Advertisement
Become a member of the Big Issue community
JOIN
Music

Hugh Jackman: The man. The music. The show – review

As his world tour comes alive in Glasgow, Hugh Jackman turns out to be the greatest show tune man

He’s everything you ever want, he’s everything you ever need and when he’s standing right in front of you it’s clear that Hugh Jackman is fulfilling not just the dreams of thousands in the audience, but his own.

Fuelled by the phenomenal success of The Greatest Showman, the preposterously multitalented 50-year-old Australian is hitting the road in an all-singing, all-dancing revue.

Dubbed “The man. The music. The show” Jackman took to the stage in Glasgow’s Hydro this week, and this review touches on the first two nights. If you’re going to a future concert, it might be best not to read ahead – just enjoy the surprises that await. Otherwise, see you on the other side…

“Ladies and gents, this is the moment you’ve waited for…” Cheers and screams confirm the truth of the opening line.

Freed by having finally hung up his claws as Wolverine/Logan in the X-Men franchise (which he reconfirms tonight), Jackman is letting his life-long love of musical theatre propel him through a world tour and he is letting rip.

Advertisement
Advertisement

In a breathless two-and-a-half hours, accompanied by dancers, vocalists and orchestra, Jackman revisits highlights from his musical career – songs he’s sung, songs he’s always wanted to sing.

After The Greatest Show and Come Alive, he takes us back to the beginning, recounting how he got his first professional job playing beefy blockhead Gaston in a stage version of Beauty and the Beast.

Of all his formidable, envy-inducing skills, he is a truly great actor.

He devotes a lot of care and attention on Soliloquy from Carousel, which marked another important step in his career, and later races through a Broadway medley, ticking off Luck Be a Lady, Singin’ In the Rain and I Got Rhythm in quick succession. Each time, he transports you to the dramatic moment in each musical. Of all his formidable, envy-inducing skills, he is a truly great actor.

At the end of the first act comes a couple of numbers from Les Misérables, the highlight of which is one of his supporting vocalists, Jenna Lee-James’ towering rendition of I Dreamed A Dream. On the opening night, Jackman let Lee-James take the spotlight to sing another song solo. Born locally, her father had helped build the Hydro and watched from the audience as his daughter performed on its stage.

On the second night he grants a gyrating session to Jude, who held up a sign asking for one last dance before she got married. Lucky for Jude, unlucky for her fiancé William. These personal touches set Jackman’s show apart, combining twinkly charm with an earnest desire to entertain.

After the interval (measured by a clock counting down the 20 minutes) there is a lengthy tribute to Peter Allen, the Australian singer-songwriter best remembered for Arthur’s Theme (“when you get lost between the moon and New York city…”). It gives Jackman the opportunity to resurrect his Tony-award-winning role as Allen in The Boy From Oz, camping it up like Christmas, all spangles and sashaying.

After a spec-tap-ular dance routine, Jackman asks if Ryan Reynolds could do that

The opposite end of the Australian cultural spectrum is celebrated when he brings out Olive, Clifton, Paul and Nathan from the Nomad Two Worlds Foundation, an organisation that empowers indigenous people and encourages “reconciliation through culture.” This culminates in an odd but moving didgeridoo-accompanied Somewhere Over the Rainbow.

There are scraps for X-Men fans too. After a spec-tap-ular dance routine, Jackman asks if Ryan Reynolds could do that. He candidly reveals he was almost fired five weeks into shooting the first X-Men film – told his performance was like looking at a light behind a lampshade. Needing a real-life hero, his wife Deborra saved the dayreminding him about the power of positivity and self-belief. Behind every great showman there’s a great woman, and Jackman dedicates a ballad to her to prove it.

Moments like this walk the tightrope of over-the-top sentimentality but balance is kept by Jackman’s natural charisma and authenticity, which he has brought to every film role, whether adamantium-endowed mutant, French bread thief, grizzled ski jump instructor, prestigious magician, robot boxing coach or Van Helsing.

This quality was encapsulated best by his portrayal of PT Barnum in The Greatest Showman – a fantasy version of a fantasist – the reason most of the fans have showed up tonight.

A 50-strong community choir joins in with a transcendental version of A Million Dreams. From Now On turns into a singalong by a crowd having risen to their feet, but just like the film, one performer sweeps in and steals the show.

In an unbilled surprise, Keala Settle who played Lettie Lutz, aka the bearded lady, delivers the momentous, era-defining anthem, This Is Me. She seems deeply moved when joined by a choir of thousands.

Lamentably, she sings just one song. Imagine her taking on Never Enough or Tightrope, but as it is, her appearance is a sparkly bonus.

Seeing songs from The Greatest Showman performed live is what fans were waiting for but this also feels like the moment Jackman has been waiting for.

At one point he recollects being called a “sissy” by his older brother after asking to take dance lessons. One suspect’s his younger self would be prouder of performing tap dance routines in arenas than he’d be of Oscar nominations or blockbuster films. This is who he’s meant to be.

hughjackmantheshow.com

Advertisement

Become a Big Issue member

3.8 million people in the UK live in extreme poverty. Turn your anger into action - become a Big Issue member and give us the power to take poverty to zero.

Recommended for you

View all
Music is everywhere, including in our heads. So why is it so hard to describe?
The earliest-known musical score is a clay tablet found in Ugarit, northern Syria, that dates back to around 1400 BC
Music

Music is everywhere, including in our heads. So why is it so hard to describe?

Rising music star Henry Moodie: 'Andrew Tate shows how dangerous social media can be'
Henry Moodie
Music

Rising music star Henry Moodie: 'Andrew Tate shows how dangerous social media can be'

Ezra Collective star Ife Ogunjobi: 'I don't see many Black people in the London Symphony Orchestra'
Ezra Collective after winning the 2023 Mercury Prize.
Music

Ezra Collective star Ife Ogunjobi: 'I don't see many Black people in the London Symphony Orchestra'

Hundreds brave rain for Tom Grennan's Big Issue busk in Coventry – including his nan
Tom Grennan holds a copy of the Big Issue magazine
Tom Grennan

Hundreds brave rain for Tom Grennan's Big Issue busk in Coventry – including his nan

Most Popular

Read All
Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits
Renters: A mortgage lender's window advertising buy-to-let products
1.

Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal
Pound coins on a piece of paper with disability living allowancve
2.

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal

Cost of living payment 2024: Where to get help now the scheme is over
next dwp cost of living payment 2023
3.

Cost of living payment 2024: Where to get help now the scheme is over

Strike dates 2023: From train drivers to NHS doctors, here are the dates to know
4.

Strike dates 2023: From train drivers to NHS doctors, here are the dates to know