Is Hugh Jackman the “Greatest Showman”? According to the hundreds of thousands of people who’ve bought tickets to his concerts and the literal millions who bought the record-smashing soundtrack for The Greatest Showman, yes.
Now the homegrown song and dance man is bringing his biggest show yet to Australia, after playing 49 shows in arenas across Europe and North America. And yes, he’s promising plenty of songs from The Greatest Showman.
The Man. The Music. The Show. will play Rod Laver Arena, with performances on August 16 and 17 at 8pm and a 2pm matinee show on August 17.
The show features Jackman, backed by a full orchestra, performing musical numbers from Broadway and Hollywood. Alongside The Greatest Showman, he’s promising songs from Les Mis, and we’re betting on at least a Peter Allen medley given his Tony Award-winning turn in the Broadway production of The Boy from Oz.
You can also expect special guests – he’s confirmed Robbie Williams is joining him at some point on the tour, and the Australian shows will feature Keala Settle, who played the bearded lady in The Greatest Showman and belted out the anthemic ‘This is Me’. There’s no word yet on who else might join him in Oz, but you can always expect a showman to have a few tricks up his sleeve.
Jackman is no stranger to Australian arenas; in 2006 he toured The Boy from Oz Arena Spectacular and in 2015 toured a solo show called Broadway to Oz. These will be his first live shows since then.
Tickets for Jackman's Melbourne dates go on sale through Ticketek on March 7 at noon.