Hugh Jackman Is Starring in ‘The Music Man’ on Broadway

Set your sights on the Great White Way, because Hugh Jackman is taking to the stage once again. Jackman is set to star in an upcoming Broadway production of The Music Man, in which he will appear as Harold Hill, a con man who tries to trick the small midwestern community of River City by posing as a band leader.

This isn’t Jackman’s first foray onto the stage. He previously appeared on Broadway in The River (2014), Hugh Jackman, Back on Broadway (2011), and A Steady Rain (2009). His Broadway debut was in The Boy From Oz (2003), for which he won the 2004 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical. Jackman also appeared on London’s West End in the Trevor Nunn-directed 1998 Royal National Theatre revival of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Oklahoma!. He played Curly McLain alongside Josefina Gabrielle’s Laurey Williams, Shuler Hensley’s Jud Fry, and Maureen Lipman’s Aunt Eller.

In a video recently posted to Instagram, Jackman shares a sneak peek of the skills he’ll need for the notoriously fast-talking role of Harold Hill. In it, he recites the lyrics to the musical's opening song, “Rock Island.” If this is any indication, Jackman will have no trouble with “Ya Got Trouble” and “Seventy-Six Trombones” either, once the curtain goes up.

Watch the video:

The Music Man has a book, music, and lyrics by Meredith Willson, who also composed the music for many Hollywood films, including those of Charlie Chaplin. Willson’s other musicals include The Unsinkable Molly Brown, Here’s Love, and 1491. The Music Man had its Broadway premiere in 1957. That production won five Tony Awards in all, including the Tony for Best Musical. The musical was also adapted into films, once in 1962 and again in a 2003 made-for-television movie. Jackman’s role, Prof. Harold Hill, is a character previously brought to life by Robert Preston (Mame, Victor/Victoria) in the 1962 adaptation, Matthew Broderick (Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, The Producers) in 2003, and others.

Soon, Jackman will add his name to the marquee when The Music Man opens on Broadway on October 22, 2020.

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For more Broadway news, check out these Broadway musicals heading to the big screen soon and this new movie musical featuring Judi Dench.

Are you already planning your trip to Broadway to see Jackman in The Music Man? What’s your favorite Broadway musical of all time?