We already know Hugh Jackman is the greatest showman but now he’s set to be The Music Man too!
On Wednesday, producer Scott Rudin announced that Jackman will play the lead role of Harold Hill in the 2020 Broadway revival of the 1957 Meredith Wilson-composed musical classic. Jackman confirmed the news on Twitter, posting a photo of a suitcase and trombone with a luggage tag reading “Professor Harold Hill.” The actor captioned the image: “The Music Man. Broadway. October 22, 2020.”
The Music Man. Broadway. October 22, 2020. ?@MusicManBway? pic.twitter.com/th4NVkpk6h
— Hugh Jackman (@RealHughJackman) March 13, 2019
The musical follows the exploits of conman Harold Hill as he arrives in a small Iowa town and pretends to be the organizer of a boys’ marching band in a ploy to run off with the the money he collects for instruments and uniforms. But the town’s librarian Marian isn’t so easily fooled and plans to reveal the truth.
“The first musical I was ever part of was the phenomenal The Music Man,” said Jackman in a statement. “The year was 1983, and I was at Knox Grammar School in Sydney, Australia. I was one of the traveling salesmen, and I think I can actually (almost) remember that unforgettable opening number! That was probably the moment when the magic of theater was born in me. The idea of bringing The Music Man back to Broadway has been lurking in the back of my brain for a long time, maybe even for 35 years. When Scott Rudin called me with that very idea, I was floored. To finally be doing this is a huge thrill.”
This isn’t Jackman’s first time on the Broadway stage; the actor won a Tony Award for his role in The Boy From Oz (2003) and has appeared in the plays A Steady Rain (2009) and The River (2014), as well as Hugh Jackman, Back on Broadway (2011). In 2019, he announced his own one man show which is set to tour the world, showcasing songs from his movies Les Miserables and The Greatest Showman among others. The Man. The Music. The Show kicks off in May and Jackman will be backed by a live orchestra.
The Music Man revival — directed by Jerry Zaks with choreography by Warren Carlyle — begins previews on Sept. 9, 2020, before officially opening on Oct. 22 at a Shubert theater yet to be announced. Group tickets go on sale June 9 this year, with single tickets available starting Sept. 15. More details, including the casting of Marian, will be announced shortly.
