HAVING AN ‘OZ’-SOME TIME
When Jarrod Emick starred as Joe Hardy, the straight and strapping all American ballplayer in Damn Yankees, he hit a home run, winning the 1994 Tony, Drama Desk and Theater World Awards. Now he’s playing for the other team, so to speak, as Peter Allen’s gay lover, Greg Connell, opposite Hugh Jackman, in The Boy From Oz, opening Oct. 16 at the Imperial. Jackman, who gives a Tony-worthy tour de force as the Aussie entertainer, raves, "Jarrod’s the best. He’s fantastic as Greg!"

Though best known for his musicals (The Rocky Horror Show and Miss Saigon), Emick is also a fan of Tennessee Williams and William Inge and has appeared regionally in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and Picnic. On TV, he starred in the acclaimed 1996 TNT film "Andersonville," directed by the late John Frankenheimer.

Born in Fort Eustis, Va., the 6-foot actor grew up in Oral, S.D., where his father was a sheep farmer. The amiable Emick, 34, has a girlfriend, Mia Price ("She’s gorgeous and on tour with Thoroughly Modern Millie), and a six-year-old Rottweiler named Woo. He also loves to play guitar and is working on a country album.

Q: Most of our readers know about the legendary Peter Allen, so what can you tell us about your character, Greg Connell?
Emick: Greg was from Texas. He was a model, and he met Peter in the early seventies. Greg would design Peter’s sets and lights, and he was the one who got Peter started on wearing Hawaiian shirts. He wanted Peter to have a look. Peter was surrounded by yes men, but Greg wasn’t one of them. I think he was the love of Peter’s life, but Peter had a lot of love to give [to others]. I kind of equate him to Bill Clinton. He couldn’t help himself, but I don’t think Greg would’ve had it any other way.

Q: In the show, Peter and Greg kiss. Ever kissed a guy onstage?
Emick: No. Hugh is the first. But we’re very comfortable with each other as friends. We really feel good about where the kiss is at. It’s poignant.

Q: There seems to be a double standard about same-sex kisses. When two women kiss, like Madonna and Britney Spears at the MTV Awards, it’s sexy.
Emick: But when two men kiss, people feel uncomfortable. Yeah, I have no idea what that’s about. In theatre, we’re used to guys being with guys.

Q: Let’s talk about Peter’s music. What made it so special?
Emick: He wrote from the heart. His songs are so rich and full. I really like "All the Lives of Me." And "I Honestly Love You," which I get to sing, is so beautiful. I’m not a fan of taking a bunch of music and turning it into a show. Some really crappy musicals have been made that way. But in The Boy From Oz, Martin Sherman, who wrote Bent, has come up with a fantastic book, and the music fits so well. Peter was writing about his own life. He shouldn’t have done Legs Diamond.

Q: Peter and Greg had AIDS. How is that treated in the show?
Emick: Greg tells Peter about it. Peter was very much in denial, not only about his own infection but Greg’s. And Greg was not having any of that. He didn’t want any B.S. When he passed away, it was a horrible time. Once Peter came to terms he was HIV, he thought he could lick it. He never told his mother.

Q: Have you heard from Greg’s mother?
Emick: I’m told she really wants to see the show. And she sounds like a doll. I’m not doing an impression of Greg, but I look forward to meeting her.

Q: Finally, there’s been a lot of talk about gays on Broadway and TV. Have you seen "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy"? And would you welcome any advice?
Emick: I love that show! They have great taste, so I’d welcome anything they could do for me, especially fashion-wise. My girlfriend says when she first met me, I had this drawer full of white T-shirts and a drawer of black T-shirts and a drawer of jeans. But I clean up all right. I’d love to meet those guys. They look like a ton of fun.

For more info, visit www.theboyfromoz.com and www4.osk.3web.ne.jp/~babuly/.

A FRANK DISCUSSION ABOUT ‘SINATRA’
To quote the swinging jingle he sings on the TV commercial for Foxwoods Casino, "Life is good, life is sweet" for John Pizzarelli. The gifted, good looking guitarist-singer from Paterson, N.J., has released over 25 albums and received raves for his jazz trio (with Martin Pizzarelli and Ray Kennedy). He literally makes beautiful music with his wife, Broadway star Jessica Molaskey, when they write songs, and he’s got two remarkably musical kids, Johnny, 12, and Madeleine, 5. And from Oct. 10-19, Pizzarelli will bring his pizzazz to Radio City Music Hall, starring in Sinatra: His Voice. His World. His Way with a 40-piece orchestra and the Rockettes. It’ll be directed by Tony winner Des McAnuff (Big River) and choreographed by Casey Nicholow.

Pizzarelli, who’s so sunny that you could get a tan by standing next to him, says, "Our show will tell Sinatra’s story, and Radio City is the perfect place for it. You’ll hear Sinatra sing again, and he’ll be seen on these giant screens that fly in and out. I’m the narrator, but I’ll also sing and play in the band. I do "Come Fly With Me" with Sinatra, and I even perform with the Rockettes. It’s gonna be one wild multimedia ride."

Thanks to high-tech wizardry, the 6-foot Broadway pro (Dream) also will appear with Sinatra at a bar during "One for My Baby." However, it won’t be the first time this multi-MAC Award winner has shared the stage with Ol’ Blue Eyes. In 1993, he opened for Sinatra in Germany and America. After one concert, Pizzarelli recalls, "We shook hands, and he joked, ‘Eat something, you look bad.’ We’d also watch Sinatra in the wings, waiting to go on. He’d be snapping his fingers, tapping his toes. Then he’d walk onstage and say, ‘Weren’t those guys great?’ It was fun touring with him."