Tony Winner Jackman: Taking a Musical Leap of Faith
By Ernio Hernandez
19 May 2006
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Hugh Jackman
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| photo by Aubrey Reuben | Tony Award winner Hugh Jackman — currently promoting his upcoming reprise as Wolverine in "X-Men: The Last Stand" — revealed he is taking part in a workshop for the upcoming musical Leap of Faith.
"I'm doing a workshop of an original piece, based on the movie 'Leap of Faith,' " Jackman told United Press International (UPI). "Alan Menken [is] writing it and Taylor Hackford directing it. It really fits into a musical, trust me. It's all about performances."
The actor has already been rumored to star in a Joe Matello-directed (Matthew Bourne-choreographed) revival of Pal Joey as well as a revival of Stop the World — I Want to Get Off. Per UPI, Jackman also added an unnamed play into the mix of possibilities.
Jackman garnered a Tony Award for his portrayal of the late Peter Allen in The Boy From Oz. He also received an Olivier Award nomination for his work in the London revival of Oklahoma! and an MO Award for his performance as Joe Gillis in the Australian production of Sunset Boulevard. Jackman's film credits include the "X-Men" trilogy, "Someone Like You," "Swordfish," "Kate and Leopold" and "Van Helsing."
Leap of Faith would mark the first Broadway musical that composer Menken — of Beauty and the Beast and the upcoming The Little Mermaid — has penned directly for the Broadway stage (Little Shop played Off-Broadway and on film prior to reaching Broadway).
Menken is known for his work on Disney animated movies including "Aladdin," "Beauty and the Beast," "Pocahantas" "The Hunchback of Notre Dame," "Home on the Range" and "Hercules."
Director Hackford is the Academy Award-nominated filmmaker of the Ray Charles biopic "Ray." Other films include "An Officer and a Gentleman," "Against All Odds," "The Idolmaker" and "White Nights."
The producing team of Steven Baruch, Richard Frankel, Marc Routh and Thomas Viertel (whose last names interchangeably identify the group) will present the musical.
The 1992 film starred Steve Martin as a fake faith healer who travels with a band of con artist helpers swindling townsfolk from one place to the next with their faux revival, until they break down in a small town and he falls for a local. The movie also featured stage performers Liam Neeson (The Crucible), Philip Seymour Hoffman, (Long Day's Journey Into Night) and LaChanze (The Color Purple).
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