It certainly did!
I was at Opening Night in Sydney and a few other performances. Quite a stunner - while I loved the Broadway production, it did not prepare me for the dazzling and spectacular show we saw in Australia.
It was more like a concert ( less of the book but with spectacular production numbers and more of Hugh's commanding stage presence) as it was playing to crowds of 10,000 +. We all came out from the Sydney Entertainment Center with our faces glowing from such a wonderful evening
Here are some excerpts from a recent Men's Vogue cover feature on Hugh --
"In a vast sports stadium in Melbourne, 12,000 people gathered in a mild August day to witness an unprecedented, jaw-dropping extravaganza. Three screens project the action to the crowds as Jackman descends from the heavens draped over a white piano, poised to enter record books as the only straight man to perform such a stunt while wearing a silver-sequinned bodysuit. He proceeds to regale his audience with 3 hours of superhumanly energic singing, dancing, piano playing, high- kicking, and raucous adlibbing. As Jackman sings his last note, the entire audience leaps up and roars in appreciation."
What was amazing was that he performed the show in such vast stadiums like the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne and reached out to every member of the audience, even if one were seated at the very last row of the top tier. The large production numbers like EVERYTHING OLD IS NEW AGAIN ( with a full lineup of glitzy Rockettes), I STILL CALL AUSTRALIA HOME ( sheer emotions and pageantry!) and I GO TO RIO ( with all the characters from the carnival in Rio de Janeiro and Hugh dancing atop huge bongo drums!) were very well done. Yet the show also held some surprises - the poignant TENTERFIELD SADDLER sung by Hugh sitting down the stairs and where you can almost hear the pin drop in the huge arena... and a number ala LEGS DIAMOND, where he is dressed reminiscent of Marlon Brando's Sky Masterson but dancing with Fosse-like moves ( director and choreographer was Kenny Ortega).
The "kiss" did not belong to such an atmosphere - hence it wasn't in the show, but the number with Murray Barlett outshone the Jarrod Emick version for sheer tenderness and poignancy. Very beautifully sung and acted, too!
The show was a truly enjoyable experience!
Jo
Updated On: 3/7/07 at 06:53 PM
