The Boy From Oz

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 10/24/13 at 4:06pm

So I just started listening to the cast recording of this when it came up on Spotify, and I am really enjoying it! For those of you who saw the show, what did you think?

[once a month]

Posted: 10/24/13 at 4:12pm

The show left me cold, but I loved Hugh! I only saved two numbers on my IPod.

[eperkins]

Posted: 10/24/13 at 5:00pm

I didn't like the show, but Hugh Jackman was amazing in it and made it well worth seeing - just for him.

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 10/24/13 at 5:02pm

What once a month and eperikins said.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 10/24/13 at 5:07pm

In the minority as enjoyed the show as well as Hugh

The first time we saw it I saw the pastor of my church in a Hawaiian shirt sitting in front of us having a great time

This year he "went to rio"

[IronMan]

Posted: 10/24/13 at 5:16pm

It was just a star vehicle- and without Hugh it would have been intolerable. A fun evening, but a terrible show. We took to calling it "Nellie's Last Jam."

[Playbilly]

Posted: 10/24/13 at 5:23pm

Isabel Keating and Stephanie J. Block stole the show. I would have preferred someone who was a more like Peter Allen to play Peter Allen...but authenticity in the lead wasn't why the show made it to Broadway.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 10/24/13 at 5:29pm

Keating was scary good playing Garland

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 10/24/13 at 6:06pm

It was a pretty bad show. The book was abhorrent and pretty much ruined the show for me. The performances were, obviously, the show's saving grace, and they were excellent all around. Obviously this may as well have been called The Hugh Jackman Show, and he gave one of the most sensationally entertaining stage performances in recent memory. I can't even begin to imagine how incredible he would have been if the show was good as well. I'd certainly sit through it again for Jackman, though.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 10/24/13 at 6:17pm

I'm in full agreement with most of what's been said: LOVED Hugh, the show? Meh.

[Brave Sir Robin2]

Posted: 10/24/13 at 6:37pm

I'm a little biased as it was my first Broadway show, but I thought it was great! I'd be curious to see a regional production or a production without Hugh. Do the rights exist?

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 10/24/13 at 7:21pm

How was the set? I can't find any pictures.

[jo]

Posted: 10/24/13 at 7:44pm

Loved the show! It was such fun inside the Imperial, as Hugh broke the fourth wall often and interacted with "a Bicoastal victim" everytime ( danced with her/him, joked with her/him, etc). The show may have been a jukebox musical, but because Peter Allen songs were somewhat auto-biographical, it lent some authenticity to the show. The show included many popular Peter Allen hits. If you look for them on YouTube, the widely-known press reels featured almost all the production numbers and will also give you an idea of the sets ( nothing spectacular, except maybe for the closing number I Go To Rio).

Can't believe this show opened on Broadway ten years ago! Rather bad reviews but fulsome praise for Hugh Jackman ( the best ones coming from Oscar-winning screenwriter William Goldman who compared Jackman to Brando and Merman onstage, Ben Brantley, Rex Reed, and so many others). The memories of the closing show were also wonderful, with so mamy celebrities in attendance ( Matt Damon, Barbara Cook, Barbara Walter, Joel Grey, Nancy Sinatra, etc...and quite a few Broadway movers and shakers), something not usually seen for a closing show!

It was reprised in Australia but the show was changed to have a more concert-like atmosphere because it played to huge arenas ( such as the Melbourne Rod Laver arena), seating usually 10,000 people. But it was praised also for its different appeal and was also quite enjoyable.

Hugh won practically every award on offer on Broadway( including the Tony, the Drama League Distinguished Performance solo award, and even the Fred Astaire award).



Updated On: 10/24/13 at 07:44 PM

[PalJoey]

Posted: 10/24/13 at 7:47pm

Who remembers a set. It was ALL. ABOUT. HUGH.

And, yes, Isabel Keating was spectacular too. She did Garland much, much, much better than that gifted actress who was in that one-woman abomination last year. Much, much, much better, but with no hoopla.

[mamaleh]

Posted: 10/25/13 at 12:51am

The set was rather chintzy, especially compared with the much more lavish sets used in the '06 arena tour production in Australia. But as others have indicated, who cared about a set when you had the most dynamic male performer I'd ever seen on stage (what Jo said). THE BOY FROM OZ was the first and only show I felt I could revisit every week and never come away less than thoroughly charmed and entertained. (For the record, if the Imperial had standing room, that's what I'd have done.) It was a different show every evening, thanks to Hugh Jackman's witty, lightning-fast ad-libbing during each "Bi-Coastal" segment. He deserved every accolade he won for that amazing performance.

[Wilmingtom]

Posted: 10/25/13 at 1:09am

As everyone has said, Hugh was the event. But I admired just about everything except the book. The vocal arrangements and orchestrations were terrific as was the rest of the cast. The set didn't really matter, the costumes were fine and the staging was okay if not inspired, other than Hugh's numbers. A most enjoyable evening overall but would I want to see it without Hugh? Not so much.

[juice23]

Posted: 10/25/13 at 1:35am

I remember getting tickets at the TKTS booth after the Wicked CD signing at Borders in Columbus Circle.

My best friend and I had left school early to get on the train, and knew nothing about this show. It was a wonderful surprise. We didn't really know who Hugh was either at the time! We had a blast, and while we were thrilled with his performance, we left with a NEED to know who that girl Stephanie Block was. Her number was the best of the night in my opinion.

[jemjeb2]

Posted: 10/25/13 at 9:33am

I loved the show - and yes, Hugh was great, but so were Block and Keating. I am surprised
that many did not like the show itself.