Hugh Jackman, the Wolverine of the “X-Men” franchise, turns out to have real-life superpowers: In “Back on Broadway,” which opened last night, he turns his entire audience into a bunch of 12-year-olds at a Justin Bieber concert.
No matter your age, gender or sexual orientation, the Australian star will melt you into a puddle of blissed-out goo. It’s called mega-wattage charisma, and they don’t teach it in school.
Watching him run through some of his favorite numbers, backed by an 18-piece orchestra and six chorus girls, you realize how impressive Jackman’s feat is — because if you take them apart, the parts are less than the whole.
As a singer, he’s good but not fantastic. When he dances, he won’t make you forget Astaire or Kelly. And when he acts, it’s usually his chest that makes the biggest impression.
But something magical happens when he does all three: Suddenly a charming, spirited, skillful, loving showman is sweeping us off our feet. And he knows exactly how to calibrate his revue’s two main food groups: beefcake and cheese.
Those who’ve seen Jackman host the Tonys or headline “The Boy From Oz” know he’s an accomplished song-and-dance man. Here, he breathlessly and seamlessly goes from a declaration of love to the Big Apple (Cole Porter’s “I Happen To Like New York”) to the dramatic “Soliloquy” from “Carousel.” A medley of songs from Hollywood musicals leads to a poignant guest turn by Aboriginal performers.
How he manages to segue from that somber moment into the upbeat finale is no less than masterful.
The show, directed and choreographed by Warren Carlyle, is held together by Jackman’s likable personality: Interacting with the audience, he seems like the boy next door. Except, of course, he isn’t.
Rather, he belongs to a rarefied group from another time, when magnetic triple threats roamed the earth. For those of us who missed Sammy Davis Jr. in the Rat Pack years or Liza Minnelli at her “Liza With a Z” peak, watching Jackman bite into his numbers with gleeful gusto is a thrill.
Nitpick, if you must, about recycling bits from “The Boy From Oz” or the “I Won’t Dance” medley from the 2005 Tonys. Chances are you’re also having too much fun to make a fuss about it.
There’s a new king on Broadway. Long live His Royal Hughness!