Susan Granger’s review of “The Boy From Oz” (Imperial Theater 2003-2004 season)
You may never have heard of Peter Allen but you’re not going to forget Hugh Jackman!
Best known to movie audiences as Wolverine in “X-Men,” Hugh Jackman is pure magic playing Allen, the wry Australian singer/songwriter who fled from the Outback to find fame and fortune as Judy Garland’s opening act and Liza Minnelli’s first husband. Along the way, he won an Oscar for writing the “Arthur” theme song and sold out two weeks at Radio City Music Hall. Then came “Legs Diamond,” his big Broadway flop. In 1992, at age 48, Allen died of AIDS.
The book, music, lyrics, direction and choreography of this $10 million musical are unabashedly mediocre. Particularly disappointing is how pivotal questions about Peter Allen’s marriage vs. his flamboyant homosexuality are obscured by writer Michael Sherman, along with the emotional scars of his father’s suicide. On the other hand, the real Peter Allen always preferred romance to reality, and Hugh Jackson is such a campy crowd-pleaser that his playful performance makes buying a ticket worthwhile. Isabel Keating is convincing as Judy Garland and Stephanie J. Block is spunky as Liza Minnelli. Beth Fowler is touching as Allen’s mother, as is Jarrod Emick as his doomed lover, and Mitchel David Federan scores as Allen-as-a-child.
Peter Allen’s songs – “I Go to Rio” and “Don’t Cry Out Loud” – are memorable as is Joey McKneely’s flashy choreography, Robin Wagner’s inventive sets, William Ivey Long’s glittery costumes, Donald Holder’s lighting and Philip William McKinley’s staging. The bottom line is this: Hugh Jackman is a far better performer than Peter Allen ever was and he’s the reason to see “The Boy from Oz” on Broadway. If Hugh Jackman doesn’t win a Tony, the ballots were rigged!