Hugh Jackman to star in The Music Man on Broadway

The Broadway revival of The Music Man will begin performances on Broadway on September 9, 2020.

Hugh Jackman is heading back to Broadway, folks! For the first time since his 2004 Tony Award-winning turn as Peter Allen in the Broadway premiere of The Boy From Oz, Jackman will star in a Broadway musical! Taking on the iconic role of Professor Harold Hill - arguably one of the greatest musical theater roles ever created - he will lead the cast of a Broadway revival of Meredith Willson's The Music Man, which is scheduled to begin previews at a yet-to-be-named Shubert venue on September 9, 2020, ahead of an official opening on October 22.

Mr. Jackman commented: "The first musical I was ever a part of was the phenomenal The Music Man. The year was 1983, and I was at Knox Grammar School in Sydney, Australia. I was one of the traveling salesmen, and I think I can actually (almost) remember that unforgettable opening number! That was probably the moment when the magic of theater was born in me. The idea of bringing The Music Man back to Broadway has been lurking in the back of my brain for a long time, maybe even for 35 years, and when Scott Rudin called me with that very idea, I was floored. To finally be doing this is a huge thrill."

Producer Scott Rudin has assembled the celebrated creative team behind his recent Tony Award-winning Bette Midler-led revival of Hello, Dolly! for what is sure to be a mammoth production on the Great White Way, including four-time Tony Award-winning director Jerry Zaks and Tony Award-winning choreographer Warren Carlyle, alongside four-time Tony Award winner Santo Loquasto (serving as scenic & costume designer), six-time Tony Award winner Natasha Katz (lighting designer), Tony Award winner Scott Lehrer (sound designer), and David Chase (providing the dance arrangements). New additions to the creative team include musical director Patrick Vaccariello and Tony Award-winning orchestrator Jonathan Tunick.

The Music Man originally premiered on Broadway in December 1957, becoming an instant hit, and went on to win a total of five Tony Awards in 1958 (including "Best Musical") and established itself as one of the all-time classics of American musical theater, running for 1,375 performances in New York City. In addition, the original cast recording of the musical comedy won the first-ever Grammy Award for "Best Original Cast Album" and hit the number one spot on the Billboard charts. It would remain in the charts for an astonishing 245 weeks. 

Synopsis: The Music Man, featuring a book, music & lyrics by Meredith Wilson, follows con man Harold Hill, who poses as a musician and hatches a plot to sell gullible musical instruments and uniforms to townsfolk in the Midwest with the promise to train them and turn them into credible bands. His intentions, however, are to skip town before he gives a single music lesson. Marian, a local librarian and piano teacher, sees right through him and threatens to out him... until the two end up falling in love, of course.

Hugh Jackman last appeared on Broadway in Jez Butterworth's three-person drama The River from October 2014 to February 2015. Aside from his 2003 Broadway debut in The Boy From Oz, he also starred alongside Daniel Craig in the 2009 Broadway premiere of A Steady Rain and in his own concert series Hugh Jackman: Back on Broadway in the fall of 2011 (resulting in a special Tony Award in 2012). He earned great acclaim, including an Olivier Award nomination, for his performance as Curly McLain in the 1998 National Theatre production of Oklahoma! and his Australian stage credits include Disney's Beauty and the Beast and Sunset Boulevard. On screen, he is best known for his Grammy Award-winning and Golden Globe-nominated role as P.T. Barnum in the smash hit movie musical "The Greatest Showman," his Oscar-nominated and Golden Globe-winning role as Jean Valjean in "Les Misérables," and as Wolverine in the hugely successful "X-Men" movie franchize.

Additional casting, including the role of Marian, will be announced at a later date.

^{(Photo by Joan Marcus / Artwork courtesy of DKC/O&M)}