Bizz Buzz

The moment I heard Hugh Jackman and Daniel Craig would be starring together on Broadway this Fall in “A Steady Rain,” I searched for tickets. It was July, yet all I could find were outrageously expensive seats through a service called “Stub Hub.”

Even as a weekly-going theatre fanatic, I have never before paid $175 for “the cheapest seat” in the rear. I bought a ticket anyway knowing I was going to see People Magazine’s “sexiest man alive,” along side a man who gave me heart palpitations when he flexed his 007 muscles.



“A Steady Rain,” a two-character melodrama, written by Keith Huff, opened at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theater on Sept. 29th and my back-of-the-house ticket was for October 1st. Having counted down the days, I danced to the box office with the printed confirmation number in hand. I proudly presented the window agent my receipt but he shook his head saying there was no ticket. I had him search every database and file. He even called the Stub Hub office. It was now five minutes to curtain and I was on the verge of hysteria, pleading desperately with the agent to just let me into the show. He calmly told me that there were tickets available to purchase in the front center of the orchestra. They were house seats reserved for last minute VIPs. To hell with my budget in this tight economy - I plunked down my credit card and paid all over again, running breathless to my seat as the lights dimmed.

The curtain rose and only a few feet away were two actors who totally commanded the stage. They engaged the audience in a tale of two police partners covering the gritty underbelly of Chicago. They used nothing more than dialogue and body language (sometimes seated, sometimes standing) to create the most vivid, multi-dimensional portraits. Daniel Craig bared no resemblance to his film roles, taking on an almost whimpish, recalcitrant demeanor as “Joey,” while Hugh Jackman was all muscle, sexuality and bravado as “Denny.” They were beat cops with different codes of street justice and honor. The relationship between the partners unfolded as each described their version of an evening that began at Denny’s house with his wife and young kids. On this evening, Denny’s living room becomes the target of a drive-by shooting that physically shatters his home and threatens the life of his youngest son. Well worth the price.

-Rosemary Kalikow
Entertainment Editor: Lori Bizzoco