The Boy From Oz

[greeneyed_one]

Posted: 7/16/06 at 2:10am

Just checked out the recording from the library and I have to say I am not too impressed with it. I know it did fairly well on Broadway (right?)which probablly had a lot to do with Jackman's charm and performance. I was just curious- from those who had seen it, did you like the show? did critics like it? was the show a lot better then what was reperesented on the cast album...?

[C is for Company]

Posted: 7/16/06 at 2:11am

I never saw it either and nor do I like the cast album. I heard the show was not well received by critics, loved by audiences, and it was Jackman's charm and star quality he had on the stage that kept the show alive

[Type_A_Tiff]

Posted: 7/16/06 at 2:19am

I saw the show. It was really a showcase for Hugh's talent and charisma, to be sure. And the supporting cast deserves props as well. The show itself, to me, was mediocre in many ways, but Hugh's performance alone was worth every penny.

[Popular]

Posted: 7/16/06 at 2:29am

Tiff - I love your Meryl avatar!

I enjoy the cast recording... wish I could've seen the show. Trying REALLY hard to not mention a certain clip that popped up the other day. How am I doing?

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 7/16/06 at 9:32am

We loved both the show & cast album

I wish they would release Allens Radio City Concert on DVD

[EponineAmneris]

Posted: 7/16/06 at 9:39am

Saw it twice LOVED it Hugh was amazing. Nice guy, too.

The recording is great, but it's better if you had seen the show live.

Critics were lukewarm and it ran for a little over a year.

Updated On: 7/16/06 at 09:39 AM

[LionessInWinter]

Posted: 7/16/06 at 9:50am

I found the show itself mostly mediocre.

While I did enjoy some of the other performances, Hugh was what saved it for me. What charisma!

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 7/16/06 at 9:57am

We thought all the performers great escpecially Isabel Keating, Beth Fowler , Mitchel Federan & Jarrod Emick

We saw it twice & were blown away both times

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 7/16/06 at 10:34am

Exactly what EponineAmneris said: it's better if you saw the show live.

Basically, the show was really The Hugh Jackman Show with Hugh really playing a character named Peter Allen. The show wasn't performed like a regular 'book' show -- he spoke to the audience the entire time. Even in the middle of a 'scene' he would make comments to the audiences, etc. Also, Hugh made each performance different since he ad-libbed and played with the audiences nightly. At every performance he would stop the show when latecomers arrived and address them as to why they were late, etc. The 2nd Act Opener was the Reno Sweeney Night Club scene which he would interrupt in the middle to address the audience, this time to single-out a female (or male) audience member. The moment was always the same but the interaction was always different. At one performance I attended this literally stopped the show for about 15 minutes. At another performance, Elvis Costello was in the audience and Hugh brought him up and had him perform 2 songs with the onstage band as Hugh sang back-up with the 3 onstage backup singers (from the Reno Sweeney Night Club scene). This stopped the show for almost 30 minutes. This sorta stuff is what made the show AND Hugh such a enormous 'theatrical event' that season. I saw the show 3 times and EVERY performance was an event due to all this ad-libbing.

As for the cast recording goes -- it's just a recording of the numbers, so the visual and the 'live' moment are missing UNLESS you saw the show 'live'. All the songs are Peter Allen songs, so they are not character driven in any way UNLESS you saw the show and saw in what context they were done. Most are 'performance' songs so they needed to be seen 'live'.

Also kudos needs to be said about the supporting cast, most notably Isabel Keating's chillingly channeling of Judy Garland. She captured Judy's essence which left you with your mouth open everytime she came on stage. Even her stage exits (that walk) were pure Judy Garland.

The critics hated the show but word-of-mouth is what drove ticket sales: you HAVE to see Hugh Jackman in this show. People kept going back and back to see it simply because of Hugh's 'live' schtick -- it WAS something to experience since EVERY night was almost a totally different show. You never saw the same show twice. Barbara Cook was also a frequent visitor to the show, plus it was likely that you would see a 'celebrity' at the performance you attended, which was also kinda nice.

Now...was the show/play any good? WHO CARES?! Just attending a performance was the thing. It was the backbone to how the evening progressed so we just followed along. We were there to have a great time with Hugh and he gave you more than you ever wanted. AND he never missed a performance!

Whew! That was a mouthful.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 7/16/06 at 10:47am

What I found fascinating was the way some of the songs ( especially the lyrics) fit into Allen's life & the other people in it

For instance, having Garland sing " All I Wanted Was The Dream" was a stroke of genius. That song seemed to have been written with her & her whole life in mind & yet it was written for Legs

Updated On: 7/16/06 at 10:47 AM

[jimnysf]

Posted: 7/16/06 at 12:04pm

I agree with Mr. Roxy on this one. I saw it four times and loved it each time. All the performers were great. Stephanie J. Block as Liza, Isabel Keating as Judy, Mitchel as a young Peter, Jarrod, etc.

If you ever have the chance to see Mr. Jackman on stage in a musical, do not miss it!

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 7/16/06 at 12:12pm

There is hope for you yet Jimnysf.

While we wildly disagree on Lestat, we are in complete agreement on BFO

[erinrebecca]

Posted: 7/16/06 at 12:12pm

BFO is one of my favorite theatre experiences. It was great, so entertaining, and so many wonderful performances, right down to the boy who played a young Peter. I would recommend getting Peter Allen's cds rather than the cast recording. Peter was a better singer!

[WickedGeek28]

Posted: 7/16/06 at 12:15pm

The reason it lasted as long as it did was because of Hugh's talent. I too do not enjoy the cast recording.

[everythingtaboo]

Posted: 7/16/06 at 12:21pm

I don't think of the success had anything to do with Hugh's ad-libbing. It was just Hugh, plain and simple. From a sales point of view, just like all the women flocked to see Antonio and Harry (many of asking to be as close as possible to the stage), people didn't care what The Boy From Oz was about - and many didn't when they wanted tickets for this show, in my experience - they just wanted to see Hugh Jackman on stage.

Don't forget when they shut the show down when Hugh had to do press for Van Helsing instead of letting the show run on it's own...

[greeneyed_one]

Posted: 7/16/06 at 12:27pm

Thanks for all the responses. I didn't actually relaize that ALL the songs in the show were Peter Allen songs.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 7/16/06 at 12:32pm

To Erinrebecca

My wife & I fell Jackman was the better singer but the cast album is a must listen to us. We have repestedly listened to it but rarely listen to Atlar Boyz & have never listened to Rent

[erinrebecca]

Posted: 7/16/06 at 3:19pm

I grew up on Peter Allen cds because he was a friend of my grandmother and mother. Weird, I know! But yeah, they saw Peter perform hundreds of times (and even I did, although I was VERY young and don't remember). Most people who were familiar with Peter prior to BFO loved Hugh's portrayal but agreed that vocally he didn't perform the songs as well as Peter did. While it's true that a lot of people saw the show simply to see Hugh Jackman onstage, there were many people who saw it because they were Peter fans and that was what brought them to the theatre. In any case, it was a fun show.