TheManTheMusicTheShow : Official Reviews(Potential SPOILERS)

[hughmanity]

Don't know anything about this blog, but the reviewer was blown away 


spinditty.com/concerts/Hugh-Jackman-The-Man-The-Music-The-Show-Review

[jo]

Still too tired to do regular posting --

but I came across this slew of readers comments challenging the intent and the reviewing skill of the NYTimes critic!


www.nytimes.com/2019/06/30/theater/hugh-jackman-madison-square-garden-review.html#commentsContainer


If I were her editor -- reading these comments would make me want to review whether she is worth keeping on the staff of the NYTimes

It's like the review and readers feedback for The Greatest Showman all over again!

If Hugh saw the NYTimes review, hope he also gets to read the readers comments for the show.





Jo

[jo]

The NYTimes critic can learn a lesson or 2 from this multi-art form blogger - on how to review a show!


www.ohsogeeky.com/2019/07/hugh-jackman-man-music-show.html

Sunday, July 7, 2019
Hugh Jackman World Tour Was The Greatest Show


When I saw tickets for Hugh Jackman's world tour go on sale last December, I didn't know anything except that I had to be there. I didn't know how I was going to go to the arena where the show was held, what the arena's layout was, if I bought tickets that had a decent view, or if I'd have money to get a hotel for the night. #mydreamsarebiggerthanmybankaccount I definitely didn't know that six months later, I'd save up enough to attend, but also be as sick as one can possibly get without going to the hospital the day of. As sure as I was the day I bought the tickets, I knew I had to be there.

With a fever, drippy nose, lungs crapping out on me, and not being able to move without sweating through my clothes, I WAS LIVING at this concert. Both literally and figuratively. I'm still not 100% well as I'm writing this, but at least I'm not Patient Zero right now.

From Broadway and movies to his own triumphs and personal interests, Jackman's show is a quick autobiographical concert, a showstopping combination of who he is as an actor on stage and in film as well as a kid who had a big dream to entertain. Just as the world tour is called, it's all about The Man, The Music, The Show. And whatta man whatta man whatta man he is, I mean music, I mean show, it was.


The night kicked off with hits from The Greatest Showman before slowing down to a personal level about his life both on and off-the screen. His anecdotes and tales included performing as Gaston in Beauty and the Beast in the beginning of his career, how he met his wife, living his classic Hollywood musical dreams on stage for the tour, and his childhood in Australia. Sprinkled in-between influential songs inspired by his background, Jackman and his back-up performers create original numbers for The Greatest Showman, Les Miserables, and his award-winning performance as Peter Allen in The Boy From Oz.

A few of many highlights included bringing out the The Gay Men's Chorus of Tampa Bay (he invites local troupes to perform in most cities), shining a light on indigenous culture in Australia, and following his dreams even though he didn't know they'd come true. From performing original choreography from the musicals he's starred in and just sharing about his life, it wasn't only a great balance of his song and dance numbers, but a hopeful escape for fans and families. There wasn't just the anticipation of fans waiting to see him perform, but also that this tour was something Jackman has been dreaming of forever. It's almost impossible to think of an actor today who could carry a show like this the way Hugh does.

It doesn't get any bigger than being in the same building as he is and feeling so close to him without the threat of being thrown out by security. It's going to be pretty weird and awesome to watch his movies now, and know that I saw him in person. As much as I love conventions, it was nice to see someone that I admire in a personal setting instead of the rushed atmosphere of autograph and photo-op lines.


The only downside that I have about the concert was the arena's policy on videos (and the family behind us wouldn't stop talking in the first half of the show). Despite everyone using their smartphone and posting the concert on Instagram and YouTube, one of the security guards scolded me for using a tiny aim-and-shoot camera. If it had a huge lens or screamed 'threat level: pirating', I would've understood why I couldn't film. But my camera is practically unnoticeable, so it was a little disappointing to watch everyone else on their smartphones recording. I included what I could film above - the opening and the ending.

From booking the hotel to buying tickets, I can't believe I "adulted" enough so me and my family could attend the concert. (Especially being as sick as I was. I thought I was going to pass out at least three times, but I would not be stopped) Our seats turned out great. We were parallel to the stage as you can see. Most people just wanted to sit and watch the show instead of dance, so I'm grateful I didn't have to stand all night long. The arena was relatively small, so I don't think we would've had a problem wherever we sat. The concert lasts about two hours and is exceptionally well-paced from beginning to end. There's a generous intermission after the first hour, so the entire concert never feels like it's dragging or not entertaining. Jackman's a triple threat that just oozes charisma and charm, so it'd be impossible to imagine not being good or living up to the hype. In the words of The Greatest Showman: OH, IT WAS THE GREATEST SHOW.

P.S. He didn't look nearly as white-out in person as he does in the photos - the lights from the stage are bouncing off my lens.



Welcome to OhSoGeeky.com! My name is Katy Rochelle, a freelance writer geeking out loud about film, books, and fandom. You'll find reviews, editorials, and features for all things pop culture. Learn more by starting here!

Do check out the photos from the link.


Jo

[jo]

www.heraldextra.com/entertainment/music/reviews/hugh-jackman-keala-settle-dazzle-salt-lake-city-with-showmanship/article_36fe7d9d-d359-5fed-a592-99fafac1d146.html

editor's pick

Hugh Jackman, Keala Settle dazzle Salt Lake City with showmanship

By Sarah Harris Daily Herald 1 hr ago 0


Hugh Jackman performs onstage during "Hugh Jackman: The Man. The Music. The Show." at Madison Square Garden on June 29, 2019, in New York City.
Courtesy of Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Hugh Jackman

Keala Settle makes a special guest appearance with Hugh Jackman onstage during "Hugh Jackman: The Man. The Music. The Show." at Madison Square Garden on June 29, 2019, in New York City.
Courtesy of Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Hugh Jackman




Australian actor Hugh Jackman might have portrayed P.T. Barnum as “The Greatest Showman,” but I’d venture to say the performer’s “The Man. The Music. The Show.” world tour puts him in the running for the title as well.

The packed house Thursday at Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City cheered especially loud for Jackman as he took fans on a musical journey through his life during the first of two nights on his Utah tour stop.

Jackman demonstrated his knack for numbers by summing up the concert as 193 total crew, 10 singers and dancers, 20 musicians, 50 choir members, two acts, and one 20-minute intermission.

“I know things like the fact that Salt Lake City is the biggest producer of rubber chickens in America. Did you know that? Twenty thousand rubber chickens per year are made here,” Jackman told the crowd. “I can also tell you that this city used to be called Great Salt Lake City, but that was changed. The ‘Great’ was dropped in 1868. And do you know why it was dropped? Because everybody knew it was great.”

Jackman opened the concert with an exhilarating rendition of “The Greatest Show” from “The Greatest Showman” and performed a few other hits from the movie throughout the night including “Come Alive” and “From Now On” with the help of the energetic crew of back-up singers and dancers.



The group incorporated American Sign Language into their performance of “A Million Dreams” and a few other times during the show.

The actor said he owes “a massive thank you to Salt Lake City” for its support of “The Greatest Showman.” He said the area, which normally ranks somewhere in the middle of other locations throughout the nation at the box office due to population, came in third after New York and California for the 2017 film.

Keala Settle of “The Greatest Showman” made a special guest appearance at the concert, performing a powerful live version of “This Is Me.”

“Keala is a great friend of mine,” Jackman said as he introduced Settle. “She’s an inspiration to me and to millions of people around the world. For me, she’s the definition of courage. She walks the talk of being true to herself every single day of her life.”

Jackman rolled up his sleeves to perform “Gaston” from “Beauty and the Beast,” flexing his biceps on cue, and play the piano as he sang “You Will Be Found” from “Dear Evan Hansen.” The Las Vegas Academy of the Arts Choir joined Jackman and his crew onstage for this number and a few others during the concert.



The showman recounted memories from his life between songs, including a time as a young boy when he sat on his driveway waiting for a ride to his first cricket game that never came.

“I wish more than anything I could go back to that 8-year-old version of myself sitting at the end of the driveway, put my arm around me and just assure me that everything’s going to be OK,” Jackman said. “Yes, this feels terrible and yes, there’s a lot going on right now that you don’t understand, but this will not define you. In fact, what will define you is just how many people will be there to pick you up when you fall.”

The group performed an emotional “Les Misérables” medley including “Valjean’s Soliloquy,” “I Dreamed a Dream” and “One Day More” to end the first act before leaving the stage for the intermission.



Jackman returned for the second act both in costume and character as Peter Allen and performed several of Allen’s hits as a tribute to Jackman’s Tony-winning role in “The Boy from Oz.” The actor descended from the stage to interact with the crowd during this segment and brought a couple back onstage with him for an impromptu dance party to a brief cover of Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky.”

He sang several classic songs throughout the show, from a performance dedicated to his wife of “All the Way,” their wedding first waltz song, to a movie musical medley including “Singing in the Rain” and “I Got Rhythm.”

“Dreams are really powerful, aren’t they? Not a person here tonight who doesn’t have a dream, and what goes with dreams are dragons, right? The dragons that guard the treasure,” Jackman said. “Growing up in Australia, my dream was to be in a movie musical one day, right? My dragon was, ‘How on earth could a kid from Turramurra ever possibly be in a movie musical?’ But I used to just love watching them.”

Jackman appealed to Wolverine fans by wielding two drumsticks as claws after an upbeat tap dance number incorporating drums and showing a clip of the character emerging from water.

“That is how I get out of the bath every morning, folks,” Jackman said.



Four musicians from an organization called Nomad Two Worlds joined Jackman onstage for an Aboriginal Australian number including didgeridoos and a cover of Israel Kamakawiwo’ole’s “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.”

The aboriginal lyrics were later translated as, “The land is crying for its people, and the people are crying for the land. Do not be silent. Speak up for her,” and, “I have a dream. My dream has come true.”

“It seems to us we live in an increasingly divided world, and what we wanted to bring to Salt Lake City tonight is that idea of reconciliation through music, through culture,” Jackman said.

Jackman put on a thrilling spectacle that brought many audience members to their feet in applause several times throughout the night.

“I have lived a life that I never, ever dreamt possible,” Jackman said.




SETLIST
Hugh Jackman
Vivint Smart Home Arena
July 11, 2019
Act One
The Greatest Show (from “The Greatest Showman”)
Come Alive (from “The Greatest Showman”)
Gaston (from “Beauty and the Beast”)
All the Way (Frank Sinatra cover)
I’ve Been Everywhere (Lucky Starr cover)
You Will Be Found (from “Dear Evan Hansen”)
Soliloquy (from “Carousel”)
This Is Me (Keala Settle)
Les Misérables medley
Act Two
Not the Boy Next Door (Peter Allen cover)
Get Lucky (Daft Punk cover)
Peter Allen medley
Tenterfield Saddler (Peter Allen cover)
A Million Dreams (from “The Greatest Showman”)
Movie musical medley
Tap dance number
Nomad Two Worlds
Somewhere Over the Rainbow (Israel Kamakawiwo’ole cover)
Mack the Knife (Bobby Darin cover)
From Now On (from “The Greatest Showman”)
Once Before I Go (Peter Allen cover)

[jo]

Another review from Salt Lake City --

Concert review: Is Hugh Jackman the 'Greatest Showman'?
By
Lottie Peterson Johnson
Published: July 12, 2019 11:59 am

Hugh Jackman performs onstage during his "The Man. The Music. The Show." concert at Madison Square Garden on June 29, 2019 in New York City. Jackman's tour is in Salt Lake City at the Vivint Arena on Thursday, July 11 and Friday, July 12.



SALT LAKE CITY — It’s his first world tour, and Hugh Jackman has so much to say.
Ready, set, go: He’s obsessed with numbers. He did some research on Utah and shared with his large Vivint Arena crowd Thursday night how Salt Lake City is the leading manufacturer of rubber chickens in the United States and that in 1868, the word “great” was dropped from the official city name “because everyone already knew it was great.”

He grew up in Australia playing cricket and rugby. When he was 8, someone forgot to pick him up and take him to his first cricket game. There were only three channels on his family’s TV and he had an intense crush on Olivia Newton-John. A map on his bedroom wall inspired him to imagine all the places in the world he could travel. As early as the fifth grade, he wanted to learn how to dance but his brother made fun of him so he didn’t learn until years later. He dreamed of being in a musical. His father was an accountant. He’s been married to his wife, Deborra-Lee Furness, for 23 years. He’s a person who likes to beat the traffic.

The list goes on and on. During a 2 1/2-hour production, Jackman seemed determined to show and tell his audience — who for 19 years has best known him as “X-Men’s” Wolverine — who he really is. For being an arena production, Jackman’s “The Man. The Music. The Show.” is surprisingly intimate.


Hugh Jackman performs onstage during his "The Man. The Music. The Show." concert at Madison Square Garden on June 29, 2019, in New York City. Jackman's tour is in Salt Lake City at Vivint Arena on Thursday, July 11 and Friday, July 12.
But make no mistake: Jackman’s show is also a full-on spectacle. He can change outfits in record time, and the actor-singer seems to have an endless supply of energy and sparkly clothes on hand. He also seems to be on a mission to prove to the world that he is, in fact, the Greatest Showman.

So is he? If the question was, “Is Jackman the Greatest Singer?” the answer would be a resounding no. Throughout his show, Jackman connects stories from his life with songs from Broadway musicals. Many times, the stories are more entertaining than the songs. His voice isn’t at all bad, but with all of his backup singers, help from Las Vegas Academy of the Arts students and powerhouse vocalist Keala Settle — we’ll get to her later — Jackman may very well be the weakest singer on stage.

But honestly, none of that really matters because it’s Hugh Jackman and we’re talking about showmanship here. Jackman clearly knows how to put on a show. To begin with, he doesn’t even have to be on stage to get a crowd going. After movie clips from the actor’s extensive career unfolded on big screens on both sides of the stage, the Vivint Arena audience erupted.

And then he emerged, no longer a character on a screen. Donning a black bow tie, silver jacket and shiny black shoes, Jackman was very, very real. He was charming, grinning ear-to-ear and stood with his arms wide open, as if he was giving everyone in the arena a hug. Surrounded by eight dancers, backup singers and excellent musicians, he launched into “The Greatest Show” — the opening track from “The Greatest Showman” and a foreshadowing of the spectacle to come.

Jackman’s show plays out like a Broadway revue, which at first makes the arena setting seem like an odd pairing. But keep this in mind: Jackman has 23 million followers on Facebook. The extravagant production at Vivint Arena marked a return to Jackman’s theatrical roots: In the mid-1990s, a few years before busting out his retractable claws, Jackman was an avid performer in Melbourne’s theater scene, where he played a number of roles including the villainous Gaston from “Beauty and the Beast.”



Keala Settle made a special guest appearance with Hugh Jackman at Madison Square Garden on June 29, 2019, in New York City. She also appeared at Salt Lake's Vivint Arena on Thursday, July 11.

“I sincerely hope you’re not only a Wolverine fan,” Jackman told the crowd with a laugh. “It could be a long night.”
But “X-Men” fans, don’t despair: Jackman knows his crowd and knows he couldn’t get away with doing a show without at least a couple of nods to his Wolverine character.

Jackman’s cinematic versatility — from “X-Men” to “Les Miserables” to “The Greatest Showman” — transfers to the stage. His electic production includes everything from big band to tap to jazz to Van Halen to indigenous Australian music. But above all, Jackman recognizes the talent of those who are on tour with him, performers like Settle who help to make this entertaining spectacle so successful night after night.

Settle, a Southern Utah University graduate who played bearded lady Lettie Lutz in "The Greatest Showman," was essentially performing for a home crowd Thursday night. Her performance of "This Is Me" was powerful and had people even in the highest rows of the arena on their feet, cheering and shining their phone lights. It was one of the show's more moving moments, and Jackman seemed completely at ease to let Settle and other special guests have their shining moment.
Settle isn't the only Utah connection to "The Greatest Showman." Jackman thanked his Utah audience for supporting the 2017 musical film, saying that while Salt Lake City typically ranks somewhere in the middle of other U.S. locations at the box office due to population, when it came to "The Greatest Showman," Utah was one of the highest in the country.
Comment on this story

Which is what made the absence of former Utah resident Loren Allred — the voice behind the power ballad "Never Enough" — all the more disappointing. Jackman gave the audience many hits from the film, but not having that song with its Utah ties in the production felt like a missed opportunity. But when all was said and done, it really didn't matter because Jackman is a born entertainer and put his heart and soul into the production.

So is Jackman the Greatest Showman? Concert attendees last night, and likely tonight, may very well think so.

[jo]

Australian actor Hugh Jackman might have portrayed P.T. Barnum as “The Greatest Showman,” but I’d venture to say the performer’s “The Man. The Music. The Show.” world tour puts him in the running for the title as well.

The packed house Thursday at Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City cheered especially loud for Jackman as he took fans on a musical journey through his life during the first of two nights on his Utah tour stop.

Jackman demonstrated his knack for numbers by summing up the concert as 193 total crew, 10 singers and dancers, 20 musicians, 50 choir members, two acts, and one 20-minute intermission.

“I know things like the fact that Salt Lake City is the biggest producer of rubber chickens in America. Did you know that? Twenty thousand rubber chickens per year are made here,” Jackman told the crowd. “I can also tell you that this city used to be called Great Salt Lake City, but that was changed. The ‘Great’ was dropped in 1868. And do you know why it was dropped? Because everybody knew it was great.”

Jackman opened the concert with an exhilarating rendition of “The Greatest Show” from “The Greatest Showman” and performed a few other hits from the movie throughout the night including “Come Alive” and “From Now On” with the help of the energetic crew of back-up singers and dancers.

The group incorporated American Sign Language into their performance of “A Million Dreams” and a few other times during the show.

The actor said he owes “a massive thank you to Salt Lake City” for its support of “The Greatest Showman.” He said the area, which normally ranks somewhere in the middle of other locations throughout the nation at the box office due to population, came in third after New York and California for the 2017 film.



Keala Settle of “The Greatest Showman” made a special guest appearance at the concert, performing a powerful live version of “This Is Me.”

“Keala is a great friend of mine,” Jackman said as he introduced Settle. “She’s an inspiration to me and to millions of people around the world. For me, she’s the definition of courage. She walks the talk of being true to herself every single day of her life.”



Jackman rolled up his sleeves to perform “Gaston” from “Beauty and the Beast,” flexing his biceps on cue, and play the piano as he sang “You Will Be Found” from “Dear Evan Hansen.” The Las Vegas Academy of the Arts Choir joined Jackman and his crew onstage for this number and a few others during the concert.

The showman recounted memories from his life between songs, including a time as a young boy when he sat on his driveway waiting for a ride to his first cricket game that never came.

“I wish more than anything I could go back to that 8-year-old version of myself sitting at the end of the driveway, put my arm around me and just assure me that everything’s going to be OK,” Jackman said. “Yes, this feels terrible and yes, there’s a lot going on right now that you don’t understand, but this will not define you. In fact, what will define you is just how many people will be there to pick you up when you fall.”



The group performed an emotional “Les Misérables” medley including “Valjean’s Soliloquy,” “I Dreamed a Dream” and “One Day More” to end the first act before leaving the stage for the intermission.

Jackman returned for the second act both in costume and character as Peter Allen and performed several of Allen’s hits as a tribute to Jackman’s Tony-winning role in “The Boy from Oz.” The actor descended from the stage to interact with the crowd during this segment and brought a couple back onstage with him for an impromptu dance party to a brief cover of Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky.”


He sang several classic songs throughout the show, from a performance dedicated to his wife of “All the Way,” their wedding first waltz song, to a movie musical medley including “Singing in the Rain” and “I Got Rhythm.”

“Dreams are really powerful, aren’t they? Not a person here tonight who doesn’t have a dream, and what goes with dreams are dragons, right? The dragons that guard the treasure,” Jackman said. “Growing up in Australia, my dream was to be in a movie musical one day, right? My dragon was, ‘How on earth could a kid from Turramurra ever possibly be in a movie musical?’ But I used to just love watching them.”


Jackman appealed to Wolverine fans by wielding two drumsticks as claws after an upbeat tap dance number incorporating drums and showing a clip of the character emerging from water
.
“That is how I get out of the bath every morning, folks,” Jackman said.

Four musicians from an organization called Nomad Two Worlds joined Jackman onstage for an Aboriginal Australian number including didgeridoos and a cover of Israel Kamakawiwo’ole’s “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.”

The aboriginal lyrics were later translated as, “The land is crying for its people, and the people are crying for the land. Do not be silent. Speak up for her,” and, “I have a dream. My dream has come true.”



“It seems to us we live in an increasingly divided world, and what we wanted to bring to Salt Lake City tonight is that idea of reconciliation through music, through culture,” Jackman said.

Jackman put on a thrilling spectacle that brought many audience members to their feet in applause several times throughout the night.

“I have lived a life that I never, ever dreamt possible,” Jackman said.

SETLIST
Hugh Jackman
Vivint Smart Home Arena
July 11, 2019
Act One
The Greatest Show (from “The Greatest Showman”)
Come Alive (from “The Greatest Showman”)
Gaston (from “Beauty and the Beast”)
All the Way (Frank Sinatra cover)
I’ve Been Everywhere (Lucky Starr cover)
You Will Be Found (from “Dear Evan Hansen”)
Soliloquy (from “Carousel”)
This Is Me (Keala Settle)
Les Misérables medley
Act Two
Not the Boy Next Door (Peter Allen cover)
Get Lucky (Daft Punk cover)
Peter Allen medley
Tenterfield Saddler (Peter Allen cover)
A Million Dreams (from “The Greatest Showman”)
Movie musical medley
Tap dance number
Nomad Two Worlds
Somewhere Over the Rainbow (Israel Kamakawiwo’ole cover)
Mack the Knife (Bobby Darin cover)
From Now On (from “The Greatest Showman”)
Once Before I Go (Peter Allen cover)

Editor's Pick

Interesting there was no mention of Loren Allred here, a Salt Lake City native who sang the song "Never Enough" on the soundtrack, arguably the biggest hit of the set or her absence from the tour.

[jo]

Editor's Pick

Interesting there was no mention of Loren Allred here, a Salt Lake City native who sang the song "Never Enough" on the soundtrack, arguably the biggest hit of the set or her absence from the tour.

Based on RIAA certifications for sales in the USA, NEVER ENOUGH did not get any certification at all. Not even for a GOLD certification (500,000). The highest single certification was for THIS IS ME ( which was certified for 2x Platinum - at least 2 million). This was followed by The Greatest Show which obtained a Platinum status ( at least a million).

The highest certification was gained by the entire album, which obtained a 3x Platinum status ( or at least 3 million).

www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/?tab_active=default-award&se=greatest+showman#search_section

Loren is acknowledged by Hugh Jackman in the TOUR BOOK, presumably because she did some work in relation to the tour?



I think there were some expectations that Hugh's show is only about THE GREATEST SHOWMAN. It was never billed as such!

The show ( THE MAN.THE MUSIC.THE SHOW) is a personal retrospective of Hugh Jackman. It was supposed to feature his personal narrative, partly interpreted with the music ( song and dance) which is derived from his own musical career and the music from his own memory banks which had meaning to his life.


Jo

[jo]

A review blog on the show at MSG --


www.digitaljournal.com/entertainment/music/review-hugh-jackman-lives-out-childhood-dream-at-madison-square-garden/article/553106

Review: Hugh Jackman lives out childhood dream at Madison Square Garden Special
Listen | Print
By Markos Papadatos Jun 30, 2019 in Music


New York - On June 28, multifaceted entertainer Hugh Jackman headlined Madison Square Garden in New York City as part of "The Man. The Music. The Show." World Tour.


An Australian heartthrob, Jackson kicked off his set with "The Greatest Show," where he instantly lured the crowd in his set, and it was followed by "Come Alive" and "Gaston" from Beauty and The Beast, who ironically enough, Jackman played in the Melbourne stage production of the iconic Disney film.

He informed his fans that he hopes that they are not only "Wolverine fans," thus implying his popular X-Men character. "It will be a long night," he told them.

Veteran songwriters joined Jackman on "This Is Me," which was well-received by all. He also nailed "You Will Be Found" from Dear Evan Hansen and made it his own. The inclusion of the New York City Gay Men's Chorus made it that more powerful, especially since it coincided with World Pride weekend. The 50-year-old entertainer shared that he saw Dear Evan Hansen three times on Broadway.

Jackman noted that he is at Madison Square Garden living out his dream as a nine-year-old, which earned him a tremendous response from the audience.

Other noteworthy numbers were his medley of songs from Les Miserables, where he showcased his incredible range on such tunes as "Valjean's Soliloquy," the perennial standard "I Dreamed a Dream" and "One Day More."

The second half of the show was just as remarkable as the first act. It began with a marvelous rendition of "Not the Boy Next Door" and he interacted with crowd on a mash-up of such songs as "Arthur's Theme," as well as a controlled version of Melissa Manchester's "Don't Cry Out Loud" and he paid a moving tribute to Olivia Newton-John with "I Honestly Love You," which was great to hear sung from a male perspective. "Quiet Please, There's a Lady on Stage" was a homage to the late Judy Garland.

His voice was smooth as silk on such nostalgic songs as "Luck Be a Lady," "Singin' in the Rain" and "Steppin' Out With My Baby." Jackman's interpretation of "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" was sheer bliss.

The Verdict

Overall, Hugh Jackman proved to be the "Greatest Showman" at the World's Most Famous Arena, Madison Square Garden. He performed for well over 2.5 hours and he had the Big Apple audience with him every step of the way. Most importantly, Jackson emerged as a true song stylist. His live set garnered an A rating.

[jo]

A review of the show at the Hollywood Bowl --


www.broadwayworld.com/los-angeles/article/BWW-Review-HUGH-JACKMAN-THE-MAN-Simply-Sensational-At-The-Bowl-20190720

BWW Review: HUGH JACKMAN. THE MAN. Simply Sen.sa.tion.al At The Bowl!
by Gil Kaan Jul. 20, 2019


Hugh Jackman: THE MAN. THE MUSIC. THE SHOW./directed & choreographed by Warren Carlyle/musical direction by Patrick Vaccariello/additional choreography by Ashley Wallen/Hollywood Bowl/reviewed on July 19, 2019

The extremely charismatic Hugh Jackman wowed the sold-out Hollywood Bowl crowd of 17,500 adoring and appreciative fans on the first of his two-night tour stop in Los Angeles! Utilizing his spectacular combo of sturdy vocals, fancy footwork and multi-watt charm, Jackman owned the Bowl stage, giving his all to connect and entertain in THE SHOW. More of a full-blown Broadway production than a one-man concert - with eye-popping, complementary video projections (by 4U2C and Woodroffe Bassett Design & Treament Ltd.), a troupe of eight dancers and two back-up singers, and the incredible Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, led by musical director Patrick Vaccariello. Jackman's between-song patter featured both smooth ad-libs and heartfelt, personal stories. Jackman certainly knows how to work his audience into a frenzy, hitting all emotions. Jackman personably interacted with the lucky fans in the front rows, performed a very funny, bicep-flexing "Gaston" from BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, then switched gears completely to a loving ballad of "All The Way," the song he and Deborra-Lee Furness had their first wedding waltz to.

Jackman impressed with his uber-speed rendition of "I've Been Everywhere" (a loooong list of cities he's been, sung in a lightning, no-taking-a-breath pace). THE MUSIC. included songs from shows Jackman's made his indelible mark in - The Greatest Showman, Les Misérables, CAROUSEL, and, of course, the show that Jackman won the Tony for Best Actor in a Musical for - THE BOY FROM OZ. Jackman imbues his strong acting chops into every number he takes on; especially effective, his alternately playful and serious take on Billy Bigelow's "Soliloquy" from CAROUSEL.

Keala Settle, Jackman's special guest for the Los Angeles engagement, demonstrated the very reason she won the star-making role of Lettie Lutz, the Bearded Lady in The Greatest Showman - singing "This Is Me."

Also featured in the Los Angeles shows, the collective, harmonic voices of the Gay Men's Chorus of Los Angeles richly backed Jackman's vocals on "You Will Be Found" from DEAR EVAN HANSEN, returning for the battle cry of "One Day More" from Les Misérables.

The powerful first act Les Misérables-medley finale also included the gorgeous tones of Jenna Lee James in "I Dreamed A Dream." James soloed again in the stunning presentation of "A Million Dreams" from The Greatest Showman, featuring a most beautiful combination of modern dance and ASL signing. Bravo to the dancers for this - and all their wonderfully choreographed (by Warren Carlyle and Ashley Wallen), high-energy numbers - Mishay Petronelli, Jack Chambers, Alison Ingelstrom, Bronte Lavine, Zachary Downer, Redmand Rance, Kamille Upshaw and Zelig Williams. Another amazing attribute of Hugh Jackman - he dances full out with his dancers. The steps they do, he does - and no lip-syncing either. And, boy, can Jackman tap! Especially awe-inspiring - his and his dancers' sharp and nimble steppings in his medley of "Luck Be a Lady," "Singin' in the Rain," "I Got Rhythm," "Steppin' Out With My Baby" and "Sing Sing Sing."



Jackman opened the second act as Peter Allen, in a small taste of his Tony Award-winning role. Jackman as Allen playfully interacted with the audience, then covered "Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do)," "Don't Cry Out Loud," "I Honestly Love You," and "Quiet Please, There's a Lady on Stage," before going all-out Vegas/Broadway production in "I Go to Rio." One of the many mic drops in THIS SHOW.

Jackman paid homage to his native Australia's Indigenous Australians in "Nomad Two World," with vocalists Olive Knight and Clifton Bieundurry, and didgeridoo players Paul Rider Boon and Nate Mundraby.

Whether decked out in Tom Ford finery or a well-fitted black tee, Jackman's prowess as a total showman shines through. THE MAN sings, acts, dances. THE MAN's funny. He's genuine. He remembers all his fellow castmembers' names. He's always entertaining! THE MAN's a hot ticket to get, but more than worth it if you get a chance in one of the cities left on his international tour.

For any available tickets for Saturday July 20th performance, log onto www.hollywoodbowl.com
For future cities and tour schedule through October 20, 2019; log onto www.hughjackmantheshow.com

[jo]

From the Detroit show --

www.theoaklandpress.com/entertainment/hugh-jackman-brings-his-greatest-showman-chops-to-little-caesars/article_745e9bac-973f-11e9-8196-37e7f3707c7a.html

Hugh Jackman brings his Greatest Showman chops to Little Caesars Arena

By Gary Graff [e-mail]; @graffonmusic on Twitter Jun 25, 2019 Comments



Hugh Jackman brought his "The Man. The Music. The Show" tour to Detroit's Little Caesars Arena on Monday, June 24 (Photo courtesy of AEG Live)


DETROIT -- A keenly aware Hugh Jackman thanked fans at Little Caesars Arena on Monday night, June 24, for coming to see him rather than going to the annual fireworks display nearby.

Then he provided a couple hours of his own kind of fireworks for them.

Jackman's "The Man. The Music. The Show." is an arena-sized song, dance and video spectacular, extravagantly staged and delivered with an engaging, sincere exuberance that transcends its script. It's the largest live stage show Jackman has attempted so far, but his ability to pull it off came as no surprise; The Australian-born actor and singer has won a Tony Award, after all, for portraying the late Peter Allen in "The Boy From Oz." It's not like he doesn't know how to tread the boards and can make a case as one of the great, if not the greatest, showman.



Monday's show was a personal one for the engaging, 50-year-old Jackman, too. Recalling the four months he spent in the metro area filming 2011's "Real Steel," he name-checked his temporary neighbors in Franklin, recalling kindnesses such as cookies on the doorstep when he and his family arrived. "I never had a shooting experience like this," he told the crowd, saluting Detroit as "a town of loyalty." He also recognized people sitting near the stage by name, high-fiving and fist-bumping as he navigated a ramp that took him to a small second stage at the center of the arena floor.

Jackman made the rest of the two-and-a-half-hour show (including 20-minute intermission) feel just as intimate, however. It was, in effect Hugh 101 as the engaging Jackman and company rolled through 20 numbers -- from show tunes and Great American Songbook standards to Allen favorites and, of course, hits from his hit movie musical "The Greatest Showman" -- offering warm, insightful stories delivered with convicing warmth. Jackman spoke about courting his wife, Deborra, and how she helped him overcome some initial issues playing Wolverine in the X-Men franchise. (Yes, he also struck a Wolverine pose at one point, quipping, 'Let's see Ryan Reynolds do that!"). He also recounted auditioning for the role of Gaston in the stage adaptation of "Beauty and the Beast" and building homes in Australia's Outback, bringing on a quartet of Aboriginal musicians (two on Didgeridoo) for the two-part "Nomad Two Worlds" medley that segued into "Over the Rainbow" and made a case for "reconciliation through culture."


He began "Dear Evan Hansen's" "You Will Be Found" with a story of youthful insecurities, but the real gem came in front of "Soliloquy" from the musical "Carousel," when he spoke about his father's journey to see him perform at Carnegie Hall in New York, insisting that he walk Jackman to the theater and wearing unrequired black-tie because "my son is singing at Carnegie Hall."

Blending solo performances with high-concept production numbers featuring a crew of 10 dancers, Jackman kept the dazzle high throughout the night -- including up close and personal moments with fans, particularly youths attending dressed in "The Greatest Showman" ringmaster outfits. "The Greatest Show," "Come Alive" and "This is Me" (the latter delivered by one of his backing vocalists) were roof-raisers, of course. A trilogy from the "Les Miserables" movie, accompanied by footage and also featuring the backup singers as well as the Detroit Women's Choir, built to a dramatic "One Day More." An extended Peter Allen medley was kitschy fun -- with Jackman, in character, bringing a front-row fan named Dave onstage for a bit of bro love -- and a medley of movie songs such as "Luck Be a Lady," "Singin' in the Rain," "I Got Rhythm" and more provided a bit of additional context to the show.

His voice capable and confident more than colorful, Jackman also displayed Broadway-caliber dance skills throughout, especially during a tap dance and drum line segment -- proceeded by a redemptive story about an older brother who shamed Jackman away from dancing as a child -- that found him hoofing from "42nd Street" into AC/DC's "Thunderstruck," Earth Wind & Fire's "September," Bachman-Turner Overdrive's "Takin' Care of Business" and Van Halen's "Jump."

Jackman finished quietly, with the Celtic-flavored "From Now On" from "The Greatest Showman" and Peter Allen's "Once Before I Go." He covered plenty of ground -- and even got the crowd out in time to see those fireworks. But it would have been a tall order to surpass anything they'd seen Jackman do on stage.

[jo]

From St Paul ( of the Twin Cities) --

www.twincities.com/2019/06/22/hugh-jackman-earns-the-greatest-showman-title-in-campy-engaging-show-at-the-x/

Hugh Jackman earns the ‘Greatest Showman’ title in campy, engaging show at the X


By Ross Raihala | [e-mail] | Pioneer Press
PUBLISHED: June 22, 2019 at 10:53 pm | UPDATED: June 22, 2019 at 10:59 pm

Versatility has long been a defining characteristic of Hugh Jackman’s career.


This is a guy who can play the hyper-masculine comic book character Wolverine in an “X-Men” film and an entirely different sort of hero in “Les Miserables” and pull off both roles with ease. Andy Samberg even lampooned Jackman’s range in a pair of memorable 2011 “Saturday Night Live” sketches dubbed “The Best of Both Worlds with Hugh Jackman.”
But at first, last fall’s announcement that Jackman was embarking on a 90-date world tour of arenas felt like a bit of a stretch. Yeah, he’s clearly talented, but is he a big enough draw to sell out such huge venues? Well, Saturday night, on the fourth stop of his tour’s North American leg, Jackman filled St. Paul’s Xcel Energy Center with an impressively diverse crowd of about 14,000 fans ready to whoop it up with a movie star in a hockey arena.

Backed by an orchestra, an army of dancers and St. Paul’s One Voice Mixed Chorus, Jackman delivered the sort of old-fashioned, high-glamour evening of Hollywood spectacle that was once common on stage and screen, but is rarely produced at this level today. Clad in custom Tom Ford outfits, Jackman fully embraced the inherent campiness of it all, whether he was tap dancing to AC/DC, playfully interacting with members of the crowd or sharing funny, often self-deprecating, anecdotes about his life.


Split into two sets, the show featured songs from Jackman’s musical productions as well as Broadway standards he used to tie in to personal stories, all performed with an attempt to recreate the source material visually. That meant, for example, full P. T. Barnum-style pomp for the selections from “The Greatest Showman,” including “The Greatest Show” (which opened the concert), “Come Alive,” “A Million Dreams” and “From Now On.” And the crowd — some clad in full Barnum & Bailey drag — ate those numbers up. (The “Showman” soundtrack stands as 2018’s best-selling album worldwide.)
Jackman also tacked classics from “Carousel” (“Soliloquy”), “Guys and Dolls” (“Luck Be a Lady”), “Beauty and the Beast” (“Gaston”) and even “Dear Evan Hansen” (“You Will Be Found”). His trio of “Les Mis” selections — “Valjean’s Soliloquy,” “I Dreamed a Dream,” “One Day More” — offered a particularly powerful highlight in an evening full of them.
The second set opened with a handful of songs from the Peter Allen jukebox musical “The Boy from Oz.” While the show isn’t well known beyond Broadway fanatics, Allen’s songs sure are. Jackman tackled his biggest hits in a medley: “Arthur’s Theme (Best That You Can Do),” “Don’t Cry Out Loud,” “Quiet Please, There’s a Lady on Stage” and “I Go to Rio.”

Jackman did so as Allen, the role that won him a Tony on Broadway. At one point he pulled a doctor from Wisconsin on stage, mischievously flirted with him and even got him to sing Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline.” (A gay singer/songwriter/performer, Allen was literally a Friend of Dorothy. Judy Garland was an early supporter of Allen, who went on to marry her daughter, Liza Minnelli, before coming out of the closet. An avowed LGBTQ ally, Jackman acknowledged it was Pride weekend in the Twin Cities several times during the show.)

As it turns out, this wasn’t Jackman’s first time at the song-and-dance rodeo. He debuted his one-man show in 2011 and has since performed versions of it in various locations, including a stint on Broadway and a 2015 arena tour of his home country, Australia. According to Billboard, the first leg of Jackman’s current outing grossed $23.4 million and sold nearly 290,000 tickets across 26 shows in Europe.



Which makes one behind-the-scenes aspect of the concert truly puzzling. For reasons unknown, last week Jackman and his team informed Twin Cities media (and presumably media in other U.S. markets) that the tour was not allowing press coverage of any kind. No reviewers, no photographers, no TV crews. That meant the only reporters who covered the concert purchased tickets (not a big deal, it happens), but weren’t granted access to a place in the venue to write and file the review (which is otherwise standard operating procedure for arena concerts).

After spending two hours charmed and dazzled by a guy who totally earned the title of “The Greatest Showman,” one can’t help but wonder why Jackman didn’t want news of his talents shared with anyone not at the X on Saturday night.

[hughmanity]

Two "Bowl" reviews from high-profile publications.  I will rely on Jo to reproduce them!  ( don't know why I can't)

www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2019-07-21/review-hugh-jackman-man-music-show-hollywood-bowl

variety.com/2019/music/concert-reviews/hugh-jackman-hollywood-bowl-concert-review-1203274935/

[JH4HJ]

LA TIMES -

Hugh Jackman sings, dances and charms, delivering a grand time at the Hollywood Bowl



By Charles McNulty, Theater Critic - July 21, 2019 - 5:07 PM

Hugh Jackman, who had a packed Hollywood Bowl eating out of the palm of his hand this weekend, is the last of a dying breed: the all-round entertainer.

His wide-ranging skill set was on full display in the traveling extravaganza “Hugh Jackman. The Man. The Music. The Show.” He sang and danced with the indefatigable energy of someone trying to repay an audience debt he knows he’ll never make good on. He clowned around puckishly, amusing himself and all those who delight in his mischievous smile. And he glad-handed with the vivacity of a politician whose approval rating is off the charts.

Splashy entrances are a specialty. (He arrived onstage Friday looking like the fantasy groom on top of a wedding cake.) He knows how to punctuate a big number with an arm hoisted like a victory flag. Clothes seem honored to adorn his chiseled physique.

If I tell you he looked like a million bucks yet sounded at most like a few hundred thousand, I know you will forgive my candor because I, who have never seen an “X-Men” film and hardly qualify as a groupie, am here to testify that I had a grand time.

Jackman delivered. The outdoor arena, which had him gazing euphorically at picnicking fans against a hillside backdrop, is an ideal venue for an artist who, no matter how Vegas-ized his act, stays true to his Australian mate charm.

The joy Jackman takes in performing is infectious. At times onstage, he resembled a kid in a candy shop. He crooned, he belted, he camped it up. He released his tap-dancing inner child to the sounds of “42nd Street” and found catharsis in an all-out percussive frenzy to vintage rock hits. Was this swerve into “Stomp” territory one indulgence too many? As generous as he is with his talent, no one could begrudge him.

The evening began with a montage of movie clips. Jackman is one of the few showmen who, thanks to Hollywood, is also a global brand. Waggishly, he apologized to those nonexistent few who came out for Wolverine and discovered a musical theater fiend.

He opened, somewhat over-optimistically, with “The Greatest Show,” a song from the 2017 movie “The Greatest Showman,” in which he played P.T. Barnum. Nobody I know has seen the film, but many hardcore Jackman fans in the audience clearly had. The rousing nature of the admittedly obvious number turned us all into good sports, grateful to be together in the presence of this debonair deity, who was determined to make an already lovely summer night unforgettable.

Jackman wended his way through a selection of his musical roles, including Gaston from “Beauty and the Beast,” Valjean from the film version of “Les Misérables” and Billy Bigelow from “Carousel.” In general, the louder and busier the number, the better it came off. The vastness of the Bowl exposed a lack of vocal suppleness when there was nothing else competing for our attention but the nasally tone of his singing.

When he sat down at the piano for a meditative entry into “You Will Be Found” from “Dear Evan Hansen” (the score for which was written by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, the song-writing duo behind “The Greatest Showman”), Jackman’s voice seemed frayed. But the number was rescued by the Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles.

The music of this concert show lived up to the central billing of the title. But it’s the dynamic Jackman package that mattered most. “The Man” — the carefully curated persona of an action-hero star who’s really a song-and-dance bloke with a heart of gold and an all-encompassing seductive twinkle — was always the starting point.

A proud ally of the LGBTQ community, Jackman further showcased his commitment to equality in the “Nomad” section that stirringly brought to the stage indigenous Australian music artists. In these corrosive times, reconciliation through the arts was a heartening message, one that Jackman conveyed not through political grandstanding but simple, decent humanity.

When his patter wasn’t about showbiz, it was often about family. His wife was in the audience and he lavished so much love on her that he felt the need to apologize to the husbands in the audience for doubling their work tonight. He celebrated being 50 years old and grew misty recalling his spiritual wandering in the Australian outback. The sentimentalism was mitigated by regular doses of bawdy humor, the targets of which were no doubt the envy of quite a number of spectators of both sexes.

The show, directed and choreographed by Warren Carlyle, included a full company of dancers and singers, backed by the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, which was conducted by musical director Patrick Vaccariello. The staging seemed a bit disorganized in the early going, though splashy video helped distract from the choreographic muddles.

Conceding the spotlight from time to time, Jackman let featured vocalist Jenna Lee-James shine in her rendition of “I Dreamed a Dream” from “Les Misérables.” And special guest vocalist Keala Settle created a mini-earthquake of excitement delivering “This Is Me,” her YouTube-busting number from “The Greatest Showman.”

As a general rule, Jackman is better when in capering motion. His frolic as singer-songwriter Peter Allen, a taste of his Tony-winning performance from “The Boy From Oz,” lost steam during the wan run-through of hits Allen collaborated on, including “Arthur’s Theme (Best That You Can Do),” “Don’t Cry Out Loud” and “I Honestly Love You.”

The two sides of his performing identity — movie star and musical trouper — came together in a homage to movie musicals. Inspired by his memories of watching classics on the small screen, he was at his dashing best in a sequence that included such old songbook gems as “Luck Be a Lady,” “I Got Rhythm” and “Singin’ in the Rain.”

A performer of Jackman’s versatility runs the risk of being a jack of all theatrical trades, transcendent in none. But no one could leave “Hugh Jackman: The Man. The Music. The Show” feeling like they hadn’t been thoroughly entertained.

[JH4HJ]

VARIETY -

Hugh Jackman Sparkles and Shines at the Hollywood Bowl



By Angelique Jackson

Hugh Jackman is out to prove he truly is the greatest showman. On Friday and Saturday night, Jackman’s “The Man. The Music. The Show.” world tour stopped in Los Angeles for a sold-out two nights at the Hollywood Bowl. Ten years ago, Jackman hosted the 2009 Oscars just a few blocks south of the venue at the Dolby Theatre, showing off a taste of his command as a singer, dancer, comedian and all-around entertainer performing with stars like Anne Hathaway, Beyoncé and Zac Efron. But with this one-man show, the star gets to show off his full range of skills without any pesky awards interrupting the momentum.

Jackman shines in the two-hour set, performing numbers from his starring roles as P.T. Barnum in “The Greatest Showman” and Jean Valjean in “Les Misérables,” as well as his Tony Award-winning turn in “The Boy From Oz,” before breaking into a tap dancing section set to AC/DC’s “Thunderstruck” and Earth, Wind & Fire’s “September.” Jackman ends the show-stopping section landing in his famous Wolverine pose, joking “Let’s see Ryan Reynolds do that” — issuing the challenge but asking the audience to please not tweet that comment to the “Deadpool” actor.

“We’re taking it all off tonight,” Jackman quipped early in the show, promising the crowd to reveal the man behind the characters. And the performer does just that, spilling his entire bag of tricks. Throughout the show, Jackman displayed his proficiency as a storyteller and host, commanding the stage and the audience’s attention by telling jokes and sharing personal anecdotes from his years growing up in Australia or about meeting his wife Deborra-Lee Furness, serenading his love with their first dance song “All the Way” before she got her own ovation from the crowd when cameras showed her in the audience. The actor also opened up about his early days in the entertainment business, including the fact that he was nearly fired from the role of Wolverine five weeks into filming for acting like a light behind a lampshade.

The lampshade is definitely off here. From the moment Jackman (clad in a slick silver Tom Ford jacket) ascends the stage with the thundering first notes of “The Greatest Show,” he evidently relishes the opportunity to make his wildest musical theater dreams come true. The show is impressively theatrical in its presentation, weaving in clips from Jackman’s famous on-screen performances on the large monitors that frame the stage, as well as tipping his hat to Old Hollywood with snappy dance routines, like an umbrella-flipping rendition of “Singing in the Rain.” In each new number, the production becomes more elaborate and the costumes get more sparkly.

And just when you thought the show couldn’t get glitzier, Jackman appears in the second act as singer-songwriter and “Boy From Oz” inspiration Peter Allen, donning a mirrored jacket with silver sparkling pants and shaking his hips (and pineapple maracas) in the show’s cheekiest section. “I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking, ‘Is he? Or isn’t he?’” Jackman as Allan teases. “Well it’s true … I’m Australian.” During this section, the actor also brought an unsuspecting audience member for a dance break, grinding with the fan to Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky.” But this portion isn’t Jackman’s only nod to his Australian roots; the entertainer also features Aboriginal music performed by Olive Knight, Clifton Bieundurry and didgeridoo players Paul Boon and Nathan Mundraby.

The show is a wide-ranging experience overall, but the set list feels cohesive because it’s personal, navigating Jackman’s history as performer and showing off his eclectic musical tastes. Plus, he’s truly having fun. For instance, the star ordered a beer from an audience member in the front row on Saturday night, joking that “there are no drinks allowed on the piano unless it’s a Heineken,” before launching into the next number.


Hugh Jackman Gay Men's Chorus of Los Angeles

The star clearly has the gravitas to command the stage on his own, but he smartly recognizes that featuring other great talents makes him look good. Jackman utilizes those on stage alongside him —including a group of eight dancers, two featured singers, his band and the famed Hollywood Bowl Orchestra — to add to the spectacle. The Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles also joined the star onstage for “You Will Be Found” from “Dear Evan Hansen” and appeared in the aisles of the Bowl for “A Million Dreams.” The production of this “Greatest Showman” tune also incorporated a beautiful contemporary performance by Jackman’s dancers and the touching use of sign language to translate the song’s message.

The Los Angeles shows featured special guest Keala Settle, Jackman’s “Greatest Showman” co-star, who performed the Golden Globe-winning anthem “This Is Me”. Settle sparkled in a gold sequined jumpsuit with bare feet as she made her Hollywood Bowl debut with a powerhouse performance that resulted in a standing ovation. To cap off the night, the audience lit up the venue with their cell phones as the performer closed the show with Allen’s “Once Before I Go.” Jackman seemed respectfully pleased to perform in the iconic arena, telling the crowd that it was a privilege and a “bucket list” moment to play the venue, summing up the whole experience of creating this show: “I had a dream and my dream has come true.”

Thank you to everyone who came out to see our show in the U.S. and Canada. It’s been absolutely awesome. So much so, we’re coming back for more in America and adding in Mexico City. But for now … C’mon Australia! Love HJ #TheManTheMusicTheShow pic.twitter.com/EEmFxdzrDk

— Hugh Jackman (@realhughjackman) July 21, 2019

[jo]

Thanks, hughmanity and Valerie

I wonder how the NYTimes reviewer feel now ?

Did she see the show thru a different prism...because there is unanimity in all these reviews!


But I hope Hugh gets to read all the reviews (yeah, even the review from the lady critic of the NYTimes)!


Jo

[jo]

The LA Daily News --

www.dailynews.com/2019/07/23/hugh-jackman-the-boy-from-oz-lights-up-the-hollywood-bowl/

News

Music + Concerts

Hugh Jackman, ‘The Boy From Oz,’ lights up the Hollywood Bowl

Hugh Jackman brought his “The Man. The Music. The Show.” world tour to Los Angeles for two sold-out performances Friday and Saturday night at the Hollywood Bowl. (File photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)

By Jim Farber |
PUBLISHED: July 23, 2019 at 7:08 am | UPDATED: July 23, 2019 at 7:08 am

You can turn Hugh Jackman into the Wolverine — that slashing hunk of X-Man rage equipped with razor-sharp claws that wreak havoc. You can dress him up in red tails and a black top hat as America’s greatest showman, P. T. Barnum. You can put him on a Broadway stage to sing and dance in “The Boy From Oz” (that’s slang for Australia, mate). But whatever you do, you can’t take the Oz out of Hugh Jackman!

That became abundantly clear Friday as Jackman brought his world tour — “Hugh Jackman: The Man. The Music. The Show.” (which began in Glasgow, Scotland on May 7) to the Hollywood Bowl. It’s a big, bright, razzle-dazzle show that tells Jackman’s life story by threading one number to the next while showcasing his prodigious talent as a singer, dancer and gregarious center-stage host.

There was, however, one beastly character that Jackman’s closely identified with who did not put in a physical appearance.
“I hope you’re all not Wolverine fans,” he quipped after having completed the opening number, a hip-hop rendition of “The Greatest Show.” Of course there was a roaring response. “Because if you are,” he said with a sheepish smile, “this could be a really long evening!”

True to his word, it was only toward the end of the show that he grabbed a pair of drumsticks, stuck them between his fingers (like Logan’s signature razor blades) and assumed the Wolverine’s notorious crouch. His “X-Men” fans finally got their chance to go wild!

The high-tech production, directed and choreographed by Warren Carlyle, featured a corps of Broadway/Hollywood dancers, a cadre of back-up singers; the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra; with sonorous choral accompaniment from the Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles; and a star-turn guest appearance by Keala (“The Bearded Lady”) Settle, who belted out her hit song from “The Greatest Showman,” “This is Me.”


The show is really a celebration of Jackman the entertainer. And throughout the succession of song and dance numbers, Jackman carried on a jaunty autobiographical banter with his audience. He related anecdotes about growing up in Australia as the youngest of multiple siblings; his discovery of the wonders of the Outback; his professional theater breakthrough as Gaston in “Disney’s Beauty and the Beast”; and how he met the love of his life, Deborra-Lee Furness (who was in the audience) — who Jackman described as his favorite Olivia Newton-John lookalike. They were married on April 11, 1996.
If you loved Jackman in his 2003 Broadway role as the Australian songwriter and performer, Peter Allen in “The Boy From Oz,” you came away humming “Caught Between the Moon and New York City” and “Once Before I Go” (which brilliantly closed the show). If you wanted scenes from his starring role in the movie version of “Les Miserables,” Jackman offered “Valjean’s Soliloquy” climaxing the first half of the concert with a flag waving rendition of “One Day More” with Jenna Lee James as featured vocalist.

If you wanted Broadway classics you were treated to a powerful rendition of the song Jackman sang for his Broadway/Carnegie Hall debut, “My Boy Bill,” from Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “Carousel.” Then came a marvelous toss-of-the-dice rendition of “Luck Be a Lady” from “Guys and Dolls.” Hopefully someone will take the cue and cast Jackman in a future production as Sky Masterson!

There were songs from Hollywood musicals: an umbrella-dripping romp through “Singin’ in the Rain,” a foot-stomping “I Got Rhythm” and some dexterous tap dance footwork to “Sing, Swing, Swing.” He “Macked the Knife” and went “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.”

The only problem was the heavily scripted nature of his banter. Any number of times Jackman’s down-home tales (even the responses) came across as overly rehearsed and canned. When he broke through that and was able to showcase his innate charm and abundant skill set, “Hugh Jackman: The Man. The Music. The Show.” took its place among the more memorable evenings at the Bowl.

Jackman also offered a personal sense of his social consciousness (by including the Gay Men’s Chorus) and minority sensitivity toward his homeland by introducing the Aboriginal performers of NOMAD: Paul Rider Boon, Olive Knight, Clifton Bleundurry and Nate Mundraby. They produced a haunting effect as the echoes of their didgeridoos and ancient Aboriginal chants filled the Bowl and rose upward to the stars.

Jim Farber is a Los Angeles-based freelance writer.
‘Hugh Jackman: The Man. The Music. The Show.’

Rating: 4 stars

Where: Hollywood Bowl, 2301 N. Highland Ave, Hollywood.
When: July 19-20.
Information: (for future events) 323-850-2000, www.hollywoodbowl.com

Jim Farber is a Los Angeles-based freelance writer.

This is the second review which suggested that less narrative/banter is prefered. Presumably this is because this and other reviewer are pop concert reviewers and expected the format to be a typical concert performance.


Two things --

*The show is a personal retrospective ...and it would be awkward if he simply performed the musical numbers without relating them to his career on film and stage. That would not give the complete picture!

*Hugh has said, even at the very beginning, that "it is, in essence a theatre show". A musical theatre show has a book and a musical score. The book links the storyline and the songs and dialogs advance the plot. The book includes the spoken dialogs ( or even sung dialogs called recitatives) which in the case of #TMTMTS was the narrative/banter from Hugh. If the reviewer has seen TBFO and did not like the repeated joke of "Is he … or isn't he?", the show in general is meant for audiences where the probability is high that they have not been to NYC and Broadway.


Jo

[jo]

A film site review of the Hollywood Bowl performance --

www.wearemoviegeeks.com/2019/07/hugh-jackman-wows-the-crowd-at-the-hollywood-bowl/

Hugh Jackman Wows the Crowd at The Hollywood Bowl

By Melissa Thompson | July 23, 2019


Over the weekend, “Hugh Jackman The Man, The Music, The Show” dazzled the Hollywood Bowl, playing the final 2 shows on the current leg of his sold out North American tour, and it was nothing short of spectacular. Outfitted in a sparkling silver Tom Ford jacket, Jackman hit the stage to perform all of his greatest hits from his film and Broadway career. The opening numbers included “The Greatest Show” and “Come Alive” from The Greatest Showman (2017), and the 17,000+ sold out crowd at the Hollywood Bowl was ready for him!


Hugh Jackman has made a massive, A-list name for himself as an acting-singing-dancing triple-threat and all of it was on display for the live shows. Along with The Greatest Showman, Jackman performed selections from Les Miserables (2012), in which he starred as Valjean, and also from his Tony-winning Broadway show “The Boy from Oz,” playing Peter Allen (2003). Peppered in between were selections that ranged from Broadway shows Beauty and The Beast (Gaston), and Dear Evan Hanson (You Will Be Found) to some of his favorite old Hollywood musicals (Singing in the Rain, 42nd Street, Guys and Dolls).

But it wasn’t just the great songs. Jackman has a stage presence like no other. He owns the stage, telling personal stories, show-biz stories, and interacting with the audience in a way that doesn’t seem possible when the ratio is 17,000 to 1. This was most evident in the stage extension built to get Jackman even closer to the fans, even pulling one young fan on stage to dance with him.

Also evident is Jackman’s love for his native Australia. He’s completely earnest when performing the Boy from Oz numbers, fully in character as Peter Allen, with an even more classic Aussie accent than his own. During another segment of the show, he introduces Aboriginal musicians and elders (Olive Knight, Paul Rider Boon, Nate Mundraby and Clifton Bieundurry) in tribute to Australia and his heritage, which felt even more magical under the stars of the Hollywood Bowl.

But the guests didn’t stop there. In one of the highlights of the show, Jackman’s Greatest Showman co-star Keala Settle performed “This is Me” with the Los Angeles Gay Men’s Chorus and joined Jackman on “From Now On”, both numbers she performed in the film.


By the end of the night, the entire Hollywood Bowl was on its feet, desperate for more, making it absolutely clear that Hugh Jackman is indeed, the greatest showman.



WeAreMovieGeeks is a Movie News & Reviews resource

Hugh's best performing gift is his immense stage presence. I had an unexpected dose of that 20 years ago, when I saw Oklahoma! in London, not knowing who the lead was and not even seeing him close enough -- but he had a powerful legit stage voice...and a commanding stage presence evident even from afar!


Jo

[jo]

Another blog/review from someone in St Paul --

findthebeautyproject.com/a-hugh-night-of-love/

A HUGH-ge Night of Love
on June 23, 2019


Yes, that typo is on purpose. I know it’s cheesy, but bear with me.

Twenty-one years ago, my husband and I got married on my birthday. Every year we celebrate the two events together … we call it a “birth-a-versary”. I can’t believe I’m actually putting it out there how old I am, but this year was my 45th birthday and our 21st wedding anniversary.

I really wanted to surprise my husband, Tom, with something big … and yes, I admit it was a HUGE gift for myself, too. We are both theatre nerds – musical theatre in particular – so I knew the minute it was announced that there was ONE ticket that I simply had to get…



Hugh Jackman…
The Man. The Music. The Show


Last night was the night. We brought our daughter, Lily. We’re raising her to be a musical theatre nerd, too, just like Mom and Dad. She LOVED The Greatest Showman and was excited to see the REAL showman live and in person.
I knew it was going to be a spectacular evening of entertainment. What I didn’t expect was the incredible beauty, the raw emotion that would overcome me and move me to tears, the repeated refrain of the evening over and over…


Love

From the very start, the message of the night that I kept hearing was … love, love, love. We are all one, we are a village, we are allies – we are here to support and love one another.

Of course the show was full of big, theatrical productions, Hugh’s charming humor and wit, and rousing dance numbers. Everything from set design, choreography, technical production, the orchestra … it was all as immensely entertaining as I was expecting it to be, and then some. But it was the repeated return to LOVE that touched my heart… and ruined my make-up.



You will be found.

This. This beautiful, heartbreaking yet moving masterpiece from Dear Evan Hansen. THIS was the the beginning of the flood of tears. Hugh introduced this song by telling a touching story of himself as a young boy… excitedly waiting for his team to pick him up for his first game of cricket … only to be abandoned and left all alone. No one came. A little boy, alone, feeling unwanted, not part of the team. It pierced my heart. What broke me was one line he said…
I wish I could go back and hug that 8-year-old me and tell him everything will be okay.


Hugh Jackman

Oh… if only we could all go back and hug our childhood selves. If only every child knew that they are loved, they are not alone, they WILL BE FOUND. The choir of voices that joined in this song (Minnesota’s own One Voice Mixed Chorus) sent chills through me, and reduced me to a quivering, blubbering mess.



When Somebody Loves You…

The St. Paul audience had the special honor of being witness to a beautiful declaration of love. A man had written Hugh a letter, asking if he could propose to his girlfriend during the show. To his credit, and as another demonstration of his belief in love, Hugh made this a part of the show. It was an incredibly moving moment as nearly 20,000 people cheered for this young couple declaring their love and beginning their life together.

It makes Hugh’s devotion to his wife, Deb, all the more poignant. He dedicated a beautiful moment to her. Sitting alone on the stage, in a single, simple spotlight, he talked about his love for his beautiful wife – with whom he has shared 23 years of marriage. In a touching act of love, he sang her a song from their wedding, All the Way, as pictures of her rotated on the gigantic floor-to-ceiling screens. What was beautiful about this was SHE was the focus. This spellbinding moment in time was dedicated to her, and only her. It was so emotional, and a privilege to be given a glimpse into their beautiful relationship – and see this man so dedicated to the love of his life.



LOVE. Love might be messy at times, but it is beautiful and it endures. It is there, in the young couple just beginning their journey, Tom and I celebrating our 21st anniversary, the man declaring his love in front of thousands, and all the couples of all ages that were sharing in those moments in that room. For that moment, it was small, intimate, and beautiful.



A Million Dreams…

Dreams are beautiful. What is even more beautiful is when we are given the confidence, the power, the love and support to pursue those dreams with our whole heart. This truth was repeated so many times throughout the night. From Hugh’s stories of pursuing his talent and passions, and the journey to acceptance from those around him, to the touching story of the first time he sang at Carnegie Hall and his father flew 48 hours round trip to be there for him, to escort him … and in full black tie, of course.

The love and support of those around us help us to chase down those dreams – to tame the lions that threaten to drag us down – to stand up, press on, and create the world we want to make. The performance of A Million Dreams was completely mesmerizing and stunningly beautiful. Love was spoken in so many languages in this song. The dancers, dressed all in white, flowing so beautifully across the stage; the inclusion of sign language; the blending of multiple voices; the return of the One Voice Mixed Chorus, standing among the audience singing from around the arena.

The longest ovation of the night followed this song. It was the most beautiful and moving few minutes of the evening. Absolutely inspiring. It made me want to chase down every long-lost dream, and to see the dreams of those around me come true.



There were so many more beautiful moments. I can’t possibly recount them all here. I really didn’t intend for this post to be a review of the show. I’m not a reviewer. I just wanted to share how much it moved me, and the message I walked away with, which is this.

LOVE ONE ANOTHER.

We are all seemingly tiny, insignificant specks in this enormous world – in this universe – but our impact is HUGE when we LOVE. Encourage others, support them, defend them, reach out to those in need, be a force for good, a force of LOVE. Everyone needs love, compassion, acceptance, an ally. We all have love to share – we just need to be reminded from time to time. We are a village … and when that village loves, protects, and cares for one another, it’s BEAUTIFUL.


To Hugh Jackman … thank you for a beautiful, inspiring evening that I will never forget. Beyond your obvious talent as “The Greatest Showman”, it is your genuine love, kindness, and generosity – giving back to the people, community and world you share – that will reverberate long after the songs have faded.

[ruby]

Imagine the emotion that would be added to You Will be Found if all of the audience realized that the story of the confused little eight year old waiting endlessly at the end of the driveway for his ride was really more of a veil for the real life event of a young boy suddenly left without his mother in his immediate world.

[jo]

I think most longtime Hugh Jackman fans realized that. That was what made it so poignant - that behind the sadness of the young boy about his cricket game - was a sadder story of young Hughie at 8 years old wandering in the garden because he could not bear to enter their house, after his Mum left.

I think what was very telling were Hugh's own words saying " Maybe it never happened?" ( the cricket game incident)… which led one to speculate that maybe there was another and more poignant background story?

What made it less sad was knowing that eventually Hugh and his Mum found a way to become Mother and Son again!


Jo

[mamaleh]

I think he didn’t want the story to become too personally maudlin; it was sufficient to say he was “as vulnerable as he had ever been” (or similar) to carry home the point he was trying to make. Of course, longtime fans knew to what traumatic upheaval in his life he was referring, but I think the idea was to extrapolate it to the universal experience we all share at one time or another of feeling lost or confused until we are “found”: that is, understood, safe and secure. It was a brilliant, lovely way to introduce the song that obviously touches him so deeply.

Ellen

[ruby]

Aug 1, 2019 15:18:21 GMT -5 mamaleh said:

I think he didn’t want the story to become too personally maudlin; it was sufficient to say he was “as vulnerable as he had ever been” (or similar) to carry home the point he was trying to make. Of course, longtime fans knew to what traumatic upheaval in his life he was referring, but I think the idea was to extrapolate it to the universal experience we all share at one time or another of feeling lost or confused until we are “found”: that is, understood, safe and secure. It was a brilliant, lovely way to introduce the song that obviously touches him so deeply.

Ellen

Agreed that longtime fans knew the backstory and there was no need for the unvarnished truth. It was very artfully scripted but my point was that this one women commenting that the story pierced her heart... imagine had she heard it with full significance.

Though he is frequently asked in interviews about “his mother abandoning him” he obviously wouldn’t put that story on the stage in deference to his mother at the least. Remember how he was reminded by a sibling(s) that his childhood tales are their family history too so not to over share.

[jo]

Review from Sydney Morning Herald.

3 1/2 of 4 stars -- I would be surprised if Australian reviews would give him a perfect score


www.smh.com.au/entertainment/music/hugh-jackman-review-from-turramurra-to-homebush-via-hollywood-20190803-p52dhu.html

Hugh Jackman review: From Turramurra to Homebush via Hollywood


MUSIC
HUGH JACKMAN ★★★½
Qudos Bank Arena, August 2
Reviewed by JOHN SHAND


Had he been born half a century earlier you can imagine Hugh Jackman slapping backs and swapping highballs with the Rat Pack. Even if he wasn't quite wicked enough for those boys, his skill set would have been right: an actor, singer and dancer blessed with an easy-in-his-own-skin charm that can shrink a 20,000-seat arena down to something closer to a club. You can imagine him swaggering about the stage at the Sands in Las Vegas; a show-biz throwback who pulls them in from eight to 80; an entertainer.


He certainly had the kids on side, because the swarm behind me (who were even less than eight) were encouraged by their mother to "sing" along at every opportunity (and there were many) – behaviour that usually would have had me attempting my best Wolverine death-stare. But somehow this was that sort of show: something for everyone; a circus with the sheer scale of the production almost dwarfing the tallish star.
Related Article



The big screens ensured Jackman was put back in proportion, of course, with the close-ups conveying that unforced ease and charm. So the anecdotes – about the early years in Turramurra, about auditions, stage-shows and movies – never seemed like ego-inflation exercises, so much as self-deprecating tales of a boy made good, which, by definition, was against the odds.

To marginally increase the immediacy independently of the big screens, Jackman worked a Mick Jagger-like runway that poked its nose about 30 metres into the stalls. From this he descended into the adoring throng, firstly to acknowledge and dance with his wife, Deborra-Lee Furness, during All the Way, and then later, when he was in Peter Allen mode, to pluck an infatuated woman from the crowd and lead her to the stage, where she clung to him like a life-buoy, until she could be induced to dance with him.

For this lengthy Allen segment (after the interval, in a generous show), Jackman initially donned an outfit that turned him into a human mirror-ball (which would have made Allen green with envy). It culminated in a version of I Go to Rio that brought a taste of that town's Carnival to the stage, with both the projections and the dancers' costumes equally dazzling.

Jackman ranged across many of his best-known roles, with Valjean's Soliloquy from Les Miserables standing out. Thanks to some special effects he even revisited Wolverine – having previously warned a male patron that "it could be a long night" if he was only there as a fan of that character.


Amid all the razzamatazz, his own musical loves and inspirations seemed to lie on a line running from Gene Kelly to Frank Sinatra. Singing in the Rain was essayed as a big dance routine, which only served to draw an unflattering comparison with the original. Similarly New York, New York highlighted that his voice – unquestionably persuasive at its best – could seem light and reedy when taken out of its comfort zone. Yet he sang Mack the Knife with genuine panache, as he did an interesting, re-harmonised Over the Rainbow.

Mounting what was called The Man. The Music. The Show. involved 193 people, including a 20-piece orchestra, two singers, a children's choir, eight dancers, a compelling indigenous quartet and the striking voice of Keala Settle, who co-starred with Jackman in The Greatest Showman. He isn't quite that, but at 50 he's a long, long way down the road from where he started in Turramurra.

John Shand
Twitter

John Shand has written about music and theatre since 1981 in more than 30 publications, including for Fairfax Media since 1993. He is also a playwright, author, poet, librettist, drummer and winner of the 2017 Walkley Arts Journalism Award

For someone who is supposed to be also a theatre critic, the author failed to see that the show is in essence more of a theatre show than a typical music show.


For something like "NEW YORK, NEW YORK", the reviewer chose to focus simply on the voice quality and not the entire delivery. The number stood out ( to me) as the most Broadway-like in atmosphere. It evoked a bit of ONE from A CHORUS LINE, and other shows which focus on well-blended song and dance numbers. It reminded the audience that Hugh Jackman is not just one famous movie star or a rock-star wannabe...but that he has also conquered the City that never Sleeps - the city where Broadway identifies the city as much as Wall Street ( arguably 2 of the most famous streets in the world - so much so that the names alone stand for the industry that they represent)! Hugh is now Sydney, Hollywood, and Broadway!


Jo

[jo]

From the Tyford-Moore ( he wrote the "Huge-Ackman career" review)

The merging of Jackman’s musical and dramatic acting styles would finally cohere in his worthy performance as Jean Valjean in Tom Hooper’s otherwise turgid Les Miserables (2012).

From the Shand review --

Jackman ranged across many of his best-known roles, with Valjean's Soliloquy from Les Miserables standing out.

Even the more cynical or the less-than-fully impressed reviews agree that Hugh's major talent emerges best when he is ACTING and SINGING together!

That is why he is also a great story teller and an engaging host - his narratives are equally entertaining!

Btw, this is one time that I fully agree with the above reviewers -- that VALJEAN'S SOLILOQUY is one of the most solid and compelling piece of dramatic musical interpretations by any actor!

Jo

[jo]

Part review and part op-ed piece!

www.theguardian.com/film/2019/aug/05/hugh-jackman-shows-the-world-the-kind-of-australia-we-wish-we-were?CMP=share_btn_tw

Hugh Jackman shows the world the kind of Australia we wish we were


Cassie Tongue
From self-deprecating jokes to tap-dancing to AC/DC, The Man. The Music. The Show is two hours of joyous entertainment with an inclusive, heartfelt message
@cassietongue Email
Mon 5 Aug 2019 02.24 BST
Last modified on Mon 5 Aug 2019 02.25 BST



In The Man. The Music. The Show, which is touring Australia in August and September, Sydney boy turned international movie star Hugh Jackman is a performer out of time, singing Sinatra and waltzing with his family.

Early into his show, Hugh Jackman tells us he always had a thing for numbers – he wasn’t good at sums, but numbers stuck firmly in his memory. His first home phone number. The license plate number of the family car from his childhood in Turramurra. Later, he says a figure so casually you might not register how staggering it is – 15,000: the number of audience members in Qudos Bank Arena for The Man. The Music. The Show, Hugh Jackman’s touring juggernaut.
There are multiple, similarly attended dates in Sydney, Adelaide, Melbourne, Perth and Brisbane. He has successfully lapped the UK already. In October he’ll play the United States and Mexico.


Who are all these people going to see Hugh Jackman – a Sydney boy turned international movie star – sing and dance and chat for two affable hours? Even Jackman himself isn’t sure. Upfront, he pre-emptively forgives the audience members who’ll be checking their phones for updates on the cricket. He even promises us to tell us when he’s two songs from the end, just in case we’re the kind of people who like to leave early to beat the traffic.

It’s easy to understand Jackman’s international appeal, with massive movies like The Greatest Showman and The X-Men franchise under his belt. But Australia seems to love him so fervently, this man out of time, singing Sinatra and tap-dancing to AC/DC.


Hugh Jackman’s message is clear: follow your dreams, no matter what others might say.


Jackman is comfortable as himself. He dances freely and without cringe, even as he recreates the choreography from his turn as Gaston in Beauty and the Beast in 1996 at Melbourne’s Princess Theatre. He tells us his brother calling him a sissy prevented him from taking dance lessons; he dances joyously now, secure in himself and his interests. The message is clear: follow your dreams, no matter what others might say.

He shows himself as a loving husband and father – he descends into the audience to waltz with Deborra-Lee Furness, his wife of 23 years – but he immediately jokes about making all the other husbands look bad. He’s your mate. He plays piano onstage and immediately makes a self-deprecating joke about thinking he’s somehow qualified to play a piano at an arena show (with specific apologies to Billy Joel).

He brings out two children’s choirs to sing You Will Be Found from Dear Evan Hansen, the reigning hit musical for sensitive teens, written by The Greatest Showman’s songwriters Benj Pasek and Justin Paul. He casually says the musical will be coming to Australia next year; behind me, young women screamed in delight.



Jackman knows he pushes the boundaries of acceptable bloke behaviour; he encourages you to let him.

And then Jackman begins the second act in character as Peter Allen, reprising his Tony award-winning turn as the Australian entertainer in The Boy From Oz. A woman is pulled from the audience to dance with him; she clings in delight. Jackman shakes his hips and moves like Allen, a little queerness in every step. Later, he mugs in Wolverine poses, joking that the X-Men fans in the audience must have been suffering all night. He knows he pushes the boundaries of acceptable bloke behaviour; he encourages you to let him.



His audience is, typically, entranced. They cheer when the band plays the 20th Century Fox theme as Jackman describes his love for movie musicals. They even cheer at his take on Valjean’s Soliloquy and One Day More from Les Misérables.

Jackman’s voice, which has always been more about charm and power than technique, serves him well in this enormous space. But when his special guest, The Greatest Showman’s Keala Settle, emerges to sing generic-outsider anthem This is Me, her stunning voice brings people around me to tears. Jackman made space for her to shine.


Later in the second act, he gives the stage over to Walmatjarri and Bunuba blues singer Olive Knight who, with son Clifton Bieundurry and didgeridoo players Paul Boon and Nathan Mundraby, performs a number in Walmatjarri. After Jackman joins them for a rendition of Israel Kamakawiwo’ole’s Somewhere Over the Rainbow, he speaks movingly about living in “an increasingly divided world” and wanting to spread “the idea of reconciliation through art, through music, through culture”. He hands Knight the microphone to translate her words into English, so we do not miss them: “The land is crying for its people. The people are crying for the land. Do not be silent. Speak up for her.”

The Man. The Music. The Show is a strange mix of earnest performance, a variety show for the heartfelt and easy-pushed buttons of popular entertainment. But popular entertainment is popular for a reason and it’s easy to get caught up in the spectacle.


When I told my ride-share driver why I was going to the Qudos Bank Arena, he brightened. He loves Hugh Jackman like he loves former world No 1 tennis player Pat Rafter, he said, because “they show Australia’s face to the world”.

Jackman, perhaps, shows the world who we wish we were: a nation that has attempted to heal the genocide and systemic racism that haunts and hurts us; a nation where men don’t routinely and violently kill women; a nation where gendered expectations are out the window. Where love and respect are the guiding tenets of our communities.

And if that’s who we wish we were, maybe there’s hope for us yet.

• Hugh Jackman: The Man, The Music, The Show is touring Australia until 3 September