ERICH BERGEN’S FIRING ‘NEVER BEEN FULLY EXPLAINED TO ME’

Five weeks after being dropped from the Las Vegas "Jersey Boys," Erich Bergen said the reason remains a mystery.

"It's never been fully explained to me, and I'm not sure it ever will be," said Bergen, who played Bob Gaudio of the Four Seasons.

Vegas Confidential caught up to Bergen Sunday night after he turned up in the audience of Zowie Bowie's Vintage Vegas show at the Monte Carlo.

During a post-show interview, Bergen revealed that Las Vegas remains very much in his future, and a big clue to those plans came when he was seen leaving the show with former castmate Travis Cloer, who made a guest appearance with Zowie Bowie.

Bergen and Cloer, still a member of the "Jersey Boys," plan to team up and shop a one-night local show.

They will start with a show featuring Cloer, who had a long-running cruise ship production. "I will produce, shape and direct it," said Bergen. "Then we'll do mine."

His last appearance with the "Jersey Boys" was Sept. 9, when they performed on NBC's "America's Got Talent" as guest artists.

"I had asked for a vacation and very quickly it was not a vacation," he said.

During our conversation, I indicated that one of the rumors circulating suggested part of the problem may have had something to do with missing rehearsals.

"I never once missed a rehearsal. I missed a chunk of shows," he said. "I had an extremely bad medical situation."

When he returned to the show, "my voice would go. Yes, I did miss a lot of shows but that was a long time ago." His contract was renewed in March, for a year.

He's heard rumors that former castmates have said some uncomplimentary things, but "I don't believe that because they've been my friends for years."

He added, "I'm still extremely proud of 'Jersey Boys' and will continue to send people to see it. I love it with all my heart, even thought there were some twists and turns. It opened a lot of doors and it opened them fast."

For now he's committed to filming two more episodes of the hit TV show, "Gossip Girl," in New York City.

He plays a New York University student who has a rivalry with Blair, played by Leighton Meester.

His character, said Bergen, is "a little bitchy and a little competitive. I got to play a bad guy for once."

During his "Gossip Girl" filming, he met singing sensation Lady Gaga, who, like Bergen, is guest starring on the show. He's even bigger fan now, Bergen said, after seeing how she treated everyone on the set.

Lady Gaga plans to premiere her next song, "Bad Romance," on the 10th episode, Bergen added.

--NORM CLARKE, Vegas Confidential