national tour, playing Seaweed in Hairspray.
“That was a dream show come true,” he said. “The first show I saw on Broadway was Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. Hairspray was the second and I remember praying ‘please let me get a chance to play this.’ ”
In October 2009, Edwards was packing up and getting ready to do a Disney cruise ship job when he got a call from the casting office of “Jersey Boys.”
Was he interested in auditioning for a role in the First National Touring Company in New York?
Edwards dropped everything and headed to the city to audition along with three others. That night he got a call. He had the job.
“I couldn’t believe it,” he said.
Edwards canceled his Disney contract and for the next 18 months went on tour playing DJ Barry Belson and 16 other characters.
“It was the best decision I ever made,” he said. “Now they’re transferring me to the Broadway company.”
“This is going to take my career to the next level."
He credits his mom and faith in God for the quick and steady ascension.
“There will always be someone who is better than you are, but what my mom always taught me is God will make room for your gift and bring you before great men,” he said loosely quoting Proverbs 18:16.
“You hear a thousand ‘no’s before you get a yes. I would not be able to do what I do without Him.”
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