Poor boy from Oz: Hugh Jackman does his best as Peter Allen, but The Boy from Oz fails to ignite.The Boy From Oz * Book by Martin Sherman Martin Sherman (b. 1939, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is a screen writer and playwright, the son of Joseph T. Sherman and Julia Shermanof. He is openly gay, and has lived in London[1] since 1980. * Music and lyrics by Peter Allen and others * Choreography by Joey McKneely * Directed by Philip William McKinley * Starring Hugh Jackman * Imperial Theater, New York City New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. (open run) Strangely, The Boy From Oz barely registers the essentials of Peter Allen s artistry. Instead, it arranges the details of his life into a generic showbiz musical: small-town childhood, discovery, marriage, divorce, success, love, loss. While admirably blithe blithe adj. blith·er, blith·est 1. Carefree and lighthearted. 2. Lacking or showing a lack of due concern; casual: spoke with blithe ignorance of the true situation. about his bisexuality, the book (originally by Nick Enright, who died of AIDS this year, and rewritten by Martin Sherman) is so shallow, it's hard to care about the characters. Yes, Allen is discovered in a Hong Kong lounge by Judy Garland (a spooky impersonation Impersonation Patroclus wore the armor of Achilles against the Trojans to encourage the disheartened Greeks. [Gk. Lit.: Iliad] Prisoner of Zenda, The by Isabel Keating), and, yes, he sleeps with her husband and marries her daughter Liza Minneli (bland Stephanie J. Block Stephanie J. Block (born Stephanie Janette Block on September 19, 1972) is an American stage actress and member of Actors Equity and the Los Angeles Musical Theater Guild. She most recently played Grace "Grania" O'Malley in the Broadway show The Pirate Queen ). Yes, he falls in love with Grog Connell (the talented bat wasted Jarrod Emick), who then dies of AIDS. But the work of fleshing out these relationships is left to Allen's songs, which weren't written for that purpose. The people who will be most satisfied with The Boy From Oz are those who can't get enough of Hugh Jackman, He's likable in his lanky, flesh-faced Tommy Tune way, although he's slightly outshone in the adorability department by 11-year-old Mitchel David Federan, who plays the chubby, tap-dancing; butt-wagging Young Peter, underscoring the showbiz maxim about sharing the stage with kids animals. The musical's creators include some of Allen's better songs--"Quiet Please, There's a Lady on Stage" (his eulogy for Garland), "I'd Rather Leave While I'm in Love" (sung by Liza), and "I Honestly Love You" (which Greg croons from beyond the gave)--and leave out many others, while cramming in a bunch of lesser tunes from Allen's own generic showbiz musical, Legs Diamond which flopped on Broadway in 1988. At least when Allen dies he goes to Rio, which sends the audience out the door on a big glitzy glitz Informal n. Ostentatious showiness; flashiness: "a garish barrage of show-biz glitz" Peter G. Davis. tr.v. high. So perhaps there is some justice in the other world. Shewey writes on theater for The New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of Times. |
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