Just read that Hugh Jackman is going to play Houdini on BW. Houdini (Erik Weisz) was a Hungarian born Jewish immigrant who stood about 5'4. Hugh Jackman is 6'2 and Australian? I have nothing against Jackman but he doesn't fit this role imo.
By "he doesn't fit this role" you mean he's a different height than Houdini? Who cares. Does anyone even actually know what Harry Houdini looks like? Patti LuPone was 6 inches shorter than Rose Hovick!
Yes, lots of people know whathe looks like. I know I do.
That being said, Jackman's height has nothing to do with it. I can't wait to see him on stage again.
If we're not having fun, then why are we doing it?
These are DISCUSSION boards, not mutual admiration boards. Discussion only occurs when we are willing to hear what others are thinking, regardless of whether it is alignment to our own thoughts.
How updated is this news? I feel like Jackman has been rumored to play Houdini for years. It'd be great to see him back in an original Broadway musical.
"Some people can thrive and bloom living life in a living room, that's perfect for some people of one hundred and five. But I at least gotta try, when I think of all the sights that I gotta see, all the places I gotta play, all the things that I gotta be at"
If we're not having fun, then why are we doing it?
These are DISCUSSION boards, not mutual admiration boards. Discussion only occurs when we are willing to hear what others are thinking, regardless of whether it is alignment to our own thoughts.
Entertainment is all about imagination, especially when it's live. In both the screen and stage versions of FINDING NEVERLAND, J.M. Barrie is portrayed by very gorgeous, handsome men. In real life, Barrie was a short and ugly man. His older brother (who died at a young age) was the handsome one. Their mother loved his brother more than James. Can you imagine growing up feeling short, ugly, and not as loved as your sibling from your mother? While this provides insight into his character, it was the events in his life that made the story that the entertainment writers wanted to tell. The character or J.M. Barrie in FINDING NEVERLAND is a different character than the actual Barrie. They adjusted his character as they thought necessary to tell the story that they wanted to tell.
The same will happen with HOUDINI.
"The Spectacle has, indeed, an emotional attraction of its own, but, of all the parts, it is the least artistic, and connected least with the art of poetry. For the power of Tragedy, we may be sure, is felt even apart from representation and actors. Besides, the production of spectacular effects depends more on the art of the stage machinist than on that of the poet."
--Aristotle
I and lots of people know what Houdini looked like. I doubt very much though that many people know he was 5'4". I had no idea how tall he was. Houdini's height is not well known. It's not as if he were Napoleon. Perhaps if this show was produced in 1920, it might be an issue, but it's almost 100 years later.
Inspired by your post, I looked it up and it is reported that he was 5'6". Either way, I don't see any problem with the casting.
As far as Hugh being an Australian of mainly English ancestry with a Greek great grandfather, I fail to see how that has any bearing on his playing an American of Hungarian Jewish ancestry.
Based on previous interviews with Sorkin, the book is not going to be a biopic but will focus only on certain episodes on Houdini's battle with spiritualism. Maybe the physical similarities between Jackman and Houdini will not be as important?
Btw, there was a recent update on the show development, via an interview with Jack O'Brien who is directing the musical --
>>Directed by Tony winner Jack O'Brien, Houdini will feature a new score by Stephen Schwartz and is aiming to bow during the 2013-14 season.
"The two ballads Stephen has written, one that closes Act I and one that closes the show, are among the greatest things he's ever written," O'Brien recently told Broadway.com. "Hugh just kills with them. It's vintage Schwartz, it's gorgeous," O'Brien said of the Wicked composer's newest score, noting it echos music from the 1920s, when the story is set.
Oscar-winning Social Network scribe Aaron Sorkin is penning the musical's book and taking a different narrative route than that of a traditional biography. Instead, the musical tells the story of an epic battle between Houdini and a trio of women, known as 'Spiritualists', who convinced millions of people they could communicate with the dead.
Jackman and the show's creative team are "working our butts off," according to O'Brien. A read-through of the show's first act is scheduled for January. Jackman will then take a break to film the police drama Prisoners with Jake Gyllenhaal, then reconvene on Houdini in March and April.<<<
"Based on previous interviews with Sorkin, the book is not going to be a biopic but will focus only on certain episodes on Houdini's battle with spiritualism."
Cool! My grandfather worked as Houdini's secretary during that period.
It's as firm as anything over a year out could be. I would suspect that if it doesn't happen in that time frame, they risk losing Jackman -- and I suspect, if they lose Jackman, they will lose a lot of funding. They can't expect him to keep a clear schedule for too long. (I also assumed that the show still being that far out had a lot to do WITH Jackman's schedule, but that seems not to be the case.)
If we're not having fun, then why are we doing it?
These are DISCUSSION boards, not mutual admiration boards. Discussion only occurs when we are willing to hear what others are thinking, regardless of whether it is alignment to our own thoughts.
>>>I also assumed that the show still being that far out had a lot to do WITH Jackman's schedule, but that seems not to be the case.<<
I think the indications are when Hugh completes filming commitment for PRISONERS and then pomotion for The WOLVERINE ( due for release in July 2013) and maybe some promotion for PRISONERS which is another wide release movie (due for release in Sept 2013), there doesn't seem to be any new commitments on Hugh's schedule. Unless he fits in another movie project in the second half of 2013.
Jackman is better suited to portray David Copperfield than Harry Houdini imo. That's not to say that I don't like Jackman or his work, I do, I just think he is miscast for this role.
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joined:3/14/09
Posted: 10/13/12 at 12:21pm