Jackman Torn Between Stopping the World and Being Pal Joey as Producers Call

According to The New York Post's Michael Riedel, Tony Award-winner Hugh Jackman is torn between two upcoming revivals--both of which rumors have previously linked him to.

Riedel reports that Jackman is sought after by The Shubert Organization (Spamalot)--headed by Gerald Schoenfeld--for a revival of Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse's 1962 hit Stop the World--I Want to Get Off, in which the star would play Cockney everyman Littlechap. Meanwhile, producer Marc Platt (Wicked, the upcoming Julia Roberts blockbuster Three Days of Rain) has been trying to lure Jackman into playing the amoral, charismatic title character of Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart's Pal Joey, which opened on Broadway in 1940. The revival is slated to open next year.

Riedel writes that The Shuberts are working hard to sign Jackman for Stop the World after hearing of Jackman's interest in a Pal Joey revival, and that Platt is equally eager to sign the Boy from Oz star.

While Jackman has not announced a commitment to either revival, Riedel places his bet on Pal Joey: "After all, he's offering one of the best roles in the musical theater - Joey Evans, the handsome, gold-digging heel. It's also a role Jackman has long wanted to play. In addition, the score to Pal Joey is brimming with standards - 'Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered,' 'I Could Write a Book,' 'You Mustn't Kick It Around,' as well as 'The Lady Is a Tramp' and 'My Funny Valentine,' which were added to the movie starring Frank Sinatra. Stop the World, on the other hand, has the timeless 'What Kind of Fool Am I?' but not much else in the way of standards." Originally starring Gene Kelly, Vivienne Segal and June Havoc, among others, Pal Joey ran for a successful 374 performances and is now considered the first major musical to feature an antihero as its leading man role.

Leslie Bricusse, who most recently contributed lyrics for Jekyll & Hyde, has also agreed to penning new songs for a Stop the World revival. Newley, who also created the role of Littlechap, passed away in 1999.

The multi-talented Jackman won a Tony Award for his performance of Peter Allen in The Boy from Oz--which he will take on a tour of his native Australia beginning this August. He was also won nominated for the 1998 Olivier for Best Actor in a Musical for his Curly in the Royal National Theatre's Oklahoma! A musical theatre veteran back in Australia, he played Joe Gillis in the 1996 production of Sunset Boulevard in Melbourne, and Gaston in 1995's Beauty and the Beast. He also won an Emmy for hosting the 2004 Tony Awards. Film credits include the X-Men films, Someone Like You and Van Helsing. A third X-Men film is on the way, and Jackman will also reprise his role as Wolverine in a spin-off movie of the same name.