Third miserable thought: Wolverine, song and dance X-man

As Ken Houghton reminded me in the comments on yesterday’s miserable thought on Les Miserables, Hugh Jackman has had some experience as a song and dance man, so he was up to the challenge of playing Jean Valjean in an adaptation of a musical:

Comments

[El Jefe]

To this day (thirteen years in), one of The Redhead's three favorite gifts from me was the DVD of that production, given her some years ago now. (And as a professor of mine from back in the day once said, it's interesting that the Brits have become the self-selected preservation society for Rogers & Hammerstein.) One of my favorite parts of that show, though, was Maureen Lipman's turn as Aunt Eller -- a woman (Eller) a lot like my Grandmammaw right down to the accent and the look in her eye, and Lipman, nice Jewish hippie girl from North London that she is, carried it off with utter conviction and not even a hint of feigning, like the role gave her a chance to get back to her roots. Rather makes me wish she'd gotten to play Me. Thenardier opposite Alun Armstrong back in the famous '80s West End run. *That* would've been a right pair of villains ....

[Lorettadillon]

Here's Jackman's Oscar opening from 2009. I loved him in this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Terhj8mjPwY

[Lorettadillon]

I grew up with the soundtrack of Gordon MacRae doing this (as well as Carousel) and didn't think anyone could touch him. But Jackman has a younger, more maverick sense about him and in some ways is better. Never thought I'd ever say that.

I'd love to hear him do the Soliliqy from Carousel, which is a brilliant, challenging song not many can pull off.

[Lorettadillon]

Wait wait, he did it!

http://youtu.be/3NLJ4hq0Sg0