Not the Boy Next Door

I'd thought I'd weigh in on The Boy From Oz from a slightly different perspective: as someone who knows very little about Peter Allen. (My knowledge of Peter consists of Legs Diamond, "I Go To Rio," and a friend's assertion that "he was Liza Minnelli's first gay husband.") I saw the musical on Sunday, so here are my ruminations:

1. Hugh Jackman is stunningly talented. He sings, he dances, he acts, and he makes the audience fall in love with him. Hugh takes command of that stage like he was born to it - I've seen very few actors with that degree of self-possession. (And if you'll join me in the shallow end of the pool for a moment, let me also point out that Hugh's even more attractive in person. Yowza.)

2. Turns out I'm not a big fan of Peter's songs. Most of the time, I think his music sounds like second-rate Barry Manilow. However, after the rousing patriotism of "I Still Call Australia Home," I wanted to be from Oz, too. Man, Hugh and the company knock that one out of the park.

3. What you've heard is true - the show itself is not that great. Here's the main problem: after spending two hours and change with Hugh-as-Peter, I still have no sense of who Peter Allen was, or why I should care about him. For the first act, the show sticks to the "then I said, then I did, then we went" formula of the biographical sketch, but it gives no motive for anything Peter does, including marrying Liza Minnelli. In the second act, Peter acquires his true love and a career, then loses both and dies, but even the dramatic reveals didn't tell me anything about what's going on inside his head. Because Peter is such a cipher in the first act, all of the emotional moments in the second act feel forced and silly, even when they're deadly serious.

There's a ghost of a good musical here, though, and you can see it at the end of the Act II. Peter, now dying, sings "Once Before I Go" to the audience, telling us that he'd "do it all again" and that he "loved us all along." Was Peter Allen's greatest love for his fans? Is The Boy From Oz the story of a man who can connect only on stage? If that's the case, then that aspect needs to be established sooner, and certainly before the final song.

4. They spent $9 million on this musical, and they couldn't come up with a decent representation of the Rockettes? What was up with the triangular mirrors?

I also happened to be present for the Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS appeal where a woman paid $1,000 for Hugh's sweaty shirt. I think someone paid $5,000 for his towel. At least he knows what his pheromones are worth.