Can't wait to read some HUGH JACKMAN reviews! — Page 4

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Totally uninteresting. An orchestra behind him, projections on a screen in the course of the evening.

Before I get started, I loved THE BOY FROM OZ, and moderately enjoyed A STEADY RAIN. I've never seen any of his action movies so I'm a casual fan of Hugh Jackman's at best.

My partner and I went last night and sat in the third row, stage right, under the boxes, a bad place to be at the top of the second act when he (apparently) shows up in one of the boxes and, as Peter Allen, flirts with a male member of the audience (something I never saw the real Peter Allen do, BTW). But other than that, we got to see a lot of Mr J up close and personal.

I enjoyed myself but I was not overwhelmed by his show or his performance. Slogging through the snow on the way to dinner after the show, I kept pondering why I wasn't bowled over and I came to this conclusion:

Hugh Jackman is a very capable singer/dancer but he doesn't have a signature style or indelible personality. Think back to the tiny number of personalities who are instantly identifiable: Garland, Sinatra, Jolson, Merman, Astaire, Carol Channing, Julio Iglesias, Nat King Cole (or Peter Allen for that matter). Like them or not, as soon as you heard them sing, or, in the case of Kelly and Astaire, saw them sing and dance, you knew it was them. They were unique, one of a kind performers. Hugh Jackman's show consists mostly of him aping other performers' styles (here's a Gene Kelly number, here's me doing Fred Astaire, here's a Frank Sinatra song, here's my Peter Allen schtick) but when it's just Jackman as Jackman ('Soliloquy', 'Once Before I Go'), it seems like paint-by-the-numbers, competent yet lacking in anything truly special.

And pulling some pour soul out of the audience and having him wiggle around with your 'girls' while you sit in the front row with your arm around his wife (yeah, yeah, we know you're straight Hugh, we get it) grew really old really fast.

At the end of show, he doesn't reach out and touch the audience, (as Garland did after her concerts, and Pearl Bailey used to do after her shows), but rather slaps their hands as he sprints across the stage in what looks more like a victory lap than a reciprocation of affection.

Not a bad evening, but for roughly $200 a ticket, not the evening I was hoping for.

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"What would you recommend he do it order to get "it?""

Neal,

There's nothing I can recommend, because there's really nothing he can do about it.

You know the line in Gypsy, "You either got it or you ain't."

Unfortunately, that's just the way it is.

That's too bad. I was blown away when I saw him in May in San Fran. Do you think I won't like it when I see it next month?

Neal,

I'm glad you think he has "it."

If you were blown away the first time, there's no reason why you shouldn't be blown away again.

I think you're going to have a fantastic time, and I hope you do.

I see what y'all mean. Those who weren't as impressed as they had hoped were likely there to witness his talents and those who loved it or liked it were there to witness a talented person having fun. The former probably read the fun aspect of it as a sort of apology for lack of talent, while the latter knew going in he isn't a Garland, Sinatra, or Bennett and expected him not to take himself too seriously.

Had he taken himself too seriously, he'd have come across as mediocre and overrated. His singing is good, don't get me wrong, but I see what is meant by those who weren't bowled over by it alone. When I think of Hugh, I don't imagine royalty, icon, or DIVO...I just see that BIG toothy grin of his, lol. His singing isn't on a level where it sells itself, but sounds like the show is about him and not just his voice and he certainly has the likability factor to carry one alone.

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Updated On: 10/30/11 at 09:25 PM

Hugh talks about his one-man show --

http://www.playbill.com/news/article/156039-THE-LEADING-MEN-Broadway-Is-a-Dream-Come-True-Again-for-Hugh-Jackman

I don't know anything about this, but for a show that's only going to run 2 months, is it odd to have more than 2 weeks of previews? Especially since he's already done it elsewhere.

Updated On: 11/2/11 at 04:04 AM

I was there this past Sunday. Barbara Walters was there and Hugh's wife and son. He seems to have an affability and adaptability that plays on the spot with whomever is there at the time.

I enjoyed the show a helluva lot. And I think it's his energy, his looks, his warmth and his reaching out to his audience in a very human and empathetic way that ultimately grabs us. Certainly there are numbers I could have done without and his voice is nothing I would want to take home to listen to again...unlike Garland, Streisand, Coward or Dietrich. And I could have done without Soliloquy. And I loved the Boy from Oz segment. So different strokes etc.

And unlike some of the names mentioned above, Hugh's an iconic movie star in the prime of his movie career showing us in the flesh a different side of himself that his movies have never done. His movie fans love it, most of us theater addicts love it, and in the end, his show wins the day (despite the ungodly pricing. But if you sit up close, you feel there's more for your money. At least, I did.)

I agree with hughpuppy's review. I saw tonight, and while he has the personality to pull off a one man show, he is not a unique enough singer in my opinion to justify having his own show. It certainly is not worth premium prices, I am happy I only paid $68.50. I guess I am unfairly comparing it to Liza's At the Palace, where she was justified in having her own show.

Okay, I caught the show last night with a $99 ticket purchased on eBay, first half from the front mezz, second half from a 6th row seat...and the man made me smile for two solid hours, which is something! The ticket prices are insane, it's better of course if you're closer, and every perf is different. At mine, a woman close up handed him her wig and he had tons of fun with that...and a really strange character crashed the stage near the end and Hugh had to chat with him until a guard took him away.

QUESTION: If the box seats are just for students--and if, as I've read on the boards, there were enough lottery players yesterday--why did I see so many older folks sitting up there?

So....anyone have a songlist?

Read on Twitter that Cameron Mackintosh was in the audience last night.