Thursday, October 27, 2011
This is Hugh Jackman's third trip to Broadway, and I am 3 and 0 for seeing his work. Before I begin, I must confess: I do not like his voice. It is very irritating - and watching The Boy from Oz was tolerable as he was in role as Peter Allen - or so I thought. I have watched Oklahoma many times, but somehow he did not grate me so much as he does live - but again, perhaps I just accepted that as his interpretation of Curly. But Hugh as Hugh would be like attending a Carol Channing concert - it's just not done (though how could you miss her if she insisted on another trek of Hello Dolly? [just once before she goes])
In this concert performance, he does a lot of Peter Allen, which was fun to relive. He plays with the audience incessantly. He dances. He parades with lady dancers, though he was most at home with the gay guy he brought up on stage during "Fever." He is so swishy though - which the women seem to love (which is so odd - are they all fag hags, I wonder?).
It was fun, for sure, but I didn't get the hype 8 years ago and I am still a bit confused - there are many men on Broadway who are much better though he does have charisma - but the ego is overwhelming.
Here's my close encounter -
At The Boy From Oz, I saw the show in previews and I was sitting in the front row. After he sang "Once, Before I Go," the audience of middle aged ladies jumped to their feet and applauded and it went on and on. I have seen a lot of Broadway and I just was not that impressed. So I sat there. Basking in the love, Hugh was taken aback by my resistance so he looked over at me and made a "come on" gesture and I just flatly refused. Eventually, he gave up and turned his attention back to the love.
Well, tonight I was further away, so I could better hide my lack of enthusiasm. But, there he was again, goading people into giving him accolades. It's very odd to watch. And not to say that people don't love him - because trust me, many of them were nearly apoplectic, but I was not one of those.
Alas, in the end, I can appreciate why I loved The Boy from Oz so much - it was the history lesson on Peter Allen - and I am very grateful for that lesson.
