In the 20th Anniversary Tour of Jersey Boys, Carlo Boumouglbay portrays Tommy DeVito, where he performs the music of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons, and currently the show is open at Edinburgh Playhouse until Saturday 17th October, followed by Stoke-on-Trent at Regent Theatre from Monday 26th October to Saturday 31st October, and continues through 2027, with the final dates booking at Plymouth from Tuesday 17th August 2027. Carlo was directed by Simon Phillips for two productions, which saw him play Pascal last year in the UK premiere of Muriel’s Wedding at Leicester Curve and originate the role of Rabbit in 2024 in the world premiere of Round The Twist The Musical at Queensland Performing Arts Centre in Brisbane. Further stage credits for Carlo include being in the Ensemble of the 2024 International Tour of Miss Saigon, which starred Seann Miley Moore as The Engineer and Abigail Adriano as Kim, and he was in the cast of the ABBA jukebox musical MAMMA MIA! in Australia in 2023 for his professional stage debut. We spoke to Carlo about touring as Tommy DeVito in the 20th Anniversary Tour of Jersey Boys, playing Pascal in the UK premiere of Muriel’s Wedding, originating the role of Rabbit in Round The Twist The Musical and being in the cast of Miss Saigon.
How are you finding the experience touring the UK with Jersey Boys as Tommy DeVito, and are there any places on tour that you’re most looking forward to visiting?
So far, it’s been fantastic! It’s a dream role and an amazing show. We opened the show in Wimbledon at the New Wimbledon Theatre, and the response has been overwhelming in the best way. I’m honestly excited to see every stop on our tour. I only moved from Australia last year so there’s so much to see.
What was it like finding out you’d booked the role of Tommy DeVito, and how was it meeting your fellow The Four Seasons band members – Luke Baker (Frankie Valli), Ellis Kirk (Alternate Frankie Valli), Lewis Kennedy (Nick Massi) and Toby Miles (Bob Gaudio) – for the first time?
I found out I booked the role on my way to working my part-time job as a waiter, and I was beside myself. I’m quite talkative to customers, and that day I was extra chatty. I was doing my best to not tell every person I was serving.
Honestly, meeting the other guys was amazing. One of the first things we did together was a music call, and we started with Cry For Me – the song where we find ‘our sound’ in the show. When we stopped after it, there was this silent, awkward appreciation, where the subtext would’ve been, “Wow, this is going to be really good!”. They’re all so talented and such great blokes.
How did you prepare for opening in the musical and how did you feel on the first performance at New Wimbledon Theatre in London in June?
Preparing for opening the musical was a fast-paced rehearsal and tech period, lots of music calls, dance calls and more in-depth character work. We were lucky to have a few members of the original creative team for the show with us: Des McAnuff, Ron Melrose and Danny Austin. They all have stories with and about the band members themselves, so we had a direct connection to creating these characters.
Our first performance was magical. I had no idea how much the UK loves this show! And rightfully so. It’s an amazing piece of theatre that has everyone on their feet by the end.
How different is Jersey Boys to your previous projects and was there anything that drew you to the production?
Jersey Boys is nothing like I’ve ever done before. What really drew me to the project, apart from how iconic the music and the story is, was the role of Tommy and the roots of the story in Italian culture. I have a massive Sicilian family, and a lot of these people and their characteristics are not that different to uncles, cousins, and family friends of mine.
What is it like performing the music of The Four Seasons, and do you have a favourite song in the musical?
It’s electric performing this music every night. Their songs are timeless for a reason, and I don’t think it’ll ever get old! My favourite song in the musical is Dawn, but an underrated song of theirs that isn’t in the musical is The Night.
How is it taking on the role of Tommy DeVito and, for those unfamiliar with Jersey Boys, can you say about the show?
Taking on the role of Tommy was a massive one. He is a very intriguing character that is hard to understand if you haven’t come across anyone like him before. At the base level, he reminds me a lot of one of my uncles from Sicily, which made the character make a lot of sense to me.
For those unfamiliar with the show, Tommy was the one who started the band and took Frankie Valli under his wing as a kind of protégé. He was the ‘leader’ of the band and took on a lot of the responsibilities throughout the band’s career. He made some questionable decisions, which led to a difficult decision for The Four Seasons. You’ll have to come and see what happened next if you haven’t already.
Why would you recommend booking tickets to see Jersey Boys on the 20th Anniversary Tour, which is touring through 2027?
Because this cast is phenomenal, and you already know and love the songs!
You played Pascal in last year’s UK premiere of Muriel’s Wedding at Leicester Curve, and originated the role of Rabbit in the 2024 world premiere of Round The Twist The Musical at Queensland Performing Arts Centre in Brisbane, both of which were directed by Simon Phillips, how was your time working on both projects?
These two shows, although very different, hold very special places in my heart. They’re both new Australian musicals, iconically nostalgic stories (at least for Aussies) and have lots of heart! Plus, not having to worry about an accent or dialect is always a beautiful experience.
Simon Phillips makes every room a hilarious and creative space. He is a master director and incredible dramaturg, and I’ll never turn down an opportunity to be in any room he is in.
What did you enjoy most about being in the Ensemble of the 2024 International Tour of Miss Saigon (which starred Seann Miley Moore and Abigail Adriano as The Engineer and Kim)?
Oh wow, one of my favourite shows of all time, with absolutely top-quality star power leading the cast. Genuinely, watching Abigail Adriano shatter the hearts of audiences around Australia and Asia was my favourite part of that tour. What a talent!
How was it being in the cast of the ABBA jukebox musical MAMMA MIA! in Australia in 2023?
I’ll always love this show for two reasons. It’s my mum’s favourite (duh), and it was my first professional contract. I had so much fun on this show, and I’m still not sick of the songs. I think that’s physically impossible somehow.
How did you get into acting, and was it always something you wanted to do professionally?
I always loved watching films with my mum and Auntie Paula. That developed into taking drama at school, and after I was asked by my teacher to audition for Danny Zuko in the school musical and got it – I was hooked.
A friend of mine told me to come and audition for a musical theatre degree in Brisbane at the Queensland Conservatorium. I got an approval email and changed my path from engineer to actor. And now I’m here!
What are some of your favourite theatre shows to watch, and are there any you’d most like to see that you haven’t done so as yet?
Hamilton, Next to Normal, Miss Saigon and Merrily We Roll Along.
I would love to see The Outsiders and Ragtime, if I could watch anything right now.
How do you like to spend your free time?
Usually in a park! The park game in the UK is elite. Grab a book or a speaker and lay in a park with some snacks, and that’s where you’ll catch me. Or playing a game of football or watching the World Cup. I love vegan food markets or a vintage shop as well.
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