Hugh Jackman Says MUSIC MAN Still On Schedule for September

I hope it still happens!!

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

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.

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...

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

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

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.

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.

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 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

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

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

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

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