Through hard work and talent, dreams can come true. Just ask Stettler born Michael Lomenda, who returns home to Alberta playing Nick Massi in Jersey Boys. The touring production plays at Calgary’s Jubilee Auditorium until July 15th, then later returns to Alberta for Edmonton, August 15th to September 2nd. Lomenda’s four year Jersey journey began when auditions were called for the Toronto production.

"It started with the audition process in the summer of 2008. At the time I was in the city and they had some calls.  So I went in at that point and got a callback but was in the process of doing a show, so I couldn’t get back to the callback. A month later they had calls and I was doing Rocky Horror on the East Coast and flew back twice to Toronto to audition for them. I walked out of the call back thinking I did not have the job and felt really bummed about it," he recalled. "On the opening night of Rocky Horror I got a call saying if there was a Canadian company I would be their Nick Massi. By November I was into rehearsals for the Canadian company. We ran in Toronto for almost two years and then I joined the tour in September 2011."

While the current generation sees the residents of New Jersey as Situation-esque fools, Jersey Boys is the story of Franki Valli and the Four Seasons. It has the Jersey accents and language, but no Snooki.

"I can firmly assert that this is not Jersey Shore, and we are happy for it. It is the story of Franki Valli and the Four Seasons, and follows these four blue collar guys from the wrong side of the track; how they became famous with these great hits like Walk Like A Man and Big Girls Don’t Cry. It follows their journey over the course of the decades and is a rags-to-riches-to-rags story. They were just four guys from Jersey who got hit by fame and there is a lot of stuff that comes along with that. You see the trials and tribulations of being on the road and dealing with that level of superstardom."

There are parallels between the show’s story and Lomenda’s life currently. Now based in Toronto, he works to balance life on the road with being away from friends and family in Toronto and Alberta.

"It is difficult, I am not going to lie. If you are a creature of habit in any way this can be a really difficult job. You have to make a choice to embrace change and all the positives of being on tour because sometimes the negatives can get you. There is something really cool about doing a show about guys who are on tour while being on tour. Having done the show in Toronto for awhile and now touring, it informs the way you say things on stage totally differently because you are living the reality [of what] you are playing. The lines about home and family resonate very differently then, if you are doing a sit down production in your hometown. ...When you are on the road you find ways to make life on the road like home. You develop patterns and look forward to certain things. I love jumping on my bike and travelling around all these new cities and being a tourist, taking pictures and buying postards. I get to do what I love while being a tourist through the United States and Western Canada. It is all about perspective, you always find a way. When you are doing a great show like this it is hard to let those little negative things overpower what you are doing."

While being away is hard, the benefits of getting to spend time in new places is a perk Lomenda takes advantage of. The tour has taken him to Chicago and Washington, DC and will take him to Seattle and Portland. He spoke to GayCalgary Magazine while in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

"I get to go and sometimes not stay in a hotel, I look around and find a nice brownstone to move into and have a kitchen and go shopping and be a bit of a regular at a local coffee shop and people-watch. As a person on tour you live for those things. I get really pumped when I am going to a city like Chicago or Portland. Even in Calgary, to be a tourist in a city I have spent so much time in is awesome. I get to people-watch and see what the people of the United States are like and explore that. There are places that I wouldn’t go to on a vacation like Tulsa, but I’ve been here and can say the people here are some of the nicest people I have met. I might not have known that if I hadn’t had this opportunity on tour."

It was 8 years ago that GayCalgary Magazine readers first "met" Michael Lomenda, who was interviewed in the December 2004 edition to promote Stage West’s production of Grease. He played in multiple Stage West shows thereafter, an experience that helped prepare him to take the leap to a massive touring production.

"I am eternally grateful to Stagewest, they gave me my first gigs when I was first starting out as a performer they took me into the fold and gave me some unbelievable opportunities to perform great shows with people that work at Stratford and Shaw and Broadway, so for a young performer they gave me some incredible opportunities to learn and grow as an artist. Furthermore they employ so many actors over the course of their season that it is unbelievable. They have a full year season so I would get work for 7 months over the course of a year between Calgary and Missisauga. My goal as an actor is to work as much as possible and do the best work I can possibly do, and Stagewest gave me that opportunity to work a lot and strive to become a better artist. It is an incredible family. It is a business of course but when you work there you don’t feel like you are in a business. Kira, Darcy, Sean and Gary in Calgary are all wonderful people that enjoy producing great theatre. You can tell that because it shows in their work and the quality of their shows. I can’t say enough good things about them."

Sometimes when you see a person on stage enough times and especially if you are lucky enough to get to know them, you develop a sense of pride in seeing them accomplish their dreams. Such is the case with Lomenda, who has friends and fans waiting for him every night to say hello and congratulate him. Their support means everything.

"It makes me emotional just thinking about it. As an artist you really put yourself out there and it can be a very vulnerable place to be and work at. When you meet people that are supportive of your work and really take the time to nurture you as a performer it means an unbelievable amount, it is hard to put into words. ...To come across people who have been so supportive is a great thing and a safe place to be and explore and grow. It is invaluable - there are a lot of people who aren’t that way and you spend a lot of time guarding against that, so when you find those few special folks it is invaluable."

So it is with great pride and satisfaction that those who have followed his career watch him tackle Nick Massi in an amazing performance that is part of an all-out incredible show. Whether you’ve seen him perform before, love the show itself, or just want an evening out, Lomenda encourages you to check out Jersey Boys.

"You are in for a really great roller coaster ride. You will be surprised at how many songs you know and how pertinent it is to life nowadays. You will be excited by the way the show is directed and the scene work. The coolest thing about this show is people come knowing Franki Valli and the Four Seasons and the music but they walk out saying wow I had no idea about the story behind the show. These guys had ties to the mob, there are characters in the show that had ties to the Watergate scandal, real heavy hitters. There are guns, smoking, drinking - a lot that went along behind the scenes that people know nothing about. So they have a great idea about what the music means to them, to know the story behind it is a super cool way to spend an evening. It is fun, people get on their feet at the end of every single show. I have the best job in the world because at the end of the show people want to dance because the music is so great and the story is so exciting and surprising and heartbreaking. It really gets people jumping out of their seats and takes them on a journey."