Buffalo Grove Boy

Actor, producer, and director Max Quinlan looks forward to returning to his hometown for the 20th Anniversary tour of Jersey Boys.

When Max Quinlan was 5, his life changed forever after watching Donny Osmond star in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at The Chicago Theatre.  

“The story goes that I saw Donny Osmond floating over the audience with his coat of many colors,” Quinlan said. “I turned to my mom and told her that I want to do that. I’ve been [trying] to recreate that magic ever since.” 

That awestruck boy—a Jewish Buffalo Grove native—fulfilled his promise, growing up to be a performer, director, and producer. 

Quinlan will help bring that magic to Chicago in November with the 20th Anniversary tour of the original Tony and Olivier Award-winning musical Jersey Boys. The engagement, which will play Broadway In Chicago’s CIBC Theatre Nov. 10 to 22, is staged by the entire original Broadway creative team. 

Jersey Boys—which has been seen by more than 30 million people around the world—tells the behind-the-music true story of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons, chronicling four Jersey guys’ rise to fame, and their offstage drama. The show features all their hits, from upbeat numbers like “Sherry” to “Big Girls Don’t Cry” to ballads like “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You.” 

Quinlan, who is the executive producer of the touring production, loves being part of Jersey Boys, in part because it was groundbreaking for Broadway. 

“Jersey Boys really changed Broadway, in the sense of using a catalogue of music from one specific group to tell their specific story,” he said. “This show really does that in a musical theater style, of understanding who these guys were— as four guys from New Jersey who then became this incredible Rock & Roll Hall of Fame hit-making group. It’s a real merger of different styles, and it’s one of the most successful productions because of that, and because of the new identity that it brought to Broadway.” 

As an adult, Quinlan continued to act, including in the Les Misérables 25th Anniversary national tour, where he met his wife, Siri Howard, a fellow actor. “We fell in love on and off stage,” he recalled. 

After spending much of his life on stage, these days Quinlan prefers behind-the-scenes work, focusing on the business and production side of the industry, and the “village” it takes on and off stage to put up a show. He served for five years as the Producing Artistic Director for Greenville Theatre in South Carolina. 

In July, Quinlan took a position as Executive Producer with NETworks Presentations, the company that brings national tours to cities across America. He loves this role because he can expose audiences to theater that they might not otherwise see. “I believe so deeply in the experience of the tour, and the enrichment that you can bring to your life,” he said. “I believe that you can impact people in smaller communities who might not be able to afford a New York experience, but can come and see the show in their hometown.” 

You’ll rarely find Quinlan on stage these days—except if he is performing alongside his wife. Quinlan, who has two children with Howard, says, “I love singing with her. I never need to sing with anyone else. I got very lucky that I found my duet partner.” 

To learn more about Jersey Boys, visit JerseyBoysInfo.com. For tickets, visit BroadwayInChicago.com.