Hugh Jackman’s World Tour “The Man. The Music. The Show” arrived at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia on Sunday, June 30th. If you’re a fan of The Greatest Showman and just want to hear the hits, then this is a very mediocre concert. If you love Broadway and musicals, then this is the perfect show for you.
On Sunday, my wife and I saw Hugh Jackman in Philadelphia. Listen, I’m not a fan of musicals. In fact, I despise them. However, I do have a soft spot for the magic of Broadway (if that makes any sense). My wife and I are huge Disney freaks. We love anything and everything Disney. We’ve seen Aladdin and The Lion King on Broadway. Both shows were unbelievable.
I’m a huge film nerd but I’ve never enjoyed live action musicals. The only live action musical I’ve come to love is Moulin Rouge. I’m a comic guy, so obviously I have a deep and profound love for Hugh Jackman. When The Greatest Showman was in theaters, my wife dragged me to see it and within the first few minutes I was completely blown away. It doesn’t have a plot. The acting is not good. However, the music is absolutely jaw dropping.
Since then, The Greatest Showman album is a regular play through while the wife and I do some cleaning around the house or while on road trips. For me personally, I recognize it as one of the best modern original soundtracks in film. As part of @CultureTPL, we ran an Ultimate Film Bracket featuring 256 films broken into 16 film genres. Not only did The Greatest Showman win the musical bracket, but it also made some serious noise in our Final Bracket of 64. The overall movie sucked. But it’s incredible how a soundtrack can carry a film.
I bought my wife tickets to see Hugh Jackman Live for her birthday this year. Personally I am very picky when it comes to seeing musicians in concert. For how much my wife and I sing songs from The Greatest Showman in the shower and while taking our dog for a walk, this purchase was an easy no brainer. She was incredibly excited and I earned some serious brownie points. It was a win for everyone.
(Deep down I was hoping to see some Wolverine swag at the store at the Wells Fargo Center. I knew there were slim to none chances of this actually happening. And it didn’t. Oh well.)
There were a couple of Wolverine nods and one shot fired towards Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool character, which was hilarious. At one point during the concert, Hugh Jackman stated “I can never say no.” I stood up and screamed “We want more Wolverine.” I’m pretty sure he heard me and he smiled.
Overall, the concert was just ok. It was more of a show than a concert if that makes any sense. First and foremost, my wife lived it. I’m clearly not the demographic Hugh Jackman’s World Tour is aiming for. There was a Peter Allen impression, a tap dancing bit and a bunch of cover songs. Not really my cup of tea. However, Hugh Jackman’s performances during From Now On, This is Me and A Million Dreams made it all worth it.
Hugh Jackman is undoubtedly a fantastic actor and singer. He’s absolutely phenomenal in the X-Men films as Wolverine and really any film he touches. Logan is hands down one of my favorite films of all time. As far as entertainers go, he is probably in the same tier as Justin Timberlake and Will Smith. He is incredibly talented.
If you’re into theater and Broadway, then this is the show for you. I personally give this concert a 4/10 only for nailing some of my favorite songs from The Greatest Showman soundtrack. If you’re like me, then the rest was very forgettable. That being said, a ton of people around me were very much into the music as Hugh Jackman clearly has a gigantic fanbase.
