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Leading men are a dime a dozen in Hollywood these days and they come and go just as quickly as Paris Hilton's boyfriends. Hollywood's leading men A-Listers are generally good looking, charming and sometimes talented (but not always). Said actors typically stick to film roles, rarely making an appearance on the small screen and even less common is the A-Lister who will make a trip to **gulp** Broadway. One of Hollywood's hottest leading men, Hugh Jackman certainly seems to be a diverse actor garnering success in blockbuster hits like X-Men, romantic comedies such as Kate & Leopold as well as on Broadway in his Tony-Award winning role of the late Peter Allen in The Boy From Oz.
When Playbill reported that Jackman wil likely star in the remake of the classic Rodgers & Hammerstein musical, Carousel as Billy Bigelow, I was thrilled! This is particularly exciting to me for a few reasons. First, it's Hugh Jackman...beyond the fact that he's a good looking actor, he's actually talented and can play in a variety of mediums like comedy, drama as well as gay or straight and as a singer, the man actually has pipes! Beyond that, he's just plain engaging and entertaining. Did anyone catch the 2004 Tony Awards in which Jackman thoroughly embarrassed Sarah Jessica Parker while gyrating (or attempting to) onstage with her? If not, catch it here. Second, Carousel as a musical has special meaning to me. Though socially, it is wildly out of date (there are issues like domstic violence that aren't so appropriate in the musical) the movie version of the show was the first from the "Golden Age of Broadway" that I had seen (and loved). The music in Carousel is spectacular with some of the most gorgeous melodies ever written by R & H. It is because of Carousel that I fell in love with the music of Rodgers & Hammerstein and a whole new era of showtunes.
Together, Rodgers & Hammerstein defined the classic American Musical theatre genre by turning out such memorable and historic shows like Oklahoma!, South Pacific, The King and I and of course, The Sound of Music both on stage and the silver screen. So it is no surprise that Fox (the studio that originally distributed the 1956 film) is in talks to produce the Carousel feature starring Jackman. With some movie studios still interested in making the next big musical hit (like Miramax did with Chicago), why not try and revive a classic story with one of the biggest names in in entertainment industry.
When Playbill reported that Jackman wil likely star in the remake of the classic Rodgers & Hammerstein musical, Carousel as Billy Bigelow, I was thrilled! This is particularly exciting to me for a few reasons. First, it's Hugh Jackman...beyond the fact that he's a good looking actor, he's actually talented and can play in a variety of mediums like comedy, drama as well as gay or straight and as a singer, the man actually has pipes! Beyond that, he's just plain engaging and entertaining. Did anyone catch the 2004 Tony Awards in which Jackman thoroughly embarrassed Sarah Jessica Parker while gyrating (or attempting to) onstage with her? If not, catch it here. Second, Carousel as a musical has special meaning to me. Though socially, it is wildly out of date (there are issues like domstic violence that aren't so appropriate in the musical) the movie version of the show was the first from the "Golden Age of Broadway" that I had seen (and loved). The music in Carousel is spectacular with some of the most gorgeous melodies ever written by R & H. It is because of Carousel that I fell in love with the music of Rodgers & Hammerstein and a whole new era of showtunes.
Together, Rodgers & Hammerstein defined the classic American Musical theatre genre by turning out such memorable and historic shows like Oklahoma!, South Pacific, The King and I and of course, The Sound of Music both on stage and the silver screen. So it is no surprise that Fox (the studio that originally distributed the 1956 film) is in talks to produce the Carousel feature starring Jackman. With some movie studios still interested in making the next big musical hit (like Miramax did with Chicago), why not try and revive a classic story with one of the biggest names in in entertainment industry.
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