THE MUSIC MAN 🎵

[foxie]

Has anyone heard about the tickets they bought for musicman?

[jo]

Is this what you wanted to know?

Or something else?

From Telecharge MusicMan Page --

The Music Man Special Information
Tickets will not be sent until a theatre is assigned. While we do not anticipate any changes, if necessary you will be contacted by Customer Service.

Jo

[jo]

An update from Michael Reidel --


nypost.com/2019/11/14/tootsie-was-a-broadway-flop-because-theater-is-fickle-insiders/

“Tootsie” had everything going for it: great title, terrific reviews, star-making turn by Santino Fontana, snappy score by David Yazbek and a hilarious book by Robert Horn.

And yet one of the best musical comedies to come around in a long time is a flop. “Tootsie” opened in April and will close Jan. 5 without returning a fraction of its $10 million production cost.


“I’m sad,” says Horn, who won a Tony for his book. “I honestly thought we would become this staple, a big musical comedy that people would go to. But she’s a fickle mistress, this theater world.”

She is indeed, but let’s try to figure out why her fickleness cast “Tootsie” into the dark.

For starters, “Tootsie” is a great title for people over 50, many of whom saw the movie when it came out in 1982, and loved it. But a new generation is going to Broadway shows, and the kids who love “Wicked” and “Mean Girls” have never heard of “Tootsie.”


That generation is going to “Beetlejuice,” which got indifferent reviews, but is now catching on. It did more than $1 million last week at the Winter Garden. The Shuberts are throwing it out next year to make way for Hugh Jackman in “The Music Man,” but they might want to make a deal to transfer it to another theater. “Beetlejuice,” slimmed down for a smaller theater, could be a nice little earner.


Also, as one Tony voter, who voted for “Tootsie” as Best Musical, says, “It’s very satisfying as a comedy, but not very satisfying as a musical.” What he means is that Yazbek’s score doesn’t quite reach the heights of Richard Rodgers or Andrew Lloyd Webber. Yazbek wrote funny, sophisticated songs, but what’s missing is a melody you can latch on to — a melody such as “Some Enchanted Evening” or “Memory.”

see also

'Tootsie' review: New musical is no drag; it's funnier than the film

I know Yazbek can do it. “Omar Sharif” and “Answer Me,” two songs he wrote for “The Band’s Visit” are gorgeous. The songs for “Tootsie” are good, but they don’t soar the way those do.


Another factor: “Tootsie” is about showbiz, and shows about showbiz have a limited life. “The Producers” was the blockbuster hit of 2001, but ran a mere six years. “The Phantom of the Opera” and “Wicked” are still running.
“Shows about showbiz are hard to sell,” says Horn. “But I can’t speak for the masses. I love going to the theater to see a show about the theater.”

Finally, the time for “Tootsie” may have come and gone. “It’s about a self-centered guy who dresses up as a woman to take a job from a woman,” says a source on the show. “Three years ago, it would have been hilarious. Today, I’m not so sure.”
That said, “Tootsie” is a fun show, and you should see it before it closes.

“I have nothing but love for the show,” says Horn, who’s work is in demand, thanks to that Tony. “After so many years of, ‘Who is this guy?,’ I’m fielding offers. And I’m in the lovely position of being able to say no. But you’re going to hear about some things I’m involved in very soon.”

“Len Berman and Michael Riedel in the Morning” airs weekdays on WOR Radio 710.
Filed under broadway , broadway musicals , musical comedy

So the word as mentioned in a recent BWW post seems to be true - re the transfer possibilities for Beetlejuice to make way for THE MUSIC MAN!

Given what Michael Reidel has observed as the new reality in the theatre world where a new generation of audiences are seeing more modern shows, will this attitude affect The Music Man? The main selling point of the show is HUGH JACKMAN whose successful effort in originating a new musical albeit with a period setting ( The Greatest Showman) plus a follow-thru via a 90-show music tour puts him fresh in the mind of audiences.

One point made by Riedel is that Tootsie did not have a musical score which gave audiences beautiful or catchy songs ( TGS was exactly the opposite).

Re the musical score of The Music Man --

It was the first cast recording to have won a GRAMMY award!

*"Seventy Six Trombones" is a cultural icon!
*"Till There Was You" - was a big Billboard hit of Anita Bryant... and the Beatles - will it appeal again to the younger generation?
*"Goodnight, My Someone" is a reprise of "76 Trombones", set to a slower tempo.
*The Rock Island intro ( which Hugh has performed in Back On Broadway) is very catchy and a real tongue twister, enough to challenge the audience.

*"Ya Got Trouble" will be Harold Hugh's major production number! Just to see him giving it the Jackman touch will delight audiences, just as his music tour ( which was more of a theatrical show ) was a major hit with audiences!


More importantly, the new production is investing in major lab work to see where the production can be refreshed perhaps to suit more current taste - both in song interpretation and more spectacular dance numbers!

And Hugh Jackman, the famed Greatest Showman, will surely be as great as The Music Man!

Jo

[jo]

On the other hand, Variety gushes about the box office turnaround for BEETLEJUICE, the current resident of the Winter Garden theatre.

variety.com/2019/legit/news/beetlejuice-the-musical-broadway-1203407953/#article-comments


Although the past week, there has been a major dip in receipts --

www.broadwayworld.com/grosses.cfm

[jo]

What happens when a modern-day director tries to contemporize THE MUSIC MAN to suit present day cultural sensitivities ?


www.playbill.com/article/how-a-young-directors-modern-take-on-the-music-man-was-shut-downnearly-for-good


Her sin was one of omission ( cutting out songs) and adding a new meaning to the show... instead of commission ( adding new songs)?

What can the Rudin revival do that would be allowed by the organization which owns the rights?





What happens if the Rudin production tries to bring out an edgier look - such as more details on Marian's supposed past ( particularly in relation to Winthrop's parenthood)? Or go back to Hill's own background which led to his becoming a con-man?

Will additional songs be allowed to be written?

Can they add even more (flashier) spectacle to the show to suit the taste of many modern day audiences who are taken by "sensory overload" ( Thanks to Jim Mangold for the use of the phrase, which he used to refer to an aspect of modern day movie tentpoles)… a good example of which is Moulin Rouge?

Or simply a fresh look at the choreography … or the song interpretations?



I have a feeling that Rudin already negotiated what changes or modern-day adaptations his production can look at before he signed the contract to use the rights to the show.

Jo

[jo]

Will this potential AIDA revival pose competition for The Music Man in the 2020-2021 Broadway season?

www.broadwayworld.com/article/AIDA-Revival-Will-Get-Developmental-Lab-in-Spring-2020-with-Schele-Williams-and-Camille-A-Brown-at-the-Helm-20191122

I remember seeing the original Broadway production … and my recollection was that I found it boring, save for some good songs.


Jo

[jo]

[jo]

The issue of theatre choice for THE MUSIC MAN continues.

But it seems to me that his BWW comment was given without too much thought --

i will find it truly amusing if the only show that can actually fill the marquis-the music man- doesn't go there simply because of producer ego. i know theres many bigger problems in the world, but as a theater goer i have a lot of issues with the state of ny theatre currently.

The Marquis Theatre is very modern. It is probably the only major theatre which looks very much like all other modern buildings do (Can't remember the inside look of the Gershwin, but I have been there to see Wicked - all I remember was how cavernous it looked).

The Music Man is a period musical - set around the early part of the 20th century. Look at the costumes from the movie - they do not have any suggestion of the modern era. Look at the sets for the movie - period pieces, too! And perhaps it is the appeal of early Americana which has contributed to its timeless appeal! A time to look back...when perhaps it seemed like the best of times?

The Winter Garden has the grandiose look of the past! It also has a very wide stage ( and presumably backstage) which can house the expected spectacle that the revival is expected to give to its audiences. It fits perfectly well in contributing to the ambience of the show!

If you ask me, it is Beetlejuice that probably fits the Marquis better because of its storyline and characters


Jo

[jo]

There are many Cyber Monday deals for theatre tickets, on or off-Broadway.

I was surprised to receive an email from Telecharge re The Music Man offering such a deal.

It said tickets are available from $ 99 (ex-fees), a $ 10 discount from the previous lowest price of $ 109 ( ex-fees)in the mezzanine. But upon checking one particular date (Sunday matinee) - I only found one (1) seat available. Maybe they might have more seats on non-weekend dates?

Edit: I checked the following Tuesday performance - and there were quite a few ( mybe 5-6) that were on offer at $ 99 ( ex-fees) on the rear mezzanine (the WG only has 1 mezzanine - no balcony).

Edit2 : I checked a Wednesday matinee in February -- and maybe they have about a dozen available at $ 99 ( ex-fees) on the rear mezzanine.


Edit3 : Not sure if seats have been taken asap as the Cyber Monday deals were announced or prior to that -- but here is the new pricing schedule for lowest-priced seats for TMM --

Mezzanine Rows A-D Far Sides,($229.00)
Mezzanine Rows E-G Center,($199.00)
Mezzanine Rows E-J Far Sides,($99.00)
Mezzanine Rows G-J Far Sides,($99.00)

Not sure if this is just for Cyber Monday...or whether they used the occasion to lower the prices for the rear mezzanine?


Jo

[jo]

The controversy over Beetlejuice making way for The Music Man is turning a little acrimonius! Some Beetlejuice fans are more aggressively implying that TheMusicMan ( producers) are acting like Goliath trying to browbeat little David (Beetlejuice) into moving out.

www.broadwayworld.com/board/readmessage.php?thread=1120308&dt=23

Maybe, once and for all, producer Scott Rudin and his 2 billionaire co-producers ( David Geffen and Barry Diller) should make an official announcement on the real status of the issue --

*to assure Music Man ticketholders that their seats and tickets are in safe hands?
*to encourage those who are hesitant to get TMM tickets because of the "unknown theatre" issue to go ahead with their purchases?
*to silence the loud BJuice fans if they know that there is a previous business arrangement?

Or maybe think of a kind of compromise with the Beetlejuice show ( assuming this can work out) so the controversy can die down...for the best of both concerned!

There was supposed to be an earlier leaked buzz that Beetlejuice is being redesigned not only to facilitate moving to a smaller theatre but also to get it ready with a more manageable production set for touring purposes - resolving 2 issues in one solution!

Maybe Rudin et al can help defray the cost of the move?


On another related issue - maybe some advance publicity ( such as Hugh using social media to share some advance work on the show) might put a more positive spin on the ticket-buying for The Music Man?


Jo

[jo]

I have not seen this before - or maybe I have forgotten seeing it before

[jo]

The controversy is moving to social media

[hughmanity]

I like your tweet, Jo. This controversy is aggravating. Another monkey wrench thrown into one of Hugh's projects. Who expected BEETLEJUICE to take off like this? And now people are getting defensive, including star Leslie Kritzer who I read somewhere said, "We're not going anywhere". Hope they work it out before more folks get their backs up with this "David and Goliath" scenario. BTW, that clip of Hugh showed up today when I was on FB, as part of the MUSIC MAN ad we've been seeing.

[jo]

In a sense it is almost amusing to see the discussions on BWW -- it is quite obvious it is the newbie fans ( likely of the younger age) who are rallying for it...while the "old guard" fans ( who usually have contacts who may be knowledgeable of the real situation) who are saying outright that the Winter Garden is the theatre for The Music Man. I have not waded into the tit-for-tats ( yet) as I think all that will be needed is for Scott Rudin to make an official announcement! That will depend on the business or contractual arrangements between the Shubert Organization and the 2 suitors ( BJuice and Harold Hill)

At the moment, BJuice is selling tickets up to April 2020. When someone suggested that To Kill A Mockingbird ( residing at the Shubert Theatre) be asked to move instead - ha - up the hackles came from the naysayers. It was said that they are selling tickets for the hit show Mockingbird ( another Rudin show) up to September - so what will they ask of The Music Man?!! Move in without the time for load-in and tech activities and rehearsals -- so a barebone production ??!! Where is Wolverine when you needed him -LOL!


I think the best solution for everybody around is what someone had heard ( and also confirmed somewhere -- for BJuice to reshape the show for a smaller theatre and use the same template for its national tour -- with or without some financial help from Rudin ( if the issue is the affordability of the move-in).

But like other interested parties - I am even looking at the selling pace of BJuice for the winter months ( also discussed on BWW) -- all this is getting to be a bit absurd!


Jo

[jo]

[jo]

On the other hand, this is the kind of tweet I like to see on social media

Also, another very recent tweet - which is keeping my fingers busy

[jo]

The casting call details, per Playbill --

December 4, 2019


Call Board

Broadway’s Upcoming The Music Man, Starring Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster, to Hold Open Casting Call
By Ryan McPhee
Dec 03, 2019
Buy Tickets to The Music Man

The 2020 revival is searching for young performers to play children and teens of River City.

Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster

Calling all young marchers: here’s your chance to join the big parade. The upcoming Broadway revival of The Music Man, starring Tony winners Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster, will hold an open casting call for dancers who can sing, ages eight to 17, December 8.

Sign-in for the Telsey+Co. call will take place 10 AM–noon at Pearl Studios; those auditioning are asked to bring jazz shoes and knee pads, a short, prepared musical theatre song and sheet music, and a headshot and résumé. Those unable to attend can submit a résumé via email (details below).

As previously announced, the Scott Rudin-produced staging will begin September 9, 2020, at a Shubert venue to be announced, with opening night set for October 15. In addition to Jackman as Harold Hill and Foster as Marian Paroo, the cast will include Tony winners Jayne Houdyshell as Mrs. Shinn, Jefferson Mays as Mayor Shinn, Shuler Hensley as Marcellus Washburn, and Marie Mullen as Mrs. Paroo.

Jerry Zaks will direct the revival, featuring choreography by Warren Carlyle.

Okay - stage mothers & fathers, do your thing


Jo

[jo]

Why is The Music Man, seemingly an unpretentious musical on the surface, viewed as a cultural icon?

There was a fairly recent 2019 revival ( Goodspeed Musicals) ...and a review highlights what makes the musical one of the most iconic in terms of its cultural reference and impact.

www.artsjournal.com/aboutlastnight/2019/05/trouble-in-eden.html

Home

ArtsJournal
About Last Night
Terry Teachout on the arts in New York City


Trouble in Eden
May 17, 2019 by Terry Teachout
In today’s Wall Street Journal I review an important Connecticut revival of The Music Man. Here’s an excerpt.

* * *
Is there a Great American Musical, a show that embodies the historic values of our country and our culture while simultaneously acknowledging their myriad contradictions? Indeed there is—and it’s not the one that you’re expecting, either. Instead of “Oklahoma!” or “West Side Story,” or even “Hamilton,” my pick for the prize is “The Music Man,” Meredith Willson’s 1957 fairy tale about a small town that is turned inside out by the coming of a charismatic traveling salesman who proposes to stem the rising tide of adolescent discontent in River City, Iowa, by putting together a boys’ band.

Unselfconsciously nostalgic to the point of corniness yet at the same time emotionally complex, “The Music Man” is a masterpiece not generally recognized as such, and Connecticut’s Goodspeed Musicals has given it a production that makes the most of its old-fashioned charms. Jenn Thompson’s unpretentiously imaginative staging, in which Edward Watts and Ellie Fishman play to perfection the lead roles that were created on Broadway by Robert Preston and Barbara Cook, vacuums the choking cobwebs of convention off a too-familiar warhorse….

What most revivals of “The Music Man” overlook are the hints of loneliness and despair that make it far more than just an affectionate exercise in small-town charm. For all its Edenic innocence, River City in 1912 is also a community full of censorious busybodies who can and do make life tough for those who refuse to toe the line of convention. As a result, the bookish, Balzac-loving Marian (Ms. Fishman) and Winthrop (Alexander O’Brien), her shy brother, are both constrictingly inhibited and agonizingly unhappy, while Harold Hill (Mr. Watts), the uninhibited con man who introduces them and the rest of River City to a more abundant life, comes within half a hair’s breadth of being tarred, feathered and run out of town on a rail for his troubles….

Ms. Thompson is fully alive to these nuances. Here as in all of her work, she penetrates to the inner truth of “The Music Man,” but does so without resorting to the over-obvious point-making that blights Daniel Fish’s “woke” Broadway revival of “Oklahoma!” Rather than bang you over the head with the show’s deeper meanings, she pays you the compliment of letting you uncover them for yourself. Nothing is exaggerated, not even Winthrop’s blush-making lisp…

Mr. Watts wisely makes a point of not basing his performance on that of Preston, whose delectably fraudulent Harold Hill was preserved for all time in Morton DaCosta’s film version of “The Music Man.” Instead of running off a Xerox copy of Preston, as Craig Bierko did in Susan Stroman’s 2000 Broadway revival, Mr. Watts is engaging and affable, hiding his bad intentions as opposed to letting them ooze out of every pore….
* * *

How will the forthcoming Broadway revival, with Jerry Zaks at the helm and Hugh Jackman & Sutton Foster leading the cast, provide a refreshing insight into the a story rooted in small-town Americana? Will the revival deepen the character portrayals ( more insights into the past that brings them to the present when Harold Hill comes to River City?)? Will the
setting be even more rooted in American culture of a century ago?

Will we get special portrayals from the iconic characters from the musical? Will Harold Hill be even more cunning ( charmingly cunning!) - Hugh will have to summon his best acting skills to match or create a stronger impression than the Robert Preston persona? On an overall scale, Hugh does seem to have stronger overall triple-threat talent than Mr. Preston … and so does Sutton with her renowned dance prowess. But will Marian be more forthright in her portrayal, compared to the eversweet Shirley Jones? Will Shuler show us a stronger characterization than the sidekick antics of various Marcellus(es)? Will the Mayor and his wife be even more high-minded or eccentric, respectively? Will Winthrop be more than just a cute kid? Or will the Mayor's daughter and her imagined beau be more "woke", given the cultural standards of that time? Will the Barbershop Quartet change their style of singing and harmonizing, as the oldest boy band ever?

Interesting character possibilities!

And given the creative team and the people who will interpret the new Music Man -- will we see spectacle that would make this show like a brand-new musical in town?

Will the ambiance of the Winter Garden Theatre, in its classical Adamesque style ("a theatre... an auditorium with only one balcony, and decorating it with a garden motif...a playhouse that was unusually wide --the proscenium opening is still the widest of all Shubert theatres-- which brought the audience closer to the stage") contribute to the air of a period piece but time travels to modern times ( via a more refreshing revival of a turn-of-the-century set work)? In keeping with the expected scale and look of the revival, we hope The Winter Garden does indeed become the home of the new Music Man! On an aside, other theatres that are being pushed down its throat by eager BJuice fans - the Marquis with its modern hotel amenities/look and the Broadway with its modern façade do not seem to suit the the time-set character of The Music Man!

It's only nine months to go, folks! Since its announcement in March ( nine months ago), this doesn't seem too long now

Jo

[mamaleh]

Since Hugh is such a charming man, I think Rudin/Zaks should play to that strength: put that quality on its ear to turn out the chicanery of Mr. Hill.

Rudin's got to make a theater announcement at some point.

Ellen

[jo]

All we need is to see Hugh Jackman and we all fall under his spell, Ellen

Although --

Even a Wolverine raging façade cannot hide the occasional twinkle in his eye and the winning half smile on Hugh Jackman's face - no matter how bad/evil/insincere the character he is portraying.

More evidence --

*Phineas Taylor Barnum
*Wyatt Bose (Deception)
*Denny (A Steady Rain)

Although his character portrayals can also be particularly obnoxious --

*Vincent( Chappie)
*Blackbeard ( PAN)


That is also why I am very excited to see why the critics showered him with praise for Best-career-portrayal-ever in Bad Education.

[jo]

Which live audiences can resist this man

[jo]

I finally waded in on the current discussion at BWW re which show the Winter Garden would/should house when The Music Man opens.

Fosse76 said (Jo's note : quoting a previous post): "Call_me_jorge said: "magictodo123 said: "Now more than ever I'm wondering what this means for the future of the show, and The Music Man. Interesting to see how this will play out."

I think we should wait to see how the show fares post January/February. If it’s still doing the same business, I’d expect The Music Man having to look elsewhere. I think the current likely scenario is that West Side Story is the show to close for The Music Man"

(Jo's Note : To which comment Fosse76 responded as follows -- )


Since the Shuberts actually decide which theater will get which show (the producers at most can make a request, but more often then not don't have a choice), it's very unlikely that Beetlejuice will get a reprieve. It's already been evicted. Unless Beetlejuice suddenly sells tickets as if it were Hamilton, it's gone. The Shuberts will make more money from The Music Man."


And my rejoinder --

Will Hugh Jackman being the lead for THE MUSIC MAN also count? In all his Broadway engagements (The Boy From Oz / A Steady Rain / Back On Broadway / The River), all the theatres where his shows resided were from the Shubert Group. He did enjoy a special friendship with former Chairman, the late Gerald Schoenfeld. In his recent engagement at the Madison Square Garden ( from his music tour "TheMan.TheMusic.TheShow" ), he acknowledged the presence of Philip Smith, Chairman of the Shubert Organization. Mr. Smith must have appreciated his crowd-drawing appeal at the sold-out show at MSG.

But I guess it's best to wait for official announcements from the producers ( Scott Rudin, David Geffen &Barry Diller) as to where The Music Man will make its official home.

[jo]

Hope she works it out



Jo ( Unofficial ticket agent for TMM )

[jo]

The Music Man will not be starting its previews till about 9 months from now ( September 9, 2020) -- but this article based on an end-run interview of Hugh Jackman for The Boy From Oz could very well be a preview of what Hugh has to undergo when performing in a major book musical!

Dec 6, 2019 4:50:55 GMT -5 jo said:

While looking for an interview, I found this one from the NYTimes written late in the run of TBFO, actually only a few days before the closing show of TBFO on Sept 12, 2004.

Many of the things Hugh say here were probably true for his music tour...and will likely be true when he goes back to Broadway for a yearlong run in The Music Man. The music tour probably required the same amount of physical involvement ( and exhaustion)…while thankfully (and hopefully) the role of Harold Hill may not be as strenuous as the Peter Allen one ( some 20 songs and exhausting dance routine) --


www.nytimes.com/2004/09/05/theater/arts/theater-debriefing-eight-days-a-week.html

Theater


THEATER: DEBRIEFING
THEATER: DEBRIEFING; Eight Days a Week

By Jesse Green
Sept. 5, 2004



WITH its pharmacopeia of teas, powders, pills and soothing cinnamon candles, Hugh Jackman's dressing room at the Imperial Theater is little more than a pit stop for his eight-times-a-week endurance marathon. Singing in 20 of the 27 numbers in "The Boy From Oz," he is onstage for all but three or four minutes. Critics reviewing the opening last October were glad of his omnipresence, applauding his Broadway debut as the flamboyant performer and songwriter Peter Allen, while panning almost everything else about the show, especially its schematic and sometimes cringe-inducing book. But Mr. Jackman's charm made the production (which improved with time) a hit anyway; when it closes next Sunday, after 32 previews and 365 regular performances, it will have recouped its initial investment of $8.25 million on gross ticket sales of more than $42 million.

Astonishingly, when Mr. Jackman sat down for a conversation a few weeks before closing, he had not missed even one of those performances, a feat that gave him, he said, a masochistic thrill but had also taken its toll. Two hours before a Friday night curtain, when he should have been eating his dinner, he talked about what the experience had meant, and done, to him.

JESSE GREEN



JESSE GREEN -- How tired are you?
HUGH JACKMAN -- At the end of an individual show I often feel fine. Cumulatively, though, I'm exhausted. I am really, really tired. I've never been this kind of tired, to be honest with you. And I don't think I've ever worked this hard, and probably never will again.


Q. Do you wish you hadn't agreed to do it for so long?
A. No, I don't. But if I had to do it again, I would probably say, "I think I can only do seven a week." Give them 100 percent, and actually have a life outside of it.


Q. The show couldn't have recouped without that eighth performance.
A. I'm actually a proponent of eight a week, just not for this particular show. I mean, Trevor Nunn came to see it, and he says: "Hughie, this is 'Lear.' You can't do this eight times a week." Well, it can be done; obviously I'm doing it. And I don't think I will look back in 10 years and think of the exhaustion. So I don't want to overplay it, but I think it's just a bit too much.



Q. How close have you gotten to missing a show?
A. Once I had a cold and was so incredibly dry I almost couldn't make a sound. It was to the point that I had the stage littered with glasses of water. Sometimes in the middle of a song I would have to drink. Sometimes I'd think, at the interval: "I can't go back out. I'm not going to make noise." Four or five times I've been to the doctor with a slight illness, and say two of those times, I've thought, "Well, I'm going to be taking a day off." But she gives me a shot of this or that, or an antibiotic, and I feel better in a matter of hours.


Q. What other kinds of maintenance have you had to do to get through it?
A. I have massages twice a week, after the matinees, which sounds great but they're like hell. This guy, Greg, sometimes I almost want to deck him, because it feels like he's just taking out all his childhood angst on me on the table. And I'm not from a dance background so my body was kind of like, "Wow, hang on a sec." So I see a woman who does body alignment once a week. She just . . . fixes me. And I do yoga once or twice a week, train in the gym once or twice a week, tai chi once a week. So generally something once a day, except the Monday, nothing. I don't know how much detail you want.



Q. All of it, details.
A. So before I go to bed, I steam for 10 minutes, a little personal inhaler. When I wake up in the morning I steam again. Let's see, I take vitamin B-12 shots a couple of times a week; I just do them here myself. Lots of vitamin C. And probably the greatest source of rejuvenation is that I meditate twice a day. And then, normal warm-ups. I do a singing lesson every day before the show for 15 minutes with our musical director, Patrick Vaccariello, and we go through any problems I'm having.


Q. Problems? Even at this point?
A. Absolutely. You know what's really weird? I actually got stage fright for the first time in my life six months into the run.


Q. Where from?
A. One night, during the song "Quiet, Please, There's a Lady on Stage," I cracked a little bit on a note. I forgot about it, but the next night when I came up to that note, about a line before, I sort of remembered, and then I really cracked on that note. I woke up the next morning and it was the first thought in my head. So I thought, "This is ridiculous," and forgot about it. That night, I was nervous all the way through Act I and then cracked badly. It was this feeling of humiliation onstage, where literally I would turn red and then get angry, and then I'd feel it underneath while playing the whole show. It started to envelop me, to the point where I'd wake up and I'd be nervous coming to the show. I've never had stage fright, I've never really understood it, but all day it felt like a Herculean effort to get out on the stage. I started thinking, "I don't know how to sing." And whatever used to happen naturally I was second-guessing. I wanted to vomit, all from a little note!




Q. Did you ever figure out what it was about?
A. No. But one day about a week later, thank God, this thought came into my head saying: "Even if you don't sing a note, just speak the words. This song has nothing to do with you. It's about Judy Garland." And I sang that night and I was just fine, and I literally felt like a demon was leaving my body. I looked down at Patrick and he was just smiling, and I wanted to cry.


Q. How has the show changed from a year ago?
A. About three weeks into rehearsal I began to feel we really had to break the thing open, that I had to do some kind of ad-lib audience-participation. So I just sketched out a thing, and I did it at rehearsals, and if you can imagine in the rehearsal room, with no audience, it's not really funny. So we dropped it, but then it kind of recurred organically one night, after we opened, when someone came in late, with the usher shining the torch, and sat down right in front of me in the front row. I just sort of stopped short and started having a conversation. Now, when the latecomers don't come, I really regret it because the whole of Act I is very different. Of course, I have to be careful who I pick because some people come late deliberately to do routines; I can tell. I never pick a latecomer who is in the front row.


Q. The ad-lib section at the beginning of Act II, when you often invite someone to come onstage and banter or dance, has become one of the highlights of the show. People come back for it.
A. It started around November, and I was nervous that I would trip myself up, that I wouldn't be funny. But now I've realized that people laugh just because they sense that you're winging it. And, really, they do all the work. I get someone up to dance and people just go mental because they're all thinking, "That could be me."



Q. Has it ever gotten out of hand?
A. One woman took her top off. She was in the front row, and I was just speechless. Another time, someone yelled out, "I want to bite your butt." And I said, "Well, come on, lady, come on down," thinking she wouldn't. But down she came, and I stuck out my bum, and she just chomped in.


Q. Well, that's certainly in the Peter Allen spirit. Did you at some point ask yourself whether you really wanted to take on what must be the most flamboyant role in the world?
A. Do you mean about his being gay? Because that never bothered me.


Q. Not the gayness per se. I mean the hugeness, the abandon, the big campy silliness of the character.
A. Yeah, that was nerve-racking, and yet also what I needed as an actor. At drama school you have that abandon. You try anything. And I was witnessing in myself, and also I watched in other people's careers, that the abandon seems to get less and less. And some people say, "Well, I just know what I do best now, and this is what the market wants, so I'll do X-Man movies." So it scared me but I said yes right away.


Q. Not to make this a "Tootsie" moment, but are you saying you're a better actor for having worn Peter Allen's drag?
A. It's made me trust my instincts more, and want to risk more, too. Now I want to do a one-man show as Hugh Jackman. I never had the guts to admit that before. I want to do some stage work every year. And in the next movie I'm doing, "The Fountain," Darren Aronofsky is asking me to do things I've never done, and I can't wait. After doing "The Boy From Oz," I thought, "I want to have this feeling on film -- this feeling of 'This is going to take everything I've got.' "


Q. If you got that feeling from "Oz," I wonder how much of it was the material, which as you must know was not critically admired, and how much was what you accessed through the material?
A. I don't think I'm so talented that I transcend the material. Particularly in a musical where a lot of time is spent singing. If the music's not good it doesn't really matter who's out there singing it.


Q. But you know there was a lot of criticism about the show itself, in essence saying that you were giving one of the great performances of the season in one of the worst shows of the season.
A. It doesn't make sense to me. If I'm speaking what must be 50 percent of the book, how could you literally trash the book and give me praise? I've been in dogs before, and I never felt that here. And that's why I was shocked by the venom against the show. I was like, "Wow, this just doesn't compute with my experience," which was sort of disorienting to me. I thought I had jet lag or something.




Q. How hard is it to be the one guy getting all the praise while everyone else is getting slammed?
A. Because I was committing a year and a half of my life to the show, I didn't feel like I was separate from it. I wanted the show to get that praise. I was very disappointed. Not just for them, for myself.


Q. But did you agree with any of it?

A. Parts seemed arduous and felt clumsy, but we worked on it, and I think it doesn't feel that way so much now. I really felt this show could affect people, show them a really great time and mean something. I don't mean like Chekhov or Shakespeare, but that we could make a connection. For me and many in the audience, it has proven to do that; almost universally for the critics, not at all. It's sort of like having one of those "Santa Claus isn't real" moments as an adult. But no matter what criticism you have of the show, I think there's a spirit intrinsic in the material that elevates it beyond that. It's not me, it's the show.



Q. I don't know . . . you're leaving and it's closing. Did you want someone to take over for you?
A. Absolutely. It's a great role, and all we needed, the producer said, is someone to do it for 12 weeks, to show that other people could do it, and do it their own way.


Q. Who would you have wanted?
A. Ewan McGregor. He's probably top of my list. And also Robbie Williams would have been brilliant.

Q. So why aren't they in the wings?
A. I think that they were asked and just turned it down.

Q. Ricky Martin: true or false?
A. I think they asked him. They asked Harry Connick Jr.; that would have worked, too.

Q. Who or what wouldn't have worked?
A. Someone who can't connect with the audience.

Q. You mean from the stage. What about the connection at the stage door after the show?
A. Yeah, that could sometimes be a bit much. But John Travolta told me to look every one of them in the eye. Sometimes that's all it takes.

[jo]