Falling Stars

Hugh Jackman is wasted in action movies.

I saw his show last Monday at the Entertainment Centre, and he totally owned the stage. Such a fantastic singer, dancer, and performer. So friendly and down to earth and funny. He really is the nicest guy!

Many of his friends and family were in the audience, and he did lots of shoutouts to them. He made jokes ragging on them and jokes at his own expense. He got ten thousand people to join in singing "Happy Birthday" to his wife. He flirted shamelessly with audience members and security guards. He tapdanced to "Singin' in the Rain". He sang "I Still Call Australia Home" backed by an entire children's choir.

He talked about how he auditioned for X-Men while he was in the musical Oklahoma! and actually did the audition between the matinee and evening performances.

He told the story of getting a phone call late at night from Steven Spielberg, who he didn't believe it was at first. And then telling his wife, "You're about to go to bed with the host of the 81st Oscars," and her saying, "What, is Billy Crystal here?"

He told a great story about his dad flying to New York and back over a weekend to see him perform at Carnegie Hall, and him telling his dad, "It's business casual, not black tie," and his dad showing up all dressed up anyway, and Hugh saying, "Didn't you get my message?" and his dad answering, "My son is singing at Carnegie Hall. It's black tie."

One of the highlights was the Les Miserables medley, including "One Day More" sung by the whole ensemble. Another highlight was getting to hear the song "This Is Me" from his new movie musical, The Greatest Showman on Earth, about the life of PT Barnum. I for one cannot wait.

I grew up on Roald Dahl, and Matilda was one of my favourites. So I was excited to attend a preview of the musical at the Lyric Theatre a few nights ago. It was pretty cool to get to see a relatively new musical, with no idea what the songs were or how the story would be translated to the stage.

Anyway, it was a great adaptation and an energetic show, with fantastic work by all the cast, especially Molly Barwick as Matilda, a tiny nine year old who carried so many of the scenes on her shoulders.

The songs ran the emotional spectrum from darkly humorous to deeply moving: the stubborn heroism of "Naughty", the awesome alphabet play in "School Song", the wistfulness of "When I Grow Up". Some of the lyrics in the ensemble numbers were a bit hard to make out, but I'm hoping the cast recordings will be clearer. The tunes were very catchy, and I think they'll be in my head for a while.

This stage production was a faithful adaptation of the movie, although it's not exactly what I'd call a musical. There were few songs sung live, mostly classics played in whole or as snippets to give the flavour of the 1960s. The dancing was pretty cool though. The staging was clever and effective, with projected backgrounds to shift locations. The projection for the scene of practising lifts in the water was both a stroke of genius and cheesy enough to draw fond laughter. The whole show felt like a nostalgia trip for much of the audience, who cheered along with the story. I only watched it a few years ago, so it doesn't have the same defining meaning for me, but I still felt a swell of triumphant vindication at the climactic scene. It's like idfic with an earned ending.

I've been waiting years for this musical to come back to Sydney, after the fantastic reviews it got back then. And it lived up to my high expectations, from the very opening, when the first singers launched into their chorus, and all the animals came marching into the theatre. Everyone cheered when the elephant - an elephant! - came down the aisle. The puppetry was amazing, especially the way the performers captured the movement of the animals they portrayed.

The musical followed the movie fairly closely, with some additional songs and scenes. It was cool to see how they adapted the story for the theatre, like how they managed to depict a wildebeest stampede on stage. Most of the songs were pretty good, especially 'Circle of Life' and 'Shadowland', and all the performers were excellent.

They made a musical of it! And the reason I saw it was 90% nostalgia. I have fond memories of the original, with Michael Caine and Steve Martin - which, it turns out, is itself a remake of Bedtime Story with David Niven and Marlon Brando, but with a different ending. Big shoes to fill, but Tony Sheldon and Matt Hetherington managed it, along with Amy Lehpamer, Anne Wood, Katrina Retallick, and John Wood (of Blue Heelers fame). The songs were a mixed bag, some entertaining, some ordinary. It was more about the story, and it is a solid story, and the performers had the comic timing to carry it.

It was a busy year for musicals. (Only seen one this year so far!)

Annie - Reasonably entertaining songs elevated by a stellar cast.

Love Never Dies - If you liked the original, you will probably hate this.

An Officer and a Gentleman - They tried. But it wasn't enough.

A Chorus Line - Maybe you had to see it when it was first released to really appreciate it. Or be part of the musical theatre world.

Legally Blonde - OMIGOD YOU GUYS. Best of the year. Now in my top ten.

I saw this musical at the Capitol Theatre, never having watched the movie, and not knowing much about the story. All I knew was that it was about an audition for a musical. And having watched quite a few musicals by now, it was interesting to see behind the scenes.

The show itself is an odd kind of beast, a mix of dance, song, and monologue. It's very much an ensemble cast, and although we see moments of deep character, it feels more like revelation of existing truths, rather than following these people on their journey. So while I was utterly absorbed while they were on stage, it was harder to form a lasting connection to them.

But.

( Spoilers )

The Phantom of the Opera doesn't make it into my top five favourite musicals, because while the songs are pretty awesome, the story is a bit too stalkery for my tastes. But I decided to see the Phantom sequel anyway, for the same reason I saw Revenge of the Sith: completeness. Also, I was hoping for spectacular songs, or at least spectacular staging.

( General reactions but no spoilers )

Mary Poppins - There are musicals, and there are Musicals. Practically perfect in every way.

Hairspray - I went in expecting fun and froth, which I got. But it was also unexpectedly powerful.

Jersey Boys - Oh, what a night. Now I'm tripping over their songs everywhere.

Last weekend, I saw Jersey Boys at the Theatre Royal. Normally I'm not into jukebox musicals as much as I am into original musicals, and the only Four Seasons song I really knew was "December 1963 (Oh, What A Night)". But I was persuaded by friends to go, and I had an enjoyable evening.

* The night we went, the regulars were all replaced by the understudies, but I never would have guessed.

* I had no clue about the story behind the group, and it was fascinating to see it unfold, with all its dramatic ups and downs. It was surprising that it didn't pull any punches when it came to their chequered pasts or clashing egos.

* I actually knew a bunch of songs that I never realised were by the Four Seasons, including "Big Girls Don't Cry", "Beggin'", "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" and "Working My Way Back to You".

* I kind of love the idea that when Bob heard Frankie sing, he knew he wanted to write for that voice.

* I think I'll never get tired of hearing those accents.