Hugh Jackman Says MUSIC MAN Still On Schedule for September

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 4/22/20 at 12:53pm

I hope it still happens!!

Updated On: 4/22/20 at 12:53 PM

[Tag]

Posted: 4/22/20 at 1:00pm

Not going to happen, but wishful thinking :)

[CT2NYC]

Posted: 4/22/20 at 1:08pm

The first preview is supposed to be 9/9, but Hugh says 9/15. Wondering if it's been changed, or if he was mistakenly thinking of opening night on 10/15. I'm guessing the latter.

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 4/22/20 at 1:11pm

I was hoping for a September re-opening of Broadway. I can still dream, yes?

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 4/22/20 at 1:12pm

Interesting how they’re still planning on starting rehearsals on the same date.

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 4/22/20 at 1:14pm

I don’t believe anyone actually knows if it’s still going to happen, even Rudin has no idea. If they have to cancel, I hope they postpone. I was really looking forward to this revival.

[Lisalemann]

Posted: 4/22/20 at 1:22pm

As long as it is open by December when I have tickets - I'll be happy :)  Apparently (I saw in another article) they already had some preliminary rehearsals with the choreographer and are doing zoom meetings now - so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.  I live in Louisiana and we got hit early like New York - but we are on the downward trend now.  Of course we don't have the people density or the subways - which probably didn't help.  I am staying optimistic - for now...

[aliceripleyofficial]

Posted: 4/22/20 at 2:13pm

@hughjackman

[kade.ivy]

Posted: 4/22/20 at 10:55pm

Man I hope this still happens. Selfishly because I have tickets and am dying to see it. But also because this will be a perfect production with which to reopen Broadway. Our time’s one true song and dance superstar of stage and screen opposite who in my opinion is Broadway’s most prolific leading lady of the 21st century in a lavish Zaks/Carlyle/Loquasto production of a classic. Tickets will sell (heck, have sold!), and spirits will be high!!!

Updated On: 4/22/20 at 10:55 PM

[sabrelady]

Posted: 4/22/20 at 11:19pm

I know I'm going to seem like a wet blanket but if the calculations I've been trying to follow are correct ( and the times they are a-changin' daily)  that's about when the 2nd wave should be hitting.   

Not sure how its going to present or if there will be better preparation but a 2nd wave is pretty much a given.

I actually hope it is b4 Nov cos then President Caligula will not be able to use  "I cured Covid" as a slogan.

[IdinaBellFoster]

Posted: 4/22/20 at 11:54pm

Sure Jan.

I want to see Broadway & the city back up and running as soon as possible, but this seems destined to be delayed.

Updated On: 4/22/20 at 11:54 PM

[Scarlet Leigh]

Posted: 4/23/20 at 12:20am

Here in lays the problem with a big "name" like Jackman in a show. He is signed onto the show for 1 year. There is no telling if he has already signed any deals for something AFTER that year is up. This puts the show on a very delicate timeline that I am sure has already been planned down to the smallest details. While they might have every intention of keeping this on track, the fact is that it's not in their control. Have they even held auditions to cast the ensemble yet? It is ALL a waiting game because even if they WANT to start rehearsals, that is not to say that Equity is going to allow it to happen. If things are still shut down by then, they cannot and will not make an exception for one show, no matter how much money Rudin attempts to throw around to make it happen.

So if/more likely WHEN they have to delay rehearsals, their whole timeline gets thrown off. I am sure the GOAL is to recoup the investment in the time they have Jackman. So if the show gets delayed one month, two month, however long... but they still only have Jackman until his original exit date, then the question comes up of how long could they delay the show AND still recoup their money before Jackman leaves?

[BWAY Baby2]

Posted: 4/23/20 at 7:28am

I actually hope it is b4 Nov cos then President Caligula will not be able to use  "I cured Covid" as a slogan.

Trump is already saying that- and will continue- whether or not the virus comes back or not- let's get real- 40 per cent of the population believe his every word and that is just the way it is. 

     As for a September opening of previews- as more and more states open up prematurely- and I live in Atlanta where our Trump ass-kissing Governor made it okay for gyms and tattoo parlors to open tomorrow- even if you all in NY have the curve very much flattened and new cases subside dramatically- us Georgians- and people from other Southern states- are gonna come visit and spread the coronavirus around again. Very sad- and very unnecessary- but that is a very real possibility.

[HogansHero]

Posted: 4/23/20 at 9:09am

It is pretty common for folks here to read headlines instead of articles and interviews, so for the benefit of that group (seemingly well represented in this thread), here is what Jackman said: "But of course, we'll have to see what happens. But at present, that's still the plan." There will be no rehearsals in June; there will be no previews in September. "plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.”-DDE

[everythingtaboo]

Posted: 4/23/20 at 12:40pm

Selfishly, I would love to see it sometime in the fall, because skittish travelers might postpone coming to NYC and there might be some seats released at a reasonable price. 

[Marlothom]

Posted: 4/23/20 at 7:18pm

I imagine Sutton Foster, AND Hugh Jackman's schedule is a mess - more than just this show/Broadway, TV/Hollywood is also on-hold in terms of filming so everything is up in the air.  It could work in Broadway's favor if all of their other projects are also pushed back sometime.  

[jo]

Posted: 4/23/20 at 8:19pm

Hugh was lucky to have completed filming the Lisa Joy-Nolan romantic sci-fi thriller REMINISCENCE in January 2020. It is now in post production. Warner Bros has just announced its theatrical release date for April 16, 2021.  In interviews, Hugh has said that he has no other projects this year and that he has a 15-month (presumably including rehearsals) commitment to TheMusicMan. He has said that part of his homebound activity is doing some facetime-assisted work on the musical score of the show with the music director ( Patrick Vacariello), practicing dance steps that he, Sutton, and Warren Carlyle covered in a 2 1/2 week workshop in February... and doing promo work ( from a distance) for his new movie coming out. He said he even found time to do an online class on the subject of film.

Btw, his movie which was a hit at Toronto called BAD EDUCATION premieres on HBO on April 25, 2020.

Nothing has been announced by project proponents or by himself on what he might be doing after the yearlong performance commitment to The Music Man.

Re TheMusicMan - from his various interviews when asked about the Broadway-bound project, he has said that at the moment the schedule is ( still) unchanged. It was not a categorical statement that everything will happen as planned. He has qualified it by saying  "We'll see what happens" and "hopefully" . All it seems he is saying is that they continue to prepare so they will be ready to be at the starting block if and when the situation allows the reopening of Broadway.

Updated On: 4/23/20 at 08:19 PM

[bwaydreamer]

Posted: 4/23/20 at 9:50pm

Zero chance this will be opening in the Fall, and Jackman can call up his friends The Trump family to thank them for being so terrible at their jobs that he won't be able to do this.  Maybe now he will see what blind support of friends gets you. 

[jo]

Posted: 4/23/20 at 10:02pm

bwaydreamer said: "Zero chance this will be opening in the Fall, and Jackman can call up his friends The Trump family to thank them for being so terrible at their jobs that he won't be able to do this. Maybe now he will see what blind support of friends gets you."

https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2016/oct/18/hillary-clinton-broadway-fundraiser-hugh-jackman-julia-roberts

"Hugh Jackman sauntered onstage to deliver Oh What a Beautiful Morning, a sly reappropriation of the Morning in American slogan. He altered the lyrics to say, “Everything’s going her way,” and encouraged the audience in a singalong..."

Updated On: 4/23/20 at 10:02 PM

[JSquared2]

Posted: 4/23/20 at 11:04pm

bwaydreamer said: "Zero chance this will be opening in the Fall, and Jackman can call up his friends The Trump family to thank them for being so terrible at their jobs that he won't be able to do this. Maybe now he will see what blind support of friends gets you."

Stop being ridiculous. You’re just embarrassing yourself. 

[SmoothLover]

Posted: 4/24/20 at 12:37am

I think it is unrealistic. But hopefully he can do it in 2021.

[Kimbo]

Posted: 4/24/20 at 6:42am

SmoothLover said: "I think it is unrealistic. But hopefully he can do it in 2021."

Fall 2021 for sure. Sutton’s filming Younger this fall (was supposed to shoot March through July, now aiming for August through November - ie the exact scheduled rehearsal and preview period for Music Man), and even if a show wanted to preview in December and open in January, between Jackman surely having press commitments around the newly scheduled opening of his movie in January and the threat of a more severe outbreak in the winter, I can’t imagine they’d want to take the chance of scheduling for the winter and postponing yet again. Pretty sure it’ll just be pushed back a full year - seems easier, safer, and sensible - by which time a vaccine or better pharamaceutical treatments should be in place. 

 

[jo]

Posted: 4/24/20 at 7:06am

Kimbo said:

"between Jackman surely havingpress commitments around the newly scheduled opening of his movie in January"  

Hugh has no new movie being released in January 2021. His new movie REMINISCENCE has a release date of April 16, 2021. It may be a coincidence but if the original schedule for The Music Man happens, there is a one-week break in March 2021 when they are not selling tickets.

You are probably not familiar with how he multi-tasks these things. One example : he was filming overnight for THE GREATEST SHOWMAN and the following morning he turns up for a whole day session for the media tour for LOGAN, both in New York. He never said it, until one of the media people asked him directly. He is able to put in the media tour within his schedule - media is usually assembled for a day or two in one place and each has his turn. Talk show appearances can be scheduled separately.  If there are foreign promotions (usually reserved for tentpoles), these can be handled, unless he is on Broadway... He could not attend  TIIF and Venice FF when his movies were once scheduled for screenings because of other commitments... When he was filming LOGAN in New Orleans, actresses who were being considered for the roles of Charity and Jenny Lind  flew to NOLA and spent the weekend screen-testing with Hugh. When he was doing The River on Broadway, he participated in the first workshop to test the musical score of Greatest Showman. Ask Sutton Foster, Aaron Tveit, Keala Settle and Natalie Weiss - they were all there.

Nothing categorical was said by Hugh about the schedule for The Music Man - all he said was that the schedule remains unchanged at the moment but that depends "on what happens" … but that they are preparing for it so they can be ready at the starting block, IF and WHEN Broadway reopens. Maybe he cannot disclose more than that -  but that is between him and producer Scott Rudin! I think prudence is something that is on everyone's mind - I would not second-guess and say it categorically what others who are directly involved in it have said publicly. 

These are very, very difficult times, something no one has experienced in their lifetimes today. I have followed Broadway for a long time and like many others feel so crestfallen at what has happened to it. So, to see some positivity, especially from people saying that they continue to believe in this performing art and are committed (and working) to see it back gladdens me. Again, nobody is discounting the serious risks involved. But we all hope we can see those bright lights once again when the right time comes!

Updated On: 4/24/20 at 07:06 AM

[Stephen75]

Posted: 4/24/20 at 9:59am

I love Hugh and I will gladly see this in a heartbeat, but, he is admittedly friends with Ivanka and Jared. That’s not a great look, even if he is a Democrat. Let’s not act like they are your typical republican neighbors who you still get along with...

[jo]

Posted: 4/24/20 at 12:57pm

From a multi-topic interview with film blog site COLLIDER.

collider.com/hugh-jackman-interview-bad-education-the-music-man-reminiscence/
 

Hugh Jackman on HBO’s ‘Bad Teacher’, Quarantine Breadmaking Tips, and Quentin Tarantino
by Christina Radish April 24, 2020

Have you had conversations about what to do with The Music Man?

JACKMAN: For sure. Yeah, we’re talking about it, all the time. Obviously, safety and what is best for people’s health is number one. It’s a bit about my pay grade to really make the decisions of when. We are due to start rehearsals on June 29, so it’s a little up in the air ‘cause we’re not actually seeing an audience until September and opening in October. So, we don’t know what’s gonna happen. I wouldn’t be surprised if it just pushes back a little, but hopefully not too long.


I was curious about whether you’d try rehearsing over Zoom from home, or how that was going to work.

JACKMAN: Yeah. I’ve been FaceTiming with my musical director and singing with him quite a lot. I’ve also been FaceTiming with my choreographer. Just before we closed, we did a workshop, Sutton [Foster] and myself, and learned a lot of the dances. I have time and I have space here, luckily enough, to do some dancing, so I’ve been doing quite a bit of that.