Hugh Jackman proves he’s the ringmaster in Showman circus at Adelaide Entertainment Centre
Hugh Jackman’s The Man. The Music. The Show is part Hollywood showbiz spectacle, part Broadway dance, comedy and complete with references from throughout his entire career.
For those hoping to see The Greatest Showman, Hugh Jackman delivers all the showbiz spectacle, Broadway dance routines, Hollywood numbers and beloved characters you’d expect.
The Aussie superstar of stage and screen’s energy levels and genuine personality are infectious, even if his singing was a little flat during his first Saturday afternoon performance at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre.
In The Man. The Music. The Show, Jackman goes to great lengths to balance personal insights, comic audience interaction and razzle dazzle dance routines.
It opens with the sort of number usually reserved for a grand finale as he welcomes us to The Greatest Show with a thundering groove, joined by eight leaping dancers in equally sparking outfits.
Hits from his P.T. Barnum movie continue as he urges the crowd to Come Alive, making the first of many trips down a catwalk.
However, the show-stealer is his Greatest Showman co-star Keala Settle, who not only gets the biggest cheers for her phenomenally uplifting This Is Me but then tops it with a new number called Harder, delivering even more stratospheric vocals and empowering lyrics.
Jackman’s jacket and tie came off for Gaston from Beauty and the Beast, featuring some line dancing, bicep flexing and a precision, beer tankard clinking routine.
There’s a New York medley, Bob Fosse style jazz choreography and an umbrella-twirling Singin’ in the Rain, a rock tap-dancing routine, rousing hits from Les Miserables and a red-and-silver, pineapple-shaking succession of Peter Allen hits.
Add indigenous performers from Jackman’s time in the Outback, a Wolverine moment, a plug for RM Williams boots and the obligatory I Still Call Australia Home, and the audience certainly got everything they bargained for — and more.
Hugh Jackman: The Man. The Music. The Show.
Adelaide Entertainment Centre
Saturday, August 10 to Tuesday, August 13
