It’s Broadway Cares drive season again, and after today’s matinee performance of A Steady Rain, two women EACH bid $10,000 for a shirt off the backs of Hugh Jackman or Daniel Craig. For charity of course. They also walked away with autographed photos and a meet-and-greet with Broadway’s resident Wolverine and James Bond.
It was a squealy, giddy end to an otherwise serious and darkly moody drama. Jackman and Craig play two cops and best friends struggling under the weight of the call of duty, familial protection, and marital betrayal in Chicago. The minute they started talking directly at us, though, the play, written by Keith Huff and directed by John Crowley, seemed like it would be a snooze. No matter how grisly their crime investigations or how exciting their car chases, it was hard to get past the fact that all of this was just being described rather than portrayed.
Fortunately, both actors delivered, with Jackman especially convincing as the more impulsive, revenge-obsessed Denny. (I’ve waited five years for him to come back to Broadway–ever since his deliciously campy turn in The Boy from Oz–and he certainly didn’t disappoint.) Craig was more of the “straight man,” and though his mustache was very ugly, he managed to make what could’ve been a very despicable character sympathetic. As the play goes on, the plot points intermingle well enough that the dramatic ending feels cohesive, developed, and chillingly sad.
Once the play was over, I joined a horde of fans by stage door hoping to catch a glimpse of Hugh and Daniel. They had teased us with a few muscle flexes after the show, rolling out their British and Australian accents over the Chicago ones they spoke with throughout the performance.
After several minutes of waiting, the only people to waltz out of those doors were the triumphant charity-donors who forked over thousands of dollars to take pictures with these stars. I’ve never seen grown women reduced to such girlish, fanatic groupies; everyone laughed as they came out screeching “Yaaaaaay!!!” “How does it smell?” someone asked one of the ladies toting Hugh’s clothing. “It’s his underwear!” she joked.
Hugh Jackman outside stage door at A Steady Rain. Photo by: Pearl Chen
Finally Hugh and Daniel emerged, ever gracious and dashing. They weren’t allowed to sign autographs but did shake some hands. Two women from Japan handed Hugh some gifts and he gave them pecks on the cheek as those around them let out a communal “Awww.” All around stage door and even across the street, cameras went off like crazy.
As a lady next to me remarked, “Autographed playbill — $500. Hugh Jackman’s shirt — $10,000. Catching stars by stage door — priceless.”
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A Steady Rain plays at the The Schoenfeld Theatre, 236 West 45th Street (between Broadway and 8th Avenue), through Dec.6, 2009.
Last 5 posts by Pearl Chen
- Monetizing Emma - August 17th, 2010
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- Million Dollar Quartet - June 1st, 2010
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