A question about the OBC of The Boy From Oz...

The Boy from Oz originated in Australia, where Todd Mckenny played Peter Allen. When it came to Broadway, HJ was always going to be Peter Allen.

At least thats what i understand to be true...if im wrong then i stand to be corrected

Updated On: 10/15/05 at 12:14 PM

Todd McKenny originally was going to star in it on Broadway too and was cleared by American Equity to do so. It was widely reported in Australia that he would be re-creating his role as Peter Allen on Broadway and he told many friends how excited he was to be going to Broadway.

Shortly thereafter, however, it was decided to go with a movie star with a higher American profile and Jackman became attached from the first U.S. workshop onward.

Some actors were not in the workshop but joined the cast when the show opened on Broadway - such as Jarrod Emick as Peter Allen's lover and Stephanie Block as Liza. Keating was aboard with her spectacular Judy Garland portrayal from the New York workshops onward.

Also, the show was somewhat rewritten for American audiences (and I feel lost some heart and drama - while gaining the excitement of Jackman's popular performance). But the loss of the spectacular Australian-version staging of "I Still Call Australia Home" was much missed in the Broadway version, for example. And the ending was much, much, much more touching and effective in the original Australian production (you can hear a bit of the difference in the dialogue at the end of the Australian Cast Album). In Australia, it reduced the audience to tears, on Broadway it seduced the audience to cheers (for Jackman)...two quite different effects.

Updated On: 10/15/05 at 01:21 PM

BINGO!

I still like the Australian cast recording just as much... I hate how "Quiet Please..." fades out on the OBC...

Interestingly, Australian producer Ben Gannon said in an interview that the role in the Australian production was first offered to Hugh ( even before it was offered to Todd), who turned it down because he wanted to propel his career internationally. This led to his eventually being cast as Curly in the RNT OKLAHOMA!...which eventually became a springboard for his being cast as Wolverine in XMEN and launched him on a Hollywood movie career. It is an irony that if he hadn't turned it down originally, he probably would not have become a household film name and would not have been considered for the Broadway THE BOY FROM OZ.

I'm looking forward to seeing him reprise the role in an arena production in Australia in 2006. I wonder how he will be received in his native land ? He has certainly made the name of Peter Allen more well known and he has personally brought more honours to his homeland with this role ( a TONY and an EMMY and many other awards for the role).

He won it for being host of the Tony Awards where he did play Peter in "Not the Boy Next Door".

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I like "I've Been Taught By Experts" ... I wish they hadn't cut that from the Broadway production...

TENTERFIELD SADDLER is a beautiful and poignant song which tells the story of Peter Allen. But it wouldn't have worked in the Broadway version because they chose to emphasize Peter's "If you're going to live, live!" philosophy, hence the more positive ending.

But I am glad that Hugh's version of the song was included as a bonus track in the OBCR.

http://www.footlight.com/product.cfm?product_id=2026

Hugh Jackman and producer Ben Gannon have confirmed that the Australian arena tour of THE BOY FROM OZ will be staged in Australia in July or August 2006.

http://seven.com.au/news/entertainment/113960

It would be interesting to see how the Broadway version will be scaled up for large production venues. It looks like it will be an all-Australian cast.

geez, sorry that was meg. i thought i changed the password? we do know jess however...