Skip to main content

For Hugh and Hugh Alone






The first show I saw this year was the last performance of Hugh Jackman’s one man show “Hugh Jackman Back on Broadway”.  Hugh Jackman performed solo with an eighteen piece orchestra some of his favorite musical numbers of all time as he told a captive audience the reasons why. I have never been to the last performance of any show. The only time I came close was when I saw the fourth to last performance of RENT, but that was an entirely different beast all together. Since Hugh went into this venture as a limited run, fans lined up fast to get a glimpse of their favorite Aussie before he went back to the big screen.

As I waited in my seat for the show to begin, I saw a woman plainly dressed walk by with her two children. I couldn’t help but think how familiar she seemed to me. I kept staring trying to remember where I had seen her before. Then as the lights dimmed and the curtain rose it hit me. That was Hugh Jackman’s wife and children! She was so familiar because I had just seen their faces in that week’s issue of People magazine. For some reason it never occurred to me that anyone close to him might also think that seeing his last show would be a special event.

No matter if Hugh had no singing or dancing talents (which of course is not the case) his charming personality is enough of a reason to see him in a live setting. He is funny and sweet and would make anyone swoon. You feel as though he is speaking only to you and that there is no one else in the room. That is a pretty good accomplishment for an actor that has a completely packed house included people who had paid to stand in the back for the entire duration.

I knew Hugh was a genius on Broadway. I had previously seen him in “A Steady Rain” with Daniel Craig in 2009. They were both breathtakingly brilliant. But now seeing Hugh just being Hugh having fun with it all was a totally different but equally thrilling experience. He has the open heart you expect him to. He sang a beautiful tribute to his wife Deb as pictures from their life together flashed by.

My favorite personal story happened a bit later. He spoke of his father. A man that was a serious accountant that also praised him no matter what the role was. When Hugh was performing at Carnegie Hall his father spent over twenty hours on a plane to see him and then flew right back to work. Previous to that evening Mr. Jackman Sr. had inquired about the dress code and Hugh had told him that it was black tie. Apparently a few days later it had changed. Hugh thought he told his father but when he met up with his dad that night his father was in a tuxedo. Hugh panicked thinking he had forgotten to relay the new casual dress code. But his father remarked “when my son plays at Carnegie Hall it is always a black tie occasion for me.” At that point Hugh pointed to his father in the audience who stood up in a tuxedo to a round of clapping I am sure was heard on the street. Then Hugh brought his father on stage and proceeded to sing to him his favorite song from Carousel. Needless to say I was crying harder than anyone from the Jackman family.

My only real complaint is that the show ran too long. At over two hours and half hours, I was getting a little antsy at the end. I feel there was material that could have been cut. There were back up dancers that had too much of a role. For a few minutes it seemed as though Hugh was getting lonely up there. It created too much of a distraction from him, our main event. We were there for his singing and dancing and I believe along with his talents as an actor he is a triple threat.

Hugh’s next theater role will be taking on the role of Jean Valjean in the movie version of Les Miserables which will begin filming this year.

He will next appear on the Broadway stage in the 2013-14 season as Houdini. Any chance to see Hugh is a chance that should not be missed.

Hugh’s latest projects have nothing to do with acting. In 2011, he launched a company called “Laughing Man Coffee” which now also sells chocolates. One hundred percent of all profits go to charities. As if he couldn’t get any sweeter, somehow he just did.

For Laughing Man Coffee and Chocolate



For Hugh’s Next Broadway Roles






Comments

  1. As usual your blogs were well done! Keep up the good work. xoxo

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

For My Madness During Migraine Awareness Month

Last weekend as I sat staring at the blank page in front of me, I was still surprised and elated that I had an entire day to myself and unlike past experiences it was filled with what I wanted when I wanted it. There were a few rough moments but when I consider the previous twelve hours (and the days to come) have been better than the last week. Especially this last week even though I had braced myself ahead of time, I just didn’t know I should have braced for a more serious episode. I am a chronic migraine sufferer for so many years I don’t quite remember when they started exactly which is ironic because I can remember every special event they have ruined. I remember plays or dinners I was at where I don’t remember what happened but I could tell you what I felt minute by minute. It amazing how the mind works, especially when it’s operated by a migraine brain. In the last few years, specifically the last few years since I have been going to the Montefiore Headac

For Find Out Friday - Why Do Emery Boards Make My Skin Crawl?

You know that sound a fingernail makes when it scratches against a chalkboard?  You know that feeling the sound of that action gives you? I, like most people, hate that sound.  I instantly feel like scrunching my shoulders up to my neck and closing my eyes.  I feel the exact same way when I am using an emery board to file my nails. This annoying sensation has a name: “grima” which is Spanish for disgust or uneasiness. This term basically describes any feeling of being displeased, annoyed, or dissatisfied someone or something.  It is a feeling that psychologists are starting to pay more attention to as it relates to our other emotions.  Emery boards are traditionally made with cardboard that has small grains of sand adhered to them. It is the sandpaper that I believe makes me filled with grima.  According to studies that are being done around the world, it is not just the feeling that we associate with certain things like nails on a chalkboard or by using emery boards

For a New Chain of Mexican Fast Food: “Dos Toros Taqueria”

When it comes to fast food there are the names we are familiar with: McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s, and Chipotle.  In you live in New York City, there is a new kid in town: Dos Toros.  Dos Toros is relatively new to this area but with any hope there might be one in your town soon.  Started by two brothers, Leo and Oliver Kremer, from Berkeley, California, the Mexican food you find here is inspired by food they loved growing up.  In California, the brothers grew up worshipping Gordo Taqueria, a favorite of Bay Area residents since 1977 (now promptly added to my San Francisco to eat list). Much of the recipes and even decor found at Dos Toros has been modeled on Gordo. Before moving to NYC in 2008, the brothers were living very different lives. Leo was the bassist for the band “Third Eye Blind”. Oliver fresh out of college, considered working in the technology or finance industry. Both disillusioned with their lives, they decided to pursue something they have l