Tony Award winner Hugh Jackman is up for another Tony this year for his performance as Harold Hill in The Music Man. The beloved entertainer stopped by TODAY to discuss his latest Broadway venture, uplifting his fellow cast members, and rumors of his Broadway replacement.
The production, directed by four-time Tony Award winner Jerry Zaks, with choreography by Tony Award winner Warren Carlyle, is led by two-time Tony Award, Grammy Award, and Emmy Award-winning star Hugh Jackman as Professor Harold Hill, and two-time Tony Award winner Sutton Foster as Marian Paroo alongside Tony Award winner Shuler Hensley as Marcellus Washburn, Tony Award winner Jefferson Mays as Mayor Shinn, Tony Award winner Jayne Houdyshell as Mrs. Shinn, and Tony Award winner Marie Mullen as Mrs. Paroo. The principal cast also includes Remy Auberjonois as Charlie Cowell, Gino Cosculluela as Tommy Djilas, and Emma Crow as Zaneeta Shinn.
One of the most universally cherished treasures of the American musical theater, The Music Man was an instant smash hit when it premiered on Broadway on December 19, 1957. It went on to win five Tony Awards, including the prize for Best Musical, and ran for 1,375 performances. The original cast album held the number one position on the Billboard charts and stayed on the album charts for 245 weeks. The recording won the first-ever Grammy Award for Best Original Cast Album. The Smithsonian Institution ranks The Music Man as one of the “great glories of American popular culture.”