The Music Man : OPENING NIGHT

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newyork.cbslocal.com/video/6198681-broadway-revival-of-the-music-man-opens/


Click on link for footage of Opening Night glitter & glamor

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Attendees at Opening Night --

pagesix.com/2022/02/10/the-music-man-opening-night-draws-stars-and-pols-to-broadway/#1

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http://instagram.com/p/CZ0iNSht6x7

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Liev must be in Hollywood -- or was he around? He is one of the few whom Hugh follows on Twitter.

Jo

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people.com/theater/celebrities-support-hugh-jackman-the-music-man-opening-night/?utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=social-share-article

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THEATER
Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds & Anne Hathaway Support Hugh Jackman at
The Music Man
Opening
Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds & Anne Hathaway Support Hugh Jackman at The Music Man Opening
Hugh Jackman's wife of 25 years, Deborra-Lee Furness, told PEOPLE that their house was "very quiet, very calm" before the long-awaited first show
By Nicholas Rice and Mary Park
February 11, 2022 10:06 AM


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Anne Hathaway, Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds

CREDIT: CHARLES SYKES/INVISION/AP/SHUTTERSTOCK; BRUCE GLIKAS/FILMMAGIC; ARTURO HOLMES/GETTY IMAGES
The stars aligned to support Hugh Jackman for the opening night of The Music Man on Broadway.

On Thursday night, Anne Hathaway, Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds and more celebrities arrived at The Winter Garden Theatre in New York City to support Jackman, 53, ahead of the first official showing of the theatrical revival.

For the night out, Hathaway, 39, wore a strapless black jumpsuit, accessorized with a black belt around her waist and a purple bag in her hand. She was accompanied to the event by husband Adam Shulman, who wore a classic black suit.

Lively, 34, meanwhile posed on the red carpet in a plunging purple pantsuit as husband Reynolds, 45, rocked an all-black ensemble. The couple also posed for photos with Jackman's wife of 25 years, Deborra-Lee Furness.

Other celebrity guests in attendance included Andy Cohen, Cynthia Nixon, Mariska Hargitay and her husband, Peter Hermann.

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Ryan Reynolds and Deborra-Lee Furness

CREDIT: ANDREW H. WALKER/SHUTTERSTOCK
RELATED: See Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster in The Music Man on Broadway: First Look Photos

In The Music Man, Jackman and Sutton Foster shine as Harold Hill and Marian, respectively. The musical follows Harold, a con man, who poses as a boys' band organizer and leader who sells band instruments to naive townspeople, promising to train members of a new band.

Behind the scenes, Harold (who has no music skills) plans to skip town, but is caught up in wooing the prim librarian and piano teacher Marian.

Jackman, Foster and the cast began preview performances on Dec. 20. Days after the sneak peeks began, Jackman revealed he had tested positive for COVID-19 after Foster had also received a positive diagnosis.

Want to get the biggest stories from PEOPLE every weekday? Subscribe to our new podcast, PEOPLE Every Day, to get the essential celebrity, entertainment and human interest news stories Monday through Friday.

the music man with hugh jackman and sutton foster

CREDIT: JOAN MARCUS
Speaking with PEOPLE during opening night, Furness, 66, chatted about how she helped set up Jackman for success before the first show.

"The day of, like today, it's usually a very noisy household at our place with everything going on," she said. "But I keep it very quiet, very calm so it's like the calm before the storm."

When asked how she convinces 21-year-old son Oscar and 16-year-old daughter Ava, whom she adopted with Jackman, to stay cool, Furness joked, "Ice cream, just keep feeding them."

The Music Man is now playing on Broadway in New York City.

[jo]

[jo]

Lol - did you read the scribbling on the photo that Ryan left for Hugh


www.yahoo.com/entertainment/ryan-reynolds-leaves-portraits-himself-162821027.html?soc_src=social-sh&soc_trk=tw&tsrc=twtr

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http://instagram.com/p/CZ14_DkOus1

Keep swiping...and hear Hugh's laughter at the surprise gift

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Special coverage from Vogue.com


The Toast of New York Came Out to See Hugh Jackman in Music Man
BY MARIA WARD

February 11, 2022
The Toast of New York Came Out to See Hugh Jackman in Music Man

Hugh Jackman. Photo: Little Fang

“He is the music man!” designer Donna Karan said on Thursday at the much-anticipated Broadway opening of Music Man, which stars Hugh Jackman in the titular role. “You see him in the spotlight, and there’s nothing like it—Hugh is why we’re all here tonight.” Indeed, the toast of New York came out to the Winter Garden theater on Thursday, including Anna Wintour, Diane von Furstenberg, Cynthia Nixon, Fran Lebowitz, Seth Meyers, Andy Cohen, and more.

But not before an actual New York City high school marching band stormed up Broadway, giving the crowd of iPhone–wielding fans and celebrity guests alike clamoring for more. On the red carpet, the best-dressed showgoers seemed to get their beat from the uniforms worn by marching bands everywhere, as seen in razor-sharp tailoring and vivid pops of primary color.

It was date night for Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively, who hit a purple note in sculptural Sergio Hudson suiting. The blazer was left undone to reveal a high-shine bodysuit, while purple bedazzled Christian Louboutins made for a showstopping finish. Anne Hathaway cut a chic figure in a black strapless jumpsuit cinched at the waist. Draped around her shoulders (along with husband Adam Shulman) was a coat plucked off the Valentino’s Fall 2021 runway in a geometric diamond pattern strikingly similar to a marching band’s synchronized drill formation.

The sartorial mic drop came courtesy of Jordan Roth. The Tony-winning Broadway producer, and haute couture collector, understood the assignment. “You know I love a theme,” Roth said in a crimson puff-shouldered fitted jacket with metallic frogging. “I, of course, took inspiration from the Music Man, 76 trombones and all. Marching band-chic, but make it fashion, and Jerry Hall hair to finish it off.”

It seemed fitting that the most memorable opening-night-style statements echoed the same upbeat mood felt in the iconic revival. Roth put it best when he said: “This is classic Broadway musical joy.”

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Photo: Little Fang
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Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster


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Photo: Little Fang
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Anne Hathaway

Image may contain Human Person Clothing Apparel Blake Lively and Night Life
Photo: Little Fang
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Blake Lively


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Photo: Little Fang
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Anna Wintour

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Photo: Little Fang
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Jordan Roth

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Photo: Little Fang
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Seth Meyers and Alexi Ashe

Image may contain Cynthia Nixon Human Person and Fashion
Photo: Jenny Anderson age fom Vogue --

[jo]

This is the story that is drawing the people's attention ( and hopefully, translates in new fans who will see The Music Man) --

ew.com/theater/ryan-reynolds-gives-hugh-jackman-portraits-of-himself-music-man-opening-night/?utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=social-share-article

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From Inside Edition --

this is the real story of what Opening Night was all about!

The return of some normalcy to daily lives - especially in New York ( which was the hardest hit when Covid-19 first hit the USA...and when Omicron joined the virus phalanx) -- it was a feeling of joy to think that things could be back to a new normal, celebrating joy in a Broadway musical!

ON TV

By Leigh Scheps
First Published: 4:41 PM PST, February 11, 2022

Celebrities including Cynthia Nixon, Andy Cohen, Ann Hathaway, Seth Meyers, Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds all were notables present for the opening night of the highly anticipated revival.
The return of the glitzy red carpets of the past are back.

Celebrities including Cynthia Nixon, Andy Cohen, Ann Hathaway, Seth Meyers, Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds all were notables present for the opening night of the highly anticipated revival of “The Music Man” starring Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster.

Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster
Little Fang
“How long has it been since we’ve all been here? The energy is back. Huge red carpets,” Jackman’s wife, Deborra Lee Furness, told Inside Edition.


The who’s who of fashion designers were on the carpet too, ahead of New York City Fashion Week. Diane Von Furstenberg, Donna Karen and Michael Kors all walked the tented press line outside the Winter Garden Theatre — the same theater which housed the original “West Side Story” back in 1957, which lost to “The Music Man” for best musical at the Tony Awards that season.

The star-studded red carpet may be a sign of ushering in the ending of the pandemic.


“No matter what we went through we are back up and operating. This is a great city and we are excited about the future,” Mayor Eric Adams (D) told Inside Edition’s Leigh Scheps.

Fans of the musical and the Wolverine have been scooping up tickets ever since the revival was announced in 2019. “The Music Man” marquee went up in June 2020. With Broadway shut down due to COVID-19, the theater sat empty for nearly two years. The show, about a fast-talking traveling salesman selling a boy band, was supposed to open in October 2020.

A few days into previews in December 2021, there was trouble in River City with a capital T. Nearly 60 people within the cast and crew tested positive for COVID. The show was shut down for 10 days so everyone could recover. But as the age-old saying goes: the show must go on. And it has.

The Music Man
Little Fang Photo
“Yes, the pandemic was hard on us but we overcame it,” Governor Kathy Houchul (D) told Inside Edition. “This is really a comeback story and I’m glad to be enjoying it with my fellow New Yorkers.”

As New York state eases its mask mandate, New York City still requires them, along with proof of vaccination for everyone including kids ages 5 and up in Broadway theaters until at least April 30. Houchul says as COVID infection rates decrease, the mask mandate could drop in schools too. In New Jersey, Governor Phil Murphy announced schools can lift their mask mandates beginning March 7.


“We might also be at same time frame. I wanted to wait until the kids are done with their next break. They are back February 28th. Give them a week to be tested. It may well be we have our masks off March 7,” Houchul said, noting every student is being sent free test kits.

Many students can have the opportunity to see the show themselves. With high ticket prices for “The Music Man,” the show is making available 10,000 tickets at $20 to New York City students, their families and teachers to help foster a love and appreciation for the arts by making Broadway more accessible.

A New York City high school marching band helped celebrate opening night by performing “76 Trombones” and “The Well Fargo Wagon” outside the theater.

Marching Band Outside The Winter Garden Theatre
Emilio Madrid
“Our kids have been through a lot in this pandemic. And they suffered mightily,” said New York City School Chancellor David Banks. “We talk about what it's going to take to get our kids back to where they need to be. Well, I will tell you what it's going to take. It’s going to take music. It’s going to take theater. The arts. Because music and theater and dance is what is needed by the soul and the spirit of all of our young people.”


Music, theater and dance is what’s energizing the souls of New Yorkers as they climb out of the pandemic. For choreographer Warren Carlyle, teaching Hugh Jackman how to tap-dance for the “The Music Man” saved his life.

“It was an absolute gift to be able to teach him because I was in my apartment for two years. And for three days I had somewhere to go with someone I admire so much. It was life-saving,” Carlyle told Leigh Scheps on the red carpet.

“Live theatre is the life blood of any city,” added composer Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber, who penned "Cats" and Broadway's longest running musical, "The Phantom of the Opera."

Currently there are 19 shows playing in Broadway’s 41 theaters with 16 more shows expected to open through April.

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A gift from BWW --

www.broadwayworld.com/videoplay/VIDEO-Go-Inside-Opening-Night-of-THE-MUSIC-MAN-on-Broadway-20220211

Jefferson Mays was very emotional -- maybe after all the uncertainties they have gone through!

And the new hopes that this show which has just opened is giving our future outlook.

Jo

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www.broadwayworld.com/videoplay/VIDEO-Watch-Stars-Hit-the-Red-Carpet-for-Opening-Night-of-THE-MUSIC-MAN-on-Broadway-20220211

"A deeply moving night!"

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Check out the link --

www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1033693867184368&aggr_v_ids[0]=1033693867184368¬if_id=1644669932422354¬if_t=watch_follower_video&ref=notif

[njr]

Feb 11, 2022 23:23:06 GMT -5 jo said:

Is that really Anne Hathaway? If so, why does she have so few followers? And the account isn’t verified with a blue checkmark. I couldn’t find a verified Twitter account for Anne Hathaway. *perplexed*

Nancy

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www.vanityfair.com/style/2022/02/inside-the-music-mans-star-studded-opening-night

VANITY FAIR

Magazine
BROADWAY'S BACK

Inside The Music Man’s Star-Studded Opening Night
Celebs and politicians turn out in droves for opening night of The Music Man starring Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster.
BY CHRIS MURPHY

FEBRUARY 11, 2022



JENNY ANDERSON


Seventy-six trombones led the big parade of celebrities on the red carpet at the star-studded and sold-out opening night of Meredith Willson’s The Music Man on Broadway, starring Tony winners Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster. “I hope their hearts are as filled as ours,” Jackman told Vanity Fair of audiences who attend the revival. “I hope that they feel that sense of community and possibility and faith.”

Before stars like Ryan Reynolds, Andrew Lloyd Webber, and Anne Hathaway walked the red carpet, the Forest Hills High School marching band kicked off the proceedings, performing multiple rousing renditions “Seventy-Six Trombones” outside the Winter Garden Theatre in full marching band regalia for all of New York to hear. Not long after Deborra-Lee Furness, actor, producer, and wife of Jackman, graced the red carpet in support of her husband, who spent years getting The Music Man to Broadway, persevering through the Broadway shutdown, the removal of disgraced lead producer Scott Rudin, and a recent bout with COVID to get to opening night.

“Because of the pandemic and all the stop and starts, it’s been two years getting here,” she said. “Wow, what a journey, but here we are. It’s worth it when you see the faces smiling and the joy that this sort of theater brings.” Furness shared that she helped Jackman prepare for his starring role as Professor Harold Hill. “We do everything together—I didn’t do the tap dancing,” she quipped.


Deborra Lee-Furness and Blake Lively

Reynolds and wife Blake Lively came to show his support for Reynold’s former X-Men castmate and longtime friend Jackman. Hathaway, who won an Oscar acting opposite Jackman in the musical Les Misérables, also was there to support her former costar, walking the red carpet minutes before the show began.

The enduring power of friendship was a recurring theme of the evening, with Tony Award–winning Music Man choreographer Warren Carlyle reminiscing about his 25-year-long friendship and working relationship with Jackman. “Imagine going to work every day with one of your best friends in the whole world,” Carlyle explained. “It’s the best.” Carlyle shared that although he and Jackman are super tight, their friendship doesn’t interfere with their working relationship. “He’s really honest with me,” Carlyle said. “If he doesn’t like something he’ll say, ‘Warren, I don’t like that part.’ And if he’s on the wrong foot, I’ll say, ‘Guess what, you’re on the wrong foot.’ Neither one of us have to filter what we say. There’s a beautiful open collaboration there.”

While The Music Man’s opening was momentous for Broadway, it was also momentous for New York City, and saw New York politicians like Governor Kathy Hochul, former NYC mayor Mike Bloomberg, and Mayor Eric Adams walk the red carpet. Inside the theater, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi exchanged hellos with Diane Sawyer as theatergoers made their way to their seats. “I’m a huge Broadway fan,” said Adams, who shared that he has plans to see both Tina and MJ on Broadway in the coming weeks. “You know me, I’m a nightlife mayor—I have to touch the product.” Adams is such a fan of the nightlife that he attended the red carpet even though he couldn’t stay for the performance, and insists on paying his own way whenever he sees a show.



“I’m not sitting through the play today. I just came here to show my support. Whenever I go to Broadway, I pay for my tickets, because if I don’t pay for my tickets Page Six is gonna talk about me," Adams told a reporter from the New York Post gossip column.

Image may contain Michael Bloomberg Audience Human Crowd Person Eric Adams Speech Suit Coat Clothing and Overcoat
Mayor Eric Adams and Michael Bloomberg JENNY ANDERSON

Longtime New Yorkers like And Just Like That…’s Cynthia Nixon, Law & Order: SVU’s Mariska Hargitay, Late Night’s Seth Meyers, and reality-TV kingpin Andy Cohen also came out to show their support for Broadway. Cohen—still glowing from receiving his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on the same day he celebrated his son’s third birthday—briefly addressed the recent controversy with The Real Housewives franchise’s vetting process, telling reporters that “everything is a work in progress.” He also shared that fans were in for a treat with the upcoming reunions of Real Housewives of Salt Lake City and Peacock’s Real Housewives of Miami. “I just watched Miami,” he told V.F., “and it’s great. And Salt Lake City, I just watched part one of [the reunion]—I feel really good about them.”

While the affair was a veritable who’s who of NYC, ultimately the night belonged to Jackman and Foster, who were rapturously received by the packed house. After the show, Jackman and Foster, arm in arm, discussed the immense honor of leading The Music Man’s ensemble, which features 21 Broadway debuts.




Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster



“It’s a privilege,” Jackman told V.F. “That group of 21—extraordinary. I’m proud to be part of a company that can have 21 debuts. We have a cast of 46—now 49, I think we added a few more. It’s an extraordinary company.”

“The show is about community, but I feel like we’ve created our own little community and our own little family and we take that very seriously,” said Foster. Wistfully looking at the Winter Garden, Foster said, “That building, it’s important that it’s a happy place for people to be.”

[jo]

At the Palm-West Side for the post-show party?

http://instagram.com/p/CZ2SVm1vS21