Post by jo on Jun 1, 2017 19:19:11 GMT -5
nypost.com/2017/06/01/hugh-jackman-in-a-mad-search-for-next-broadway-hit/
Entertainment
Hugh Jackman in a mad search for next Broadway hit
By Michael Riedel
June 1, 2017 | 8:04pm
Hugh Jackman is on the hunt for a new Broadway show — and it’s not going to be a musical comedy romp like “The Boy from Oz.”
Sources say Jackman, one of Hollywood and Broadway’s top leading men, has been doing some invitation-only readings of serious plays.
He tackled two classics — Anton Chekhov’s “Uncle Vanya” and Henrik Ibsen’s “Rosmersholm” — before moving into the 21st century, with Christopher Shinn’s compelling drama “Against.”
No surprise here, but my spies say Jackman was terrific in all three.
He’s certainly riding high these days with the success of “Logan,” his final Wolverine movie.
And he’s wrapping up shooting here in New York on a movie about P.T. Barnum.
Sources say Jackman, 48, is eager to get back on the stage. His last visit here was 2014’s “The River,” in which he gutted a fish and cooked it onstage. (I can still smell the onions.) In 2009, he and Daniel Craig starred in the drama “A Steady Rain,” auctioning off their sweaty T-shirts after performances to raise money for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.
“Uncle Vanya” last popped up on Broadway in 2000, though Cate Blanchett starred in an acclaimed production at City Center in 2012.
Jackman read the part of Astrov, a doctor who falls madly in love with the beautiful Yelena.
Few people around today have ever seen “Rosmersholm” on Broadway. The first production opened in 1904, two years before Ibsen died, and the last revival was in 1935. It’s long — four acts about social and political change — but compelling. I applaud Jackman and Ian Rickson , who directed the reading, for even attempting it. Jackman is one of the few stars who could sell tickets to a commercial production of an Ibsen play.
“Against” is a futuristic play set in Silicon Valley about an aerospace billionaire who wants to change the world. Rickson is staging it this summer in London at the Almeida Theatre with Ben Whishaw in the leading role.
Jackman’s reading was “kind of an exercise,” one person says. “He likes the play a lot and wanted to see if it’s something he could do down the line.”
Jackman had been working on a musical about Houdini by Stephen Schwartz (“Wicked”), but that seems to be in limbo. He was also mentioned as a possible lead in another Schwartz musical, “Schikaneder,” about the playwright who wrote “The Magic Flute” with Mozart. It opened in Vienna last year to terrific reviews. But it’s a huge production, and it will take some time to finance and bring to Broadway.
Jackman’s also been toying with the idea of another one-man show, one that would emphasize his dancing.
“I want to do something that’s going to challenge me in a different way,” he told me in 2015. “I realize there are a limited number of years for the dancing I want to do, to push myself as far as I can go.”
His 2011 show, “Hugh Jackman: Back on Broadway,” was a smash, racking up sales of nearly $20 million in just 10 weeks.
For now, Jackman’s flexing his dramatic chops.
I think “Uncle Vanya” may be the ticket.
Hugh Jackman in a mad search for next Broadway hit
By Michael Riedel
June 1, 2017 | 8:04pm
Hugh Jackman is on the hunt for a new Broadway show — and it’s not going to be a musical comedy romp like “The Boy from Oz.”
Sources say Jackman, one of Hollywood and Broadway’s top leading men, has been doing some invitation-only readings of serious plays.
He tackled two classics — Anton Chekhov’s “Uncle Vanya” and Henrik Ibsen’s “Rosmersholm” — before moving into the 21st century, with Christopher Shinn’s compelling drama “Against.”
No surprise here, but my spies say Jackman was terrific in all three.
He’s certainly riding high these days with the success of “Logan,” his final Wolverine movie.
And he’s wrapping up shooting here in New York on a movie about P.T. Barnum.
Sources say Jackman, 48, is eager to get back on the stage. His last visit here was 2014’s “The River,” in which he gutted a fish and cooked it onstage. (I can still smell the onions.) In 2009, he and Daniel Craig starred in the drama “A Steady Rain,” auctioning off their sweaty T-shirts after performances to raise money for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.
“Uncle Vanya” last popped up on Broadway in 2000, though Cate Blanchett starred in an acclaimed production at City Center in 2012.
Jackman read the part of Astrov, a doctor who falls madly in love with the beautiful Yelena.
Few people around today have ever seen “Rosmersholm” on Broadway. The first production opened in 1904, two years before Ibsen died, and the last revival was in 1935. It’s long — four acts about social and political change — but compelling. I applaud Jackman and Ian Rickson , who directed the reading, for even attempting it. Jackman is one of the few stars who could sell tickets to a commercial production of an Ibsen play.
“Against” is a futuristic play set in Silicon Valley about an aerospace billionaire who wants to change the world. Rickson is staging it this summer in London at the Almeida Theatre with Ben Whishaw in the leading role.
Jackman’s reading was “kind of an exercise,” one person says. “He likes the play a lot and wanted to see if it’s something he could do down the line.”
Jackman had been working on a musical about Houdini by Stephen Schwartz (“Wicked”), but that seems to be in limbo. He was also mentioned as a possible lead in another Schwartz musical, “Schikaneder,” about the playwright who wrote “The Magic Flute” with Mozart. It opened in Vienna last year to terrific reviews. But it’s a huge production, and it will take some time to finance and bring to Broadway.
Jackman’s also been toying with the idea of another one-man show, one that would emphasize his dancing.
“I want to do something that’s going to challenge me in a different way,” he told me in 2015. “I realize there are a limited number of years for the dancing I want to do, to push myself as far as I can go.”
His 2011 show, “Hugh Jackman: Back on Broadway,” was a smash, racking up sales of nearly $20 million in just 10 weeks.
For now, Jackman’s flexing his dramatic chops.
I think “Uncle Vanya” may be the ticket.
