Looking Back

[jo]

Not about seeing Hugh in The Boy from Oz -- but about Hugh's involvement in the show :


From an interview re THE FOUNTAIN, when he saw Darren Aronofsky about THE FOUNTAIN --

Q: You got started in this how long ago? How did you get involved with Darren?

Jackman: I met him January 04 when he came backstage at The Boy From Oz in New York. I knew about The Fountain, and my partner John Palermo said I should ask him about, this was where it was at, that he was looking to get it up, he’s looking for actors. He really enjoyed the show – I was surprised that he was there, but he’s a huge musical theater fan; he sees everything. He came backstage and I said, ‘I heard about The Fountain and I would really love to read it.’

And he said, ‘I don’t think so.’

He rang me the next day and said, ‘Were you serious about that or were you just saying that how actors say to directors…’ I said, ‘I meant it.’ So he sent it to me and I read it that night and I rang him the next morning and said, ‘Look, I don’t want to be presumptuous but I was so moved by it – if you can wait until September, when my contract finishes, I’m in.’

It wasn’t as easy as that; he showed me some things and then he gave a little speech to me – and any actor would have said yes, but I’m glad I listened to him. He said, ‘I’m going to ask more of you, Hugh, then you’ve ever been asked for on film. I’m going to take you places maybe you thought you would never go to on film. Are you ready to do that?’ I said yeah, and for me that was thrilling. And he did. He worked me.

So, as early as January 2004, he was already ready to commit to another project...and had no intention of extending his contract with TBFO!


Jo

[jo]

Interesting sidelight from Hugh re presumably THE BOY FROM OZ, in a LOGAN interview --

www.theversatilegent.com/chatting-all-things-logan-with-hugh-jackman/

How did you feel at the end?

I am not really good with goodbyes. Even when I do a show that lasts a year, with 400 performances, people come in for that last show and they are crying even before the curtain goes up. I am like, ‘Come on, guys, we have got a show to do!’ I am not really comfortable with that...

They (presumably the cast and maybe some of the other people backstage) were crying before the show on SEPTEMEBER 12, 2004!


What about the people behind the fourth wall -- the fans of the show, especially the Oz-a-lots ?!!



I teared up at the very last. This was what I wrote on our collective impressions about the last show ( written for the official Message Board for THE BOY FROM OZ) --

But the show said Goodbye even earlier than expected. When Hugh, as Peter, sang Once Before I Go, he has unwittingly gone out of the Peter character. He became Hugh Jackman saying good bye to Broadway. Never had lyrics meant for something else become so hauntingly appropriate for the occasion. With each word, Broadway's Golden Boy said Farewell to an incredible year on the Great White Way.

It was such a happy occasion that I didn't think I would cry. But as he sang the song with its particularly poignant and emotional words of farewell, my eyes started stinging...and my throat ached.

And then - curtain!

Rio was a real blast - we clapped, and swayed in our seats, sang with the cast (Oops ), and tried to hold the moments from passing. But as Hugh eventually went down the staircase in his curtain call red shirt, we knew it was time to say Goodbye to THE BOY FROM OZ!

The confetti fell, other party trimmings flew in the air, and the roses fell on the stage. His little speech was almost drowned out as the crowd also said their emotional farewells ( I waved Goodbye - sob!).

So long, Hugh - come back soon and be Broadway's favorite son once again.

So long, Peter Allen - it was wonderful to know you!

That memory is still fresh

Good excuse to go back memory lane



And in Hugh's particular case -- it wasn't just 400 shows -- it has been 17 years with LOGAN! No one can probably plumb the depths of his feelings towards a role and its impact on such an important time of his life ( he was 30/31  when he started filming the very first XMen movie!).


Jo 

[hughmanity]

One person looks back on how not even a bad seat could dim Hugh's star wattage:


www.show-score.com/blog/stars-still-shine-in-the-back-row

[mamaleh]

FYI, the accompanying photo is from the arena tour of 2006, not the NY production. Both were wonderful, though!

Ellen

[hughmanity]

How great to have seen both!

Aug 9, 2017 22:02:23 GMT -5 mamaleh said:

FYI, the accompanying photo is from the arena tour of 2006, not the NY production. Both were wonderful, though!

Ellen

[jo]

If I may, here's the reprint of the article in case it disappears from the internet!

Guess who wrote it -- Nathaniel Rogers runs the filmsite Film Experience ( it is no surprise that Hugh Jackman always figures top-rated in his awards forecasts!

Previous

Stars Still Shine in the Back Row

Tags: Standing Ovations
Show-Score | By Nathaniel Rogers | Aug 9, 2017


Most people avoid sitting in the back row. But for one theatergoer, the back row proved how talented Broadway stars really are.
By Hugh Jackman in "The Boy From Oz". Photo by Lindsay Moller. Source: The Daily Telegraph

Using binoculars for live theater is cheating. For me, anyway.

It’s one of my rules—my seat is my seat. I don’t want to cheat myself of that unique point of view. Close-up shots are great, but they’re built for film, not theater. Stage actors adjust their facial expressions and body language to the performance space. If the audience is 200 feet away, then every gesture, every movement, has to reach 201 feet. Why should I undercut the actor’s hard work with binoculars?

But as I made my way up and up—not there yet, keep climbing—to my seat for Hugh Jackman’s Broadway debut in “The Boy From Oz” in October, 2003 . . . cheating suddenly seemed like a very good idea.

There it was. Not just the back row of the Imperial Theater’s rear mezzanine, but the seat right against the far-left wall. Seat #1417 in a space with a capacity of, you guessed it, 1,417. I could comfortably lean my head against the wall—or skip right to banging it (which I may or may not have done).

And when all six feet, two inches of Hugh Jackman entered the stage to sing the opening number “The Lives of Me” I practically groaned at how itty-bitty he looked. Where’s a telescope when you need it?

But it didn’t take long for my despair to vanish.

When “The Boy From Oz” (the exuberant jukebox musical about Australian singer/songwriter Peter Allen) opened on Broadway, the world knew Jackman primarily from what would become his signature film role as “Wolverine” in the X-Men franchise. He played the gravel-voiced, hard-edged superhero nine times, ending his remarkable run just this year with the elegiac “Logan”. Despite his brilliance in as that character, I’ve always wished I could have watched him singing and dancing just as often. For me, on that fall night, sitting in that far-away seat, he proved himself truly super-heroic.

By the third number, the boisterous “Love Crazy,” Jackman’s Peter Allen was already giant-sized. By the show-stopping Act 1 climax “Not the Boy Next Door”, I swore the movie star was singing and high-kicking just for me—forget the other 1,416 ticket holders. By the closing spectacle of “I Go To Rio,” I was in a state of bliss.

Fourteen years later, I don’t remember much about the show itself. The stunning lighting by Donald Holder and fun, flamboyant costumes by William Ivey Long both stayed in my mind, but, with all respect to these insanely talented men, I can only think of them as a perfect backdrop to Jackman’s performance. He shone so bright for me that everything else ran the risk of gilding the lily. It was Jackman’s star wattage that filled up that cavernous space.

Though I never wait by the stage door after shows, this time I made an exception. Now just inches away from me, Hugh Jackman somehow didn’t look any bigger than he had onstage. Against the laws of nature, he turned what could have been a terrible seat into a VIP ticket. Only a superhuman talent could have reached with such force to that back corner high in the rafters.

No binoculars needed.

And it was also good fortune that THE BOY FROM OZ performed for the entire run at the IMPERIAL THEATRE. It's been called the best musical theatre house on Broadway!

At the outset, when they were in rehearsals, the Gerswhin theatre ( if you went to see THE RIVER, it's the neighboring theatre in the same building as Circle in the Square, which has been housing WICKED from 2003/2004 to the present) became available ( one show closed unexpectedly) and it was offered to the producers and creatives of TBFO. The buzz then was that Hugh Jackman preferred to stay at the Imperial.

It is really a good theatre ( although I never saw a performance upstairs) -- I remember that when I saw BILLY ELLIOT at the Imperial, I was so appreciative of the low stage because I could see the dancing feet of Billy ( which was more electrifying than any singing in the enire show).

Of course during the time of TBFO -- we all wanted to be on Row AA -- haha - no matter that your knees were bumping against the curtain that divided the orchestra from the orchestra pit below!

Nathaniel R says it was as heavenly seeing it on the last row up in the balcony-- because the magic and charisma of Hugh Jackman transcended the concept of space

Talking about binoculars -- I was in one show where someone on second row was using binoculars to watch Hugh...er... supposedly the show

Hugh noticed it -- and he burst out : " You're using binoculars from second row??!! Do you want my XRays ??"

The lady should have watched it on the last row in the balcony, where Nathaniel R swears NO BINOCULARS are needed


Jo

[jo]

If I may, here's the reprint of the article in case it disappears from the internet!


Guess who wrote it -- Nathaniel Rogers runs the filmsite Film Experience ( it is no surprise that Hugh Jackman always figures top-rated in his awards forecasts!

Here are his updated predictions for Best Picture --

thefilmexperience.net/best-picture/


and for Best Actor --

thefilmexperience.net/best-actor/




Back to his article from memory lane --

Stars Still Shine in the Back Row

Tags: Standing Ovations
Show-Score | By Nathaniel Rogers | Aug 9, 2017


Most people avoid sitting in the back row. But for one theatergoer, the back row proved how talented Broadway stars really are.
By Hugh Jackman in "The Boy From Oz". Photo by Lindsay Moller. Source: The Daily Telegraph

Using binoculars for live theater is cheating. For me, anyway.

It’s one of my rules—my seat is my seat. I don’t want to cheat myself of that unique point of view. Close-up shots are great, but they’re built for film, not theater. Stage actors adjust their facial expressions and body language to the performance space. If the audience is 200 feet away, then every gesture, every movement, has to reach 201 feet. Why should I undercut the actor’s hard work with binoculars?

But as I made my way up and up—not there yet, keep climbing—to my seat for Hugh Jackman’s Broadway debut in “The Boy From Oz” in October, 2003 . . . cheating suddenly seemed like a very good idea.

There it was. Not just the back row of the Imperial Theater’s rear mezzanine, but the seat right against the far-left wall. Seat #1417 in a space with a capacity of, you guessed it, 1,417. I could comfortably lean my head against the wall—or skip right to banging it (which I may or may not have done).

And when all six feet, two inches of Hugh Jackman entered the stage to sing the opening number “The Lives of Me” I practically groaned at how itty-bitty he looked. Where’s a telescope when you need it?

But it didn’t take long for my despair to vanish.

When “The Boy From Oz” (the exuberant jukebox musical about Australian singer/songwriter Peter Allen) opened on Broadway, the world knew Jackman primarily from what would become his signature film role as “Wolverine” in the X-Men franchise. He played the gravel-voiced, hard-edged superhero nine times, ending his remarkable run just this year with the elegiac “Logan”. Despite his brilliance in as that character, I’ve always wished I could have watched him singing and dancing just as often. For me, on that fall night, sitting in that far-away seat, he proved himself truly super-heroic.

By the third number, the boisterous “Love Crazy,” Jackman’s Peter Allen was already giant-sized. By the show-stopping Act 1 climax “Not the Boy Next Door”, I swore the movie star was singing and high-kicking just for me—forget the other 1,416 ticket holders. By the closing spectacle of “I Go To Rio,” I was in a state of bliss.

Fourteen years later, I don’t remember much about the show itself. The stunning lighting by Donald Holder and fun, flamboyant costumes by William Ivey Long both stayed in my mind, but, with all respect to these insanely talented men, I can only think of them as a perfect backdrop to Jackman’s performance. He shone so bright for me that everything else ran the risk of gilding the lily. It was Jackman’s star wattage that filled up that cavernous space.

Though I never wait by the stage door after shows, this time I made an exception. Now just inches away from me, Hugh Jackman somehow didn’t look any bigger than he had onstage. Against the laws of nature, he turned what could have been a terrible seat into a VIP ticket. Only a superhuman talent could have reached with such force to that back corner high in the rafters.

No binoculars needed.

And it was also good fortune that THE BOY FROM OZ performed for the entire run at the IMPERIAL THEATRE. It's been called the best musical theatre house on Broadway!

At the outset, when they were in rehearsals, the Gerswhin theatre ( if you went to see THE RIVER, it's the neighboring theatre in the same building as Circle in the Square, which has been housing WICKED from 2003/2004 to the present) became available ( one show closed unexpectedly) and it was offered to the producers and creatives of TBFO. The buzz then was that Hugh Jackman preferred to stay at the Imperial.

It is really a good theatre ( although I never saw a performance upstairs) -- I remember that when I saw BILLY ELLIOT at the Imperial, I was so appreciative of the low stage because I could see the dancing feet of Billy ( which was more electrifying than any singing in the enire show).

Of course during the time of TBFO -- we all wanted to be on Row AA -- haha - no matter that your knees were bumping against the curtain that divided the orchestra from the orchestra pit below!

Nathaniel R says it was as heavenly seeing it on the last row up in the balcony-- because the magic and charisma of Hugh Jackman transcended the concept of space

Talking about binoculars -- I was in one show where someone on second row was using binoculars to watch Hugh...er... supposedly the show

Hugh noticed it -- and he burst out : " You're using binoculars from second row??!! Do you want my XRays ??"

The lady should have watched it on the last row in the balcony, where Nathaniel R swears NO BINOCULARS are needed


Jo

[jo]

[jo]

Did you get a little misty-eyed watching him sing ONCE BEFORE I GO with so much feeling --

It did bring back happy memories of THE BOY FROM OZ!

[jo]

[jo]

Stephanie J Block recalls how Hugh Jackman saved the day when she had a wardrobe malfunction … and like a true theatre performer Hugh put it into his act and kept the tradition of "the show must go on" very much alive


www.theatermania.com/video/-theater-gone-wrong-stephanie-j-blockand39s-wardrobe-malfunction-is-a-gift-to-hugh-jackman_1607.html

Was anyone here at that performance?


I remember one wardrobe malfunction for Hugh himself. He split his pants during a vigorous shedding-of-the-waders scene in THE RIVER...and he continued acting out his role until he could go back to the room at the back of the stage( which was part of the set) to change. Very casually done


Jo

[jo]

I remember the review that Ben Brantley wrote for THE BOY FROM OZ, but I did not know that a feature article in the Theatre Section a week after the show opened took a look at how Hugh Jackman became a breakout star but the show itself did not face a good future.

Sections

Theater



Broadway Honestly Loves Him; But Can Hugh Jackman Save 'Oz'?
By Robin Pogrebin
Oct. 27, 2003


''Phantom of the Opera'' has the chandelier.
''Nine'' has the ''naked woman descending upside down in a bedsheet'' number.
''The Boy From Oz'' has Hugh Jackman.

That was at least one producer's answer to the question that has been dogging ''Oz,'' the new Broadway musical about the Australian entertainer Peter Allen, since the reviews began more than a week ago, almost all of them loving the star but hating the show: Will Hugh Jackman be enough to sustain it?

''There have often been people or theatrical effects or one distinct moment in a production that made it worth the price of admission,'' said Scott Zeiger, the chief executive of the North American theatrical division of Clear Channel Communications, which is a major investor in the show. ''I believe that Hugh Jackman provides enough winning and overwhelmingly positive theatrical moments that these reviews and the lack of appreciation can be completely overridden by the enormous response that he is getting. You've got to see it just to see him.''


Broadway is often largely dependent on its stars; the box office dipped precipitously for ''Gypsy'' when Bernadette Peters went on vacation. But ''Gypsy'' is also a classic in its own right, with one of the uncontested great scores of all time. If many critics are to be believed, ''The Boy From Oz'' has little to recommend it except Mr. Jackman.


Although he called the show ''indisputably bogus,'' Ben Brantley in The New York Times also called Mr. Jackman ''an indisputably authentic star.'' Linda Winer in Newsday described Mr. Jackman's performance as ''one of the breakout leading-man musical debuts in recent Broadway memory -- and an object lesson in the limited but undeniable ability of big talent to distract from the labored wax-museum mediocrity of a show.''

Will this charismatic Australian movie star be enough of a draw to enable the show to recoup its $8 million cost. What happens after he leaves? While Mr. Jackman has made an unusually long commitment for a celebrity -- a year -- there is still the future to think about. Who, with similar talent and fame, could possibly replace him, and will the show last long enough to generate the requisite national reputation for a tour?


''It's a blessing and a curse,'' said Michael David, a Broadway producer not associated with the show. ''It's the kind of performance that vaults you over the many conventional hurdles into a new set on the other side.

''It conceivably gives the show a chance to see what an audience really thinks of it,'' he continued. ''But what about after he's gone? It's sort of a stunning moment and it will be interesting to see what happens. There aren't a lot of models for it.''


Rarely has there been such a stark disparity between perceptions of the show and its star. Probably the most recent comparable example is ''The Graduate'' last season; although critics panned that production, people kept coming to see Kathleen Turner undress anyway and the show made back its money -- despite Lorraine Bracco's stepping in as Ms. Turner's replacement -- until it closed in March after running for nearly a year. Similarly, ''Annie Get Your Gun,'' featuring Ms. Peters, recouped despite weak reviews, running for a year and a half. By contrast, despite strong reviews, Brian Stokes Mitchell was not enough of a draw to make ''Man of La Mancha'' pay back its investors last season. It closed in August after nearly nine months.



The box office numbers for ''The Boy From Oz'' -- which chronicles Allen's life and career, including his relationships with Judy Garland and Liza Minnelli -- are solid but not the stuff of hits. On Oct. 17, the day after opening, the show grossed $254,000, including $100,000 in group sales. By contrast, ''Hairspray'' grossed $1.3 million the day after it opened and ''The Producers'' brought in $3.3 million. In the days since, ''Oz,'' which has a weekly running cost of under $500,000, has been grossing between $125,000 and $150,000 a day. The show has an advance of $10 million.

Speaking of the week that ended yesterday, Robert Fox, who produced the show with Ben Gannon, said, ''We'll do well over $800,000 this week, which for any show is a big number.''

Some producers suggested that ''The Boy From Oz'' would have a difficult time overcoming the negative reviews, but others said that Mr. Jackman's performance made them optimistic about the show's prospects. ''I think it will make it,'' the producer Chase Mishkin said. ''This guy is the best musical theater performer I've ever seen, and I've been looking at musicals for 40 years. He's the real deal.''

Because of the power of Mr. Jackman's performance, however, Ms. Mishkin predicted that the show could not survive his eventual departure. ''I don't think the show will have a life after him,'' she said. ''I think he's the show.''

Best known as Wolverine in the ''X-Men'' and ''X2'' films, Mr. Jackman played leading roles in the films ''Swordfish'' and ''Kate and Leopold'' and recently completed filming ''Van Helsing,'' about Bram Stoker's vampire expert, which is to open in May. He also played Curly in Trevor Nunn's acclaimed production of ''Oklahoma!'' at the Royal National Theater in London.


Mr. Jackman's career began in his native Australia, where, in 1999, he was named Australian Star of the Year, so to him Allen is a hometown hero. Mr. Jackman's impassioned performance suggests that he feels honored to be playing the singer/songwriter responsible for such hits as ''I Honestly Love You,'' ''Don't Cry Out Loud'' and ''I Go to Rio.'' (Mr. Jackman declined through a spokesman to be interviewed.) These and other Allen songs make up the show's score.


''He's not apologizing for the show, he's not saying, 'Come see me in spite of the show,' '' Mr. Zeiger said. ''He's expressing his love for the material. It is rare for a movie star who's on his way up to commit this length of time.''


That commitment appears to have made a strong impact on the theater industry. Celebrities typically drop into stage roles for short stints and quickly move on; Broadway is grateful for any star power it can get. ''There is a contemporary spin about this one -- 'What the hell is he doing in this and isn't it exciting?' '' Mr. David, the producer, said. ''This guy is not at the end of his career or in a lull. This guy is on the rise.''


Ultimately, theater professionals say, it is the audience members who will determine whether the show has staying power -- with Mr. Jackman or without. ''That, in the end, is all that matters,'' Mr. Fox said. ''If people have a good time, which they seem to, then they go out and tell their friends.''


It is word of mouth that has made ''Mamma Mia!'' a success, a similar show in that it is a musical built around existing Abba songs. ''I think it's going to be another 'Mamma Mia!' '' said Philip J. Smith, president of the Shubert Organization, which owns the theaters showing ''Mamma Mia!'' ''Gypsy'' and ''The Boy From Oz.''

As to what the show's marketing strategy should be during the next few months, other producers advised exploiting the asset that is Mr. Jackman for all it's worth. Mr. Zeiger said that the producers should not be thinking beyond September, when Mr. Jackman's contract expires. ''Make a gigantic success with him in it, and all of the rest will take care of itself,'' he said.

That is just what Mr. Fox said he had in mind. ''You use him,'' he said. ''That's why you have a star.''


A version of this article appears in print on Oct. 27, 2003, Section E, Page 1 of the National edition with the headline: Broadway Honestly Loves Him; But Can Hugh Jackman Save 'Oz'?. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe

[jo]

In retrospect, this is how that future for the show unfolded --

nypost.com/2004/09/10/hugh-go-boy-triumphant-jackman-deserves-long-rest/

Entertainment

HUGH GO, BOY! – TRIUMPHANT JACKMAN DESERVES LONG REST
By Michael Riedel
September 10, 2004 | 4:00am


AT last, Atlas can lay down his burden.

On Sunday, Hugh Jackman gives his final performance in “The Boy From Oz,” that combination floor show/VH-1 “Behind the Music” bio in which Jackman plays the late gay songwriter Peter Allen (with one swish, Hugh’s the boy next door).

Jackman has carried the show on his back for a year now, defying the critics who mauled it and the pundits (I was one) who predicted it wouldn’t last the season.

He’s also managed to put the $8.25 million show in the black, pushing it over the line with the help of premium-priced tickets, which have been selling briskly since spring, and $350 orchestra seats for the final, sold-out performance.
In its final week, “The Boy From Oz” is on track to gross $1.4 million, just $200,000 shy of the record set by Matthew Broderick and Nathan Lane during the first week of their return engagement in “The Producers.”

Yesterday, Albert Poland, the show’s general manager, told The Post: “The show has recouped, and the final distribution to investors will occur shortly after the closing.”

Jackman’s feat has been extraordinary – super-human, really – and deserves to be studied as an example of what true star power can do for a Broadway show.


Jackman’s only rivals on the very short list of male theater stars are Lane and Broderick. But unlike that duo, who, in “The Producers,” were working with first-rate material, Jackman had to make do with garbage.

You’d be hard-pressed to find a show as tacky and ineptly put together as “The Boy From Oz,” although Frank Wildhorn‘s “Dracula” is a worthy successor.

Yet Jackman, through a combination of energy, charisma and salesmanship, managed to transcend its awfulness and turn it into what was, for all intents and purposes, a one-man show with undeniable audience appeal.


The audience, to be sure, was not diverse.

Women, specifically middle-aged women from the suburbs, fell hard for Jackman. At times, the atmosphere in the Imperial Theatre resembled a bachelorette party for someone about to get married for the second time.

Luckily for investors in “The Boy From Oz,” the bulk of Broadway tickets are bought by middle-aged suburban women, and “Oz” – with Jackman acting as a middle-aged babe magnet – became their destination of choice.

Because the bad reviews initially depressed ticket sales – and because Jackman was only signed up for one year – the profit margin on “The Boy From Oz” was always going to be razor-thin (the final profit, says a source, could be less than $100,000).


Had Jackman missed just a handful of performances, the show would never have recouped.

And here, he was exemplary: He did not miss a single performance.

For this, he deserves much praise.


If they have a case of the sniffles or a slight tickle in their throats, Broadway stars today can call up any number of showbiz doctors and have themselves put on “vocal rest.”

This practice is out of control (Donna Murphy, 60 absences and counting!), and is being aided and abetted by producers, who, fearing negative publicity that might depress ticket sales, are reluctant to make an issue of it.
Some turn a blind eye to it because they don’t want to fight with their stars.

Others, the cynical ones, figure most people have traveled some distance to see the show and would rather suffer an understudy than have to chase after refunds or exchanges.

Jackman has raised the bar on attendance for all Broadway stars.


Let’s hope they follow his example.

The Broadway community is turning out for Jackman’s performance on Sunday. He is well-liked in the industry, having charmed the powerbrokers (and their spouses) and raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for theater charities.

Every producer sitting in that house on Sunday is going to be making a list of projects for “Hugh,” which is what everybody in theater calls him whether they know him or not.

Two that spring to mind are “Pal Joey,” a revival of which is in the works, and “Company,” in which “Hugh” would be perfect as the handsome bachelor, Bobby.

But producers will have to bide their time. Jackman will come back to Broadway but not, at the very least, for a year.

Atlas needs – and deserves – a rest.

[jo]

In further retrospect --

The Boy from Oz segment of TheMan.TheMusic.TheShow ( the music tour wowing audiences across many parts of the globe, including 3 sellout engagements at MADISON SQUARE GARDEN, the huge entertainment center sharing the spotlight with Broadway in NYC) was easily the most popular in the show!

So the show and Jackman live on in the hearts of audiences!

[jo]

And in Sydney, he even added a tribute to NEW YORK and Broadway in the show --

[jo]

And 17 years on...from the time The Boy From Oz opened on Broadway, he will return to Broadway in another title role, appeal undiminished







The Boy from Oz...A Steady Rain...Back On Broadway...The River...The Music Man

[mamaleh]

The first preview performance of TBFO took place exactly 16 years ago today, September 16, 2003. Time flies!

Ellen

[jo]

[jo]

Sept 16, 2019 18:16:29 GMT -5 mamaleh said:

The first preview performance of TBFO took place exactly 16 years ago today, September 16, 2003. Time flies!

Ellen

Many things happen on a September month re Hugh Jackman

*Preview of TBFO
*Closing date of TBFO-Broadway ( Sept 12)
*Previews and Opening Night for A STEADY RAIN
*Preview of The Music Man (Sept 9, 2020)
*Likely end of his run in Music Man

*Awarded in formal ceremony as AC (Companion of Australia, highest civilian honor)
*Yearly Global Citizen Festival
*Prisoners voted 2nd Most Favorite Movie at TIFF 2013 (September 2013)

Jo

[mamaleh]

And don’t forget the Global Citizen concert scheduled for late September.

Ellen

[jo]

[jo]

I still have the precious Playbill(s) - many signed from that long time ago.

Also, while fans are not generally allowed to buy Opening Night tickets, save for a lucky few who get them at the last minute because comps were not expected to be fully used -- I have collected OPENING NIGHT Playbill Editions for all his Broadway shows. You can get them from Playbill itself!

Jo

[jo]

[jo]

[jo]

Brings back great memories --