HUGH JACKMAN
I'll start with this: I didn't touch Hugh Jackman.
But we have now been within touching distance. He has touched an object that I have touched. We've breathed the same air, shared mutual space, and I've beheld him in person with my own two eyes. And he is lovely.
... okay, got that out of the way. lol.
I'm going to record every last detail I can remember, even if nobody cares... I care. lol
So the last leg of The Great Canadian Adventure of 2011 (I assume with a full recap to come later) ended on Sunday in Toronto. Hotel check-out was at 11 and Hugh Jackman In Concert wasn't until 2:00, so it was a strange, hectic morning of running to get the car, parked three blocks away, changing into my dress swiped from Glinda, and then hurrying off to park who-knows-where. Being without the Internet sure makes the world full of unknowns.
I found a parking garage and we attempted to find a place to eat. We opted to walk down to the Princess of Wales theater, and we found that there was a Second Cup on the corner. I came to love Second Cup. However, I was feeling kinda sicky - maybe it was the stress of the morning; maybe it was the heat, it was about 90 degrees out; maybe it was lack of sleep because of staying up til 2 am talking about Harry Potter; or maybe it was repressed excitement, as I hadn't gotten a good SQUEE! out about pending-Hugh-Jackman-meetitude during the trip. ... but I felt vaguely like I was going to throw up. Thankfully, that didn't happen, and after about an hour of feeling vaguely nauseous, we sat on a ledge across the street from the theater, I drank some water, took some deep breaths of fresh air, and watched a mom and her daughter take pictures in front of the "Hugh Jackman In Concert: The Definition of Awesome" poster for a solid ten minutes. I felt better after that. We probably *could* have tried to catch him at the stage door going into the theater before the show, but I didn't know where the stage door was, it was hot, and I felt yucky. But it was okay.
Said poster of pictureitude:
Clickification makes it big enough to read, but here's the article anyway.
We crossed the street to go to the theater at 1:00. I also got my picture taken in front of the poster. I took a fairly normal picture, but Julie also told me to "mean it," lol, so I did end up with a silly, almost devious picture I won't be posting, as well as a Vanna White picture. Somebody laughed at me as they walked by. I didn't mind too much, I was clearly being very silly.
So we were the first people in the little lobby/waiting area outside the theater seats proper. We sat down on a little bench and a minute or so later, a lady came in, maybe 50 or 60, noticed our dresses and asked if she should have dressed up more. She was wearing tennies. I told her it wasn't a problem, I just recently got my dress and really liked it and wanted to dress up. The lady then proceeded to tell us she had no idea why she was there - it was a surprise from her daughter. This lady had been doing chemo for two years; she had breast cancer, which had gone into remission, but then come back, and she hadn't been feeling well enough to go out. This event was her first big outing for two years, and her daughter brought her as a surprise. The daughter had her stand in front of the poster outside the theater without looking at it and had been hiding magazines in the hotel room and averting her mom's eyes from any sign of Hugh Jackman. So, of course, we didn't spill the beans, we kept it secret. They were both very sweet. We'll come back to "Cancer Mom" later (it's not the nicest name for her, but we don't know what her name really was, and she'll return to this narrative later.)
So after a trip to the bathroom with one of the strangest sinks I've ever seen (it was like a perforated garden hose over a long trough and seemed to turn on whenever it felt like it! It sprayed my dress! Dislike!) and a trip up to the concession stand (didn't get anything, but ice cream sounded wonderful) and after watching a little video loop of shows that were coming soon (aw, musical theater, I miss you so much,) it was TIME!
FOURTH ROW! *FOURTH ROW!* We were four and five seats over from the right center aisle. Immediately in front of me was a girl and a guy, the guy who had done his best attempt at Wolverine Hair (it wasn't bad, he even had little sideburns, though not muttonchops, lol.) The floor was all red carpeted, which was fancy. Not an incredibly ornate theater, but it was very nice. It had modern-ish murals on the ceiling.
About five minutes before the start of the show, who should walk in to sit down at our end of the third row, just in front of us, none other than Mr. Jackman's wife and son, Deb and Oscar! Holy crap, we were sitting behind Deb and Oscar! At this point, it probably restrained any lust I had for Mr. Jackman - his freaking wife and kid were right in front of me, lol. I rather desperately wanted to lean over and tell Deb that she looked lovely at the Tonys this year (honestly, I was momentarily distracted from The Hotness That Is Hugh Jackman by Deb looking pretty, lol) - but I didn't. She was on the very end of the aisle and five seats was a little far to lean over. She very politely chatted with the lady in the third seat in our row. I didn't catch much, but she mentioned that Ava had just turned six. Oscar seemed to be intently looking at *something*... Julie's best guess was that it was a packet of cheese?! lol! We don't really think it was a packet of cheese, but we have no other ideas as to what it was. lol
SHOWTIME. I really had every intention of sneakily recording the audio on my phone. I mean, what if he sang something amazing and then I never had the chance to hear it again?! I could post it on the Interwebs and make legions of fangirls very happy! But then announcer reminded everyone that there was to be no photography or digital recording: "Remember, he's Wolverine, and he will hunt you down." ... I didn't record. Wolverine would hunt me down! ...After the show, Julie asked me if that really would have been such a bad thing. ... it really wouldn't have been. lol. But I was a good, law-abiding girl. ... whatever. lol. INSTEAD, I will do what I can to find video clips of his songs/interviews that match up with what was happening in the show so as to recreate it as best I can. On with the show!
The curtain rises on the orchestra on stage, they play a minute or so, and then suddenly, the theater is filled with, "There's a bright golden haze on the meadow!" And out walks Hugh Jackman from stage right. Eeee, Hugh Jackman!!! Right there! FEET from me. Though I have to say, I was rather quickly surprised by how a) thin, b) tired, c) ... kinda old he looked. But I knew there was a combo of things going on there. First, he'd been doing this show for two weeks, and I knew it was going to be some kinda singing, dancing son of a gun of a show, so he'd probably lost a bunch of weight and it was *probably* the third show he was doing in 24 hours, or at least the second in 16. He looked like he had some dark circles under his eyes and that he possibly had a few more greys, though that could have been unfortunate stage lighting. However, I need to make it clear that NONE of these signs of tiredness impacted his stage presence at ALL.
Holy crap, that man loves what he does. He loves the stage. He drinks it up. You could just see how happy he was up there, having the time of his life.
... and sweating buckets. And spitting a little. lol. But I was close enough to SEE that, gosh darn it. lol
Anyway! Oh What a Beautiful Morning:
Click to viewHe invited the audience to sing toward the end. Some part of me was full of squee - good gad, I'm singing in the presence of Hugh Jackman. My brain kinda fired at me, "use that loud voice of yours and sing on key, darn it!" I think I managed. lol
In between each of the numbers, he did some chatting with the audience and told some stories. I'm not sure I remember which ones were where - I'll do my best.
I know he said hello to some people in the front rows, and mentioned that he would be chatting with them/us/the audience throughout the show. He talked a bit more about Oklahoma! (proper use of exclamation point!) and his silly perm and going to the X-Men audition with it.
He then went into One Night Only, which I recognized from the Tonys:
(... oh, the memories. The 2004 Tonys aired the night before my first day of work at CMU and I was so freaking wired and swoony that I didn't think I'd ever get any sleep, lol. But that's an aside.)
He introduced his backup singer girls, and wow, the man really can do high kicks. lol
I believe it was after this number that they let the latecomers into their seats... which, of course, were front rowers! Hugh told the techs to turn up the lights (aka, turn the lights on the latecomers) so they could so-kindly find their seats. The one group on the right said they couldn't find parking. Hugh mocked them, but in a fun way, of course. He asked if they would like him to redo the opening numbers they had missed. lol
He started his show narrative with the Aussie concept of "have a go," which is how he approached most his his projects. He talked about doing this show because Wolverine filming was delayed because of the Japan earthquakes. He talked briefly about Wolverine, with a video clip on a drop-down projector of him breaking out of his tank, freeze-framing on his crazyface. This segued into talking about how his proclivity for theater scares Hollywood execs - picture of him as Peter Allen. He then said they picture this: same picture of him as Peter Allen, but with Wolvie's face, muscle arms and claws superimposed - so Wolvie in a spangled Hawaiian shirt. Laughter.
He mentioned how getting ready for Wolverine requires three things, diet, exercise and genetics. He showed a picture of himself as beanpole teenage Hugh Jackman and how he was fighting against genetics there. (there was something sticking out of his short shorts in the photo, which he thanked his dad for taking and preserving. lol). He'd dropped probably about ten pounds doing the show these last two weeks (I can tell! Esp. since I was fully expecting his "6000 calorie per day, eats five dozen eggs so he's roughly the size of a barge" physique, and was presented with Peter Allen instead)
So his "I need to get back in shape" transitioned into I Won't Dance, which I also recognized from the Tonys.
... for the LIFE of me, I can't get that embed to start at 1:47. Anyway, it wasn't that same mashup, but that's the general idea. I think he took his jacket off after this.
He talked about how strange and awkward photoshoots are. How they are always in lofts, how everyone is always so exceedingly hip, how he should just be himself... but just lean forward a bit... but his head down... look this way... but no, don't move your head... keep it down and just look up and lean into me like you were talking to a friend. Yeah, that's great. But Hugh said he didn't speak to *anyone* standing like that.
I believe this is where A Little Less Conversation was. I don't have video or audio of Mr. Jackman doing that, but I'll go ahead and link to a-completely-unrelated-to-Hugh-Jackman Little Less Conversation that elicited a similar female response (Lauren will remember THE FIVE.) I believe it was then after this song that Mr. Jackman was leaning all smoulderingly and said all he needed was an 18-piece orchestra to get in the mood for a photoshoot, "so take your damn picture." lol
He sang L-O-V-E to a montage of his movies, including clips from Corelli, Paperback Hero (hitting his head on his truck; singing karaoke), Someone Like You (getting chased around by Ashley Judd reading from her book), Kate and Leopold (going to dance with Miss Tree), X-Men (Jean watching him wake up at the end), Scoop (sitting on bench with ScarJo), Happy Feet (singing Prince with Nicole Kidman - which he commented on his quality acting), Australia... oh, probably all of his movies, really, though I do not remember a clip from Van Helsing, lols.
Regarding the Corelli clip, (some people clapped and he said "wow, twenty people saw that show, and eleven of them are here!") he mentioned that he met his wife during the filming, then said that she was there in the audience. He sang her The Way You Look Tonight with a montage of Deb pics on the screen, including one of her smoking a cigar and Hugh lovingly commented that that was his wife, lol. He then came off the stage and had Deb come up to the front with him, told Oscar to avert his eyes, and kissed her. It was amazingly sweet, but he was laughing and going, "you should see my son, he's ten, and he's going, uuuuugh,groooss!" (I was watching Hugh and Deb, I didn't see what Oscar did. Maybe we went back to playing with his bag of cheese?!?! lol)
When Hugh was back on stage, he was telling the story about getting the script for X-Men (I've heard this story oodles, but I don't remember where, so I can't video clip it) and Deb reading it and getting to *snikt* and saying he shouldn't do it - I've heard him tell this story before, so I was actually watching how Deb reacted to it. She was kinda smiling and nodding along. When Hugh said "This is the only time my wife has ever been wrong!" and ran off the stage, Deb threw up her hand in an outraged manner, he apologized, and everyone laughed.
He also talked about his dad. He said his dad never said anything bad about anything Hugh did. "... that Van Helsing ... ...... ... wow. That HAIR. ..." lol. He told the story about his dad escorting him to Carnegie Hall in black tie (that one was at least on Barbara Walters Special before the Oscars, but I couldn't find it immediately on the tubes). He rolled up his sleeves and said Soliloquy was dedicated to his dad. I've never heard him do that whole song before, I just heard him talk about how he loved doing it on Inside the Actor's Studio.
Happily, Soliloquy IS on the Tubes, I just apparently never looked before!
He sang Fever next (he had said the lights were really bright and wanted to cool things down). I don't really remember much of that (it was working for me, apparently, lol) other than at one point he sang a lyric about how he was rubbing his thigh, which he liked doing because it felt good, then proceeded to say how the fabric was like rayon or something.
I think this was also the point that Merle, one of his backup singers, made some kind of mumbling noise and he asked her if she knew her mic was on, something about checking out of the hotel or going to the drycleaners, lol. I should probably mention here that this show felt very... comfortable. By that, I mean he was chatting with the audience and the performers and it felt almost like it was a conversation. Not that I really feel like Hugh Jackman knew I existed, I don't, lol, but it was all very casual, comfortable, and fun, despite the insane amount of work that Mr. Jackman was putting into each of his musical numbers. I think that's part of a mix of really enjoying being on stage and just sheer talent.
Anyway, he journeyed out into the audience and found Brian. Brian was at the opposite end of my aisle. Brian apparently winked at Hugh as he walked by, which caused him to stop and ask if he winked. Brian said he did, on purpose. Well, that got him a trip up on stage. I was already LOLing at this point. Brian made a motion that seemed to indicate he wanted Hugh to do a Wolverine pose (Julie thought the motion meant "rip your shirt off," lol.) But Hugh said they were both going to do their best Wolverine impression. Hugh did his, then had Brian do one, which was a somewhat balding, portly, middle-aged dude doing a Wolverine pose. lols, all around. Mr. Jackman said he looked like a figure skater, then did actually a pretty decent spiral pose (then again, I recall he sometimes does yoga, so I guess he can just manage Warrior III. lol) At some point there was a hug, during which Brian gave Hugh's ribs a little extra squeeze/tickle/dig, which elicited a "whoaaaa!" from Hugh. He asked Brian's wife how many drinks he had before the show, Julie heard her reply that he didn't have any, he was just like that all the time. Somehow there was a prompt for singing, and Hugh said he was just going to go sit down with Brian's wife and Brian could do the rest of the show. He then followed through, going to sit in the audience and the backup girls were pawing at Brian. It was seriously hilarious! Before Brian left the stage, he told Hugh he was a farmer; Hugh said he was also a liar. So yes, that whole portion was amazing.
He talked about getting started and learning all the parts to the Music Man's Rock Island for the school musical (which he wanted to do because he got to rehearse with the girl's school.) He said he still remembered all the parts and proceeded to do them. He eventually started doing the parts like a rap, while he asked Merle do do some sort of Beyonce-style background, which seemed to stump her for a minute. Eventually they got going and he was very entertained that she ended with some sort of "ho!" sound. He was trying to bleep himself from swearing by doing a swear setup, then just not saying anything, but he said he'd given Oscar cause to swear for a month over that.
He asked if we liked musical theater (whoo!) and he said that he'd been trying to get things going for a musical movie for a while; Les Mis is in the works (omg omg omg). I think somewhere around here he had to stop and ask what he had been talking about - he occasionally got distracted by talking to somebody or going off on a tangent, so the crowd or the band gave him a hint where to pick up again. He said he'd given up the part in Chicago (aaaaws from the audience) and passed on the BFO musical movie; when he saw it, the next time he got the offer, he took it (have a go), which led to the Boy From Oz. So he ran off stage and let Merle and Angel sing Take Me or Leave Me from Rent, which I actually quite enjoyed, *despite* having no Hugh Jackman, lol. (I've really been in a Rent mood as of late anyway.)
So I'll admit to expecting an intermission, but next thing I know, there is Mr. Jackman up in Box 3 or 4, in his spangly pineapple top, announcing Peter Allen was back in Toronto. So he ran down the stairs and then there was Boy Next Door:
(... I'm really having far too much fun watching these old clips, lol), as well as The Best that You Can Do and Don't Cry Out Loud. Quiet Please, There's a Lady On Stage was stuck in my head for two solid weeks leading up to the show, so it was nice to hear that. I'm usually pretty good with clapping along, but I think I occasionally got too distracted by whatever Mr. Jackman happened to be doing at the time, so I think I had to stop. lol. At some point he was talking about walking across stage and how he made it look easy; said his favorite thing about Toronto was the mounties; and there was definitely some grinding at some point. I'll also admit to being distracted by his partially open shirt, lol.
It may have been while he was Peter Allening that he asked if there were any Aussies in the audience, and a group in row five stood up with an Australian flag. Hugh came down to talk to them and asked if the flag was for him. He took it up on stage and put it on the piano for "some stage dressing" and then said that the family probably didn't really mean to give him the flag and he'd give it back.
He finished up the "being" Peter Allen section with Rio (there were maracas!) he danced off, and came back in practically no time with a tuxedo shirt and said how he didn't get to fit Tenterfield Saddler into the show, so he introduced his guitar player, then sat down on the stage steps and sang. I think at this point, I could officially say I no longer feel a great sense of longing that I missed seeing Boy From Oz on stage - except maybe that any missed opportunity to see Hugh Jackman in person is a sadly missed opportunity. But I got to see a lot of wonderful highlights from the show in person, and that does work just as well for me, when combined with the rest of this show.
So he talked about getting the call from Stevie Spielberg to host the Oscars, and how when he was little, he'd sit around at home watching classic movie musicals. The projection screen had the 20th Century Fox logo as the band played the theme (... does 20th Cent own Mr. Jackman's soul at the moment because of X-Men? Or do they actually own all of the following musicals?) and he did Guys and Dolls (Luck be a Lady - we had to snap!), Singin' in the Rain, Steppin' Out with My Baby (Easter Parade, which I will admit I had no idea was a musical, despite the fact that I've been able to sing the title song for as long as I can remember... who knew?) and Sing Sing Sing, which I *also* didn't know about, despite knowing the song very well (... I'm good with live theater, but sometimes I am woefully underexposed to classic movie musicals.) So that was quite fun.
He also sang I Got Rhythm, at which point he was asking various audience members to say "I got" when he pointed at them. Individuals in the front row, the mezzanine, the balcony; he asked the lowest box, but they didn't quite manage - I thought they were saying "robots" instead of "I got," but Julie interpreted it as Hugh Jackman saying they were a bunch of robots. Instead, he just asked them to do the Queen Wave, lol, which they did quite successfully - so we got a "I got" rhythm, "I got" music, *queen wave* my girl, who could ask for anything more, lol.
I think around this point, I noticed Ava was now sitting on Deb's lap watching the show, too.
Returning to talk about his childhood in Australia, he said that he went to live with some Australian Aborigines before he finished school and he very possibly would have stayed there if his dad hadn't asked him to finish up school. Hugh started marking a beat with sticks and they had two didgeridoo players come in from either side of the audience and go up on stage. They showed some clips that I did recognize from Australia, and they also had some stock footage, I suppose. They had an aboriginal woman named Olive recite in her native language, and it was all very beautiful and moving. Hugh sang Somewhere Over the Rainbow and I swooned *deeply.* I kinda swoon now just thinking about it. I think if forced to pick my favorite, it would have been that. Of course, that's a tough call.
He did a proper introduction of his Australian co-performers, and he asked Olive to translate what she had said. I believe she said the first part was "the land and the people are crying," and she was actually moved to tears while speaking. The audience was encouraging and Hugh rubbed her back a minute while she composed herself, then said the second part was happier... but I can't quite remember what it was. Something about hope, maybe? He said she had been there when the Prime Minister apologized for mistreatment of "the lost generation" and said it took a solid 24 hours to get from Australia to the east coast, but Olive came from a part of Australia where it took three days just to get to the airport - it was all a very moving portion of the show.
He was finishing up around Mack the Knife, which was quite fun indeed. You'd never know he'd been going virtually non-stop for over an hour with all the energy he put into it. He hilariously mentioned Brian again and when he approached the "I got"/robot box, they just Queen Waved at each other. Born showman, that Hugh Jackman.
The show wrapped up with Once Before I Go
which was fantastic, and, well, very appropriate for the last song! He got probably his *fourth* standing ovation of the show with this. ALL DESERVED, it was WONDERFUL.
I actually don't think I have enough adjectives to throw at this thing.
I've been trying for two days to come up with something SMALL to say about the show, but I can't do it. I'm usually pretty decent with a tweet, but this was somehow too big for 140 characters. A few small words don't seem to do it justice. I needed to try and capture as MUCH of it as I could. I think because I'm generally inclined to hyperbolic statement, using "words that are thrown around a lot, like great or awesome" (whoa, I just quoted Lola) don't quite work. I think there was some degree of... awe. There was a little magic, a little sparkle (or, hey, Peter!Hugh's shirt had some serious sparkle.) There was razzle dazzle, in the best of ways. It was quite magnificent, really.
SO!
The lady to the right of us was apparently from New York and had seen the show a few times already and knew where the stage door was. I tapped her on the shoulder and asked if she could direct us, and she very kindly walked us right around to the door (she said she liked my crazy shoes, lol.) The Aussie family was walking out right in front of us - I don't believe they got their flag back, lol.
Anyway, the stage door was blissfully out of direct sunlight. A car was parked there, and then there were a few steps and a raised area with a barrier around it. We were a little unsure what to do, but eventually we went up the steps and were standing in a crowd about four-deep.
This is my "I've seen Hugh Jackman live and the world has somehow shifted for the better, and holy crap, I'm about to see him at the stage door" happyface.
The security guard was very nice and announced that Hugh would be coming out and he'd be happy to sign playbills and tickets, but nothing of a commercial nature. The crowd murmured acceptance. I gotta say, this Stage Door crowd was super nice! Everyone immediately around us seemed to be in a good mood, light conversation, there wasn't really any pushing or craziness or anything. Everyone cheered when the various musicians and Olive and Angel and Merle and Deb came out. Oh, you Canadians, I love you! There was a little chanting for "we want Hugh!" from the group further down near the street, but it didn't last too long. I'm hopeful that it was just excited people, not anybody who really thought he was taking too long - it had only been maybe 15 minutes.
As we stood there, we noticed "cancer mom" from the lobby was maybe two-deep in front of us. I managed to reach forward and tap the daughter on the arm and ask her if her mom liked her present. They turned around and *gushed* that it had been SO wonderful! (of *course* it was :) ) We kind of all mutually swooned for a few minutes, and then we were told to make some noise, and we saw the outline that was Hugh Jackman though the glass block window.
And there he is! *swoon!* :)
He started at the end of the crowd and started working his way through.
This one I had to crop because I forgot I had zoom on my camera, lol. The rest get larger on click.
Tonguepic, a complete coincidence, but posted for the benefit of the Internet at large, lol.
So all that stuff I said about him looking tired? No. Get him out of that stage lighting and into the regular old light of day? Good Gad. That man = insanely handsome.
So Hugh Jackman *RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME*:
I believe here, he was listening intently to "cancer mom" - she got to tell him how the show was a complete surprise to her after going through chemo for two years. I believe Mr. Jackman replied, "aw, bless you" and he gave her a hug and a kiss. I was so entranced by this that I really had no desire to interrupt the moment. Quietly being grateful for being 5'11, I asked Julie for her program and just passed both of ours right on over (they had been reservedly distributing them at the start of the show, but they found more and passed them out to the crowd at the stage door.) He took the programs from me, signed them, and passed them on back. I didn't make a grab or anything, lol.
I apparently become ultra-respectful of famous people when I meet them - I didn't say a word to Alex O'Loughlin, because he was working and I didn't want to bother him. Here, I was kinda like, well... who wants random people touching them? So I just thanked Mr. Jackman for the programs and moved back a bit.
... besides, again, I think the presence of Deb kept my grabbyhands in check, lol. (they so obviously love each other, it's so sweet.) (and I loved him interacting with cancer mom!)
*swoon,* my favorite! Holy crap, RIGHT THERE!
Also, he seems to have cut himself shaving? ... random fangirl attack? lol
Anyway, I retreated to the back wall so other people could get past - a moment later, the entire crowd at the stage door - 250 people?? (I'm no good at estimates) - started singing Oh What a Beautiful Morning. And it really WAS beautiful! Hugh worked his way around the barrier, but didn't go through the crowd further than the car. I was *very* grateful we decided to move up closer to the door. He waved to everyone, and off he went!
But I have this program:
which I handed to Hugh Jackman myself. That scribble is his signature, lol. (I think it's just "Hugh.")
... and I have the story. And the memories. And the swoons.
... and this INSANELY LONG POST, which is ELEVEN pages in Word, Good Gad! lol. Good night, LJ.