Damn Yankees' Jarrod Emick in Discussions to Join Broadway's Boy From Oz
By Ernio Hernandez
08 Apr 2003
Jarrod Emick, who played the young, strapping baseball player Joe Hardy in the 1994 Victor Garber-Bebe Neuwirth revival of Damn Yankees, is in discussions to star in the upcoming Broadway production of The Boy From Oz, according to a production spokesperson.
Emick would play Greg Connell, partner to Hugh Jackman's Peter Allen. If cast, Emick would join the previously announced Isabel Keating, Beth Fowler and Hugh Jackman in the upcoming musical which is set to bow at the Imperial Theatre on Sept. 16.
Emick was last seen on Broadway in the revival of The Rocky Horror Show as Brad Majors. His other credits include the national tours of Les Misérables and Miss Saigon which he also starred in on Broadway. Emick won a Tony Award for his performance in Damn Yankees.
The Boy from Oz is a musical biography of the late entertainer who was a protege of Judy Garland (Keating) and who was briefly married to Liza Minnelli. The Australian production ran two years and starred Todd McKenney as Allen. It received strongly positive reviews when it opened March 5, 1998, at Her Majesty's Theatre Sydney. Nick Enright penned the musical's original book, though since fall 2001, Martin Sherman (Bent, A Madhouse in Goa) has been the project's librettist. Philip Wm. McKinley is the director. Joey McKneely is the choreographer.
Ben Gannon and Robert Fox presented the recent workshop of The Boy from Oz which featured Jackman as Allen and Keating as Garland. The cast also included Mitchel David Federan as (Boy) Young Peter, Mark Manley as George Woolnough, Patti Allison as Marion Woolnough, Michael Mulheren as Dick Woolnough and Dee Anthony, Jeff Skowron as Chris Bell, Adam Karsten as Mark Herron, Ruthie Henshall as Liza Minnelli, Shannon Lewis as Lady and Ben Sheaffer as Greg Connell. The ensemble featured Leslie Alexander, Todd Anderson, Christopher Freeman, Colleen Hawks, Stephanie Kurtzuba, Matt Loehr, Brian J. Markum and Kellyanne Wilson.
The Broadway musical will be designed by Robin Wagner (sets), Ann Hould-Ward (costumes), Donald Holder (lighting) and ACME Sound Partners (sound design). Patrick Vaccariello will serve as musical supervisor. Orchestrations will be by Michael Gibson.
Sources say the show has many musical numbers and ends with Allen's signature song, "I Go to Rio." The original cast recording of the Australian production included the following songs:
"Continental American"
"When I Get My Name In Lights"
"Pretty Keen Teen"
"All I Wanted Was the Dream"
"Only An Older Woman"
"Don't Wish too Hard"
"Sure Thing Baby"
"Quiet Please, There's A Lady On Stage"
"I'd Rather Leave While I'm In Love"
"Taught By Experts"
"Not the Boy Next Door"
"Everything Old Is New Again"
"Best That You Can Do"
"Love Don't Need A Reason"
"She Loves To Hear The Music"
"I Honestly Love You"
"I Still Call Australia Home"
"Don't Cry Out Loud"
"Tenterfield Saddler"
"I Go To Rio"
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