Hugh Jackman 12/14 Evening

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 12/15/11 at 6:13pm

We saw it last night & it was very good. They could have done without the bit about aboriginies but it was still fabulous..

They did an auction for an undershirt he wore at the end. He had 2 bidders for similar amounts so he whipped out another one he wore. Each shirt went for $ 11,500 a pop. Methinks he will raise the most for the collections from shows.

To those sitting upstairs beware taking pictures of curtain calls with your cell. An usher wearing a Television City jacket went ballistic on a woman in front of us. He threatened to call the cops. He than sat next to the woman while she deleted the 4 pictures she took. Her boyfriend almost decked him for his heavy handed approach. The guy could have handled it differently but he acted like a little dictator drunk with power.

[binau]

Posted: 12/15/11 at 6:15pm

Lol, what was the 'bit about aborigines'? Racism towards them is so frowned upon in Australia (at least in the media, not really in common discourse I don't think) I assume it wasn't a joke about them. A relentless acknowledging the 'traditional owners of the land', perhaps?

Updated On: 12/15/11 at 06:15 PM

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 12/15/11 at 6:17pm

Nope just I think people were not paying big bucks to see that part of the show. They wanted Jackman not a travelogue on Australia

[supersam1026]

Posted: 12/15/11 at 7:29pm

So he's still collecting even though the BC/EFA period is over?

[alterego]

Posted: 12/15/11 at 7:34pm

Most Australians can live without "the bit about the aborigines" too. What actually do they do in the show?

[Fan2]

Posted: 12/15/11 at 8:17pm

In the second act towards the end, didgeridoo players are on stage (entering down the aisles) as a film rolls of the Outback in Australia. Hugh introduces the piece by saying when he was in college, he spent time in the Outback and explains how it transformed him, and he wanted to show the audience his country. He sings "Over the Rainbow" as the film rolls and the players play. Then he introduces the people on stage, and explains who they are, and how recently the Prime Minister apologized for the treatment of Aborigines in the past. Olive Knight, who is on stage, I believe is one of the elders and was present at the PM's apology.

This was in the NY Post:

>Hugh’s didgeri-dudes
By STEFANIE COHEN
Last Updated: 1:02 PM, November 29, 2011
Posted: 10:30 PM, November 28, 2011

There have been unusual sounds over the years on Broadway — Carol Channing rasping out “Hello, Dolly!,” Ethel Merman trumpeting “Rose’s Turn,” Harvey Fierstein singing . . . anything.

But it’s hard to top the strange notes of the didgeridoos — wooden wind trumpets originally made from termite-bored trees — accompanying Hugh Jackman.

In “Hugh Jackman, Back on Broadway,” the man from Oz sings “Over the Rainbow” backed by two of the indigenous Australian instruments, played by Paul Boon and Nathan Mundraby. Olive Knight — one of Australia’s greatest indigenous singers — and her son Clifton Bieundurry provide the vocals.

“We tend to think we’re the first didgeridoo players on Broadway, so we’re pretty excited about that,” says Boon, 41, who hails from Broome, in western Australia.

Jackman asked the musicians to perform with him to raise awareness of his country’s indigenous arts. With the exception of Boon, are all Aborigine and work with the arts organization Nomad Two Worlds.

“We feel so fortunate to be part of the show,” says the 65-year-old Knight, who sings a verse of “Over the Rainbow” in her native Walmajarri language.

“More people come to the show every night than live in the village that we’re from,” adds her 38-year-old son, who, like Knight, was born in Wangkatjungka Community in western Australia.

“I watch the crowd after I bow and I can see people crying, so I feel like it’s touching a lot of people, and introducing them to our culture,” he says.

The troupe members, most of whom accompanied Jackman when the show played San Francisco and Toronto, are sampling some new culture, too.

Knight says she was particularly excited about meeting Kirk Douglas, who recently came backstage.

“He left me in awe,” says Knight, who loved him in “Spartacus” and told him so when they shook hands. Nevertheless, she says the celebrity she really wants to meet is Ray Liotta.

“I think he’s a real gentleman, even though he’s been in some rough movies,” she says of the “Goodfellas” star. “But he’s handsome and perfect.”

For his part, Bieundurry wouldn’t mind meeting Jay-Z. (Perhaps Jackman can pull a few strings.)

Boon insists he gets more of a kick out of the regular folks in the audience.

“It’s great when celebrities come, but there are Hugh fans who are there each and every night,” he says. “They were in San Francisco, Toronto, and now New York. They love their Hugh.

“I guess they’d rather have a Hugh-gasm,” he adds, “than sit at home and watch the Republican presidential debates.”

Mundraby, who was raised in Yarrabah in Queensland and had never visited New York before, also has a request, but not of Jackman.

“I’d really like to play the didge on the ‘Peter Letterman’ show,” he says. “That would be cool.”

“It would be,” says Boon, laughing, “but I’d try to get on the ‘DAVID Letterman’ show instead if I were you.”<<

Here's the website with info on the performers - Nomad Two Worlds is one of Hugh's advocacies:

Photo with Hugh on stage on the right (click photo to read about them):

http://www.nomadtwoworlds.com/

Article:


Hugh's Dudes Updated On: 12/15/11 at 08:17 PM

[nealb1]

Posted: 12/15/11 at 10:47pm

Australia is what makes Hugh J tick - it's his life and his passion. It's a wonderful moment in the show when the native Australian's join him on stage and pay tribute to their country and his.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 12/15/11 at 11:10pm

I really liked it (though I've been to Australia twice, so that may skew my perspective). It's nice to see exposure of an Australian aboriginal culture in the US, although some day I'd like it not to just be in a supporting role-type capacity. It's certainly better than the poor sods who dress in native attire to entertain overseas tourists at Circular Quay.

Oh, for "Brad Nue Dae" to screen here again...

[NYadgal]

Posted: 12/15/11 at 11:15pm

I thought it was beautifully performed and incredibly meaningful.

The show is a bit of an autobiography for Hugh Jackman, and Australia is his home. The way he shared it was heartfelt and meaningful.

I loved it.


It's been announced that he's broken records in BC/EFA fundraising.
Great use of star power.

[once a month]

Posted: 12/16/11 at 9:37am

Sorry...I was pretty bored throughout. He's a great guy, handsome man and full of energy but I couldn't get past the egomania...but I have to give credit where it's due...the man can certainly shill himself!