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Houdini! Wolverine And <em>West Wing</em> Scribe To Bring Magic Back To Bway
By
Garth Johnston
Published Jan 4, 2012
Modified Jan 4, 2012
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By
Garth Johnston
Published Jan 4, 2012
Modified Jan 4, 2012
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Hugh Jackman, hot on the heels of his smash one-man show, has tied himself to another Broadway production. Come the 2013-14 season he says he'll be starring on Broadway in a musical about Harry Houdini—which really shouldn't be a problem for The Prestige star. And if Wolverine in chains weren't enough to get a theater geek's panties in a twist, the fact that Aaron "The West Wing" Sorkin is going to write the "contemporary look at the life and death" of the illusionist should do the trick (oh, and Steven "Wicked" Schwartz will be doing the music and Jack "Hairspray" O'Brien will direct).
"I have been deeply fascinated by the life of Harry Houdini since I was young, and in many ways I’ve been preparing for this role my whole life," Jackman said in a statement.
Still, if you're expecting a completely factual, straight up biography of the late, great magician you might want to reconsider. Remember that the wordy Sorkin's last play, The Farnsworth Invention, played fast and loose with the history of the boob tube and his new production is likely to do the same. As of now the show Sorkin—who has to be quite busy these days what with his upcoming HBO show—envisions, he says, will be "an epic battle that took place between the world’s greatest illusionist and a trio of women, known as 'Spiritualists,' who convinced millions of people, including the editors of Scientific American and The New York Times, that they could communicate with the dead."
And also, just because this has been announced, doesn't mean it will happen (we were rooting for you, Funny Girl!). Sorkin could always bail on this long-gestating project. After all, who can forget the mythical Flaming Lips Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots/Aaron Sorkin musical that never was?
Tagged
Aaron Sorkin
broadway
harry houdini
hugh jackman
musicals
steven schwartz
Garth Johnston
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