Hugh Jackman in a promo photo with co-star
Josefina Gabrielle for the 1998 Royal Theater production of ‘Oklahoma! (Photo: PBS)
A number of plays and musicals have gone from the stage to the big screen, but Hugh Jackman wants to do just the opposite. The “Wolverine” actor wants the original cast from the 1999 film “Oklahoma!” to reunite and put on the performance on his upcoming tour.
You may recall, the 50-year-old Australian actor played Curly McLain in the movie directed by Trevor Nunn, based on the Richard Rodgers and librettist Oscar Hammerstein II musical of the same name.
Oklahoma! was the first Rodgers and Hammerstein stage production. It opened on Broadway in 1943 and ran for an unprecedented 2,212 performances. It played London’s West End in 1947 and has gone through revivals, tours and overseas productions almost continually since then.
The last Broadway revival appeared in 2002 the George Gershwin Theatre. The musical is based on Lynn Riggs‘ 1931 play, Green Grow the Lilacs.
Jackman actually starred in the 1998 West End revival and went on to reprise the role in the film. The entire stage cast also appeared in the film. Jackman starred with Josefina Gabrielle as Laurey Williams, and Maureen Lipman as Aunt Eller.
Jackman will hit the road in the coming year in his “Hugh Jackman: The Man. The Music. The Show” tour and he has already been talking to Lipman about joining up.
“I was emailing Maureen the other day. I have a little idea, but I think I’m going to have to do a little ‘Oklahoma!’ reunion and try and get a bunch of them out on stage, the actor told Heart Online.
“I haven’t even told them yet, so they’re gonna read it here first. It’s the most exciting news for me, I’m so excited about it I can’t tell you. My big break internationally was in the West End doing ‘Oklahoma!’ and I’ve not performed here since,” he added.
Doing a concert tour has been on his “bucket list” for many years, he says.
“I’m so lucky that I get to do movies and theatre but it’s not everyday I get to do arenas and go around the UK and Ireland. You’re gonna hear songs from ‘The Greatest Showman’, from ‘Les Mis’, from stuff I’ve done from the last 25 years on stage, in the West End and on Broadway. You’re gonna hear a lot of stories about myself. It’s very self-indulgent, the entire thing. It’s all about me.
Jackman promises to dance and sing and “pretend that I’m 30.”
“I’m going to have an orchestra, dancers, singers. When I go to any kind of show, I love that sparkle where I feel like something happens that night that doesn’t happen any other night, so that will be the goal,” he says.