The Austrian government subsidized the show, which features an orchestra and a cast numbering more than 30 each. I hear Jackman may be headed to Vienna to check out “Schikaneder” for himself. Jackman’s also worked with Schwartz on a musical about Houdini that never came together. Nunn directed Jackman in the National Theatre’s revival of “Oklahoma!” in 1998, and the two have often talked about working together again. Female leads Milica Jovanovic and Katie Hall are “terrific” and expected to stay with the show. While a source says he’s “perfectly fine, sort of like an ’80s Andrew Lloyd Webber leading man,” you don’t come to Broadway with a Seibert when you can get a Jackman. Mark Seibert is playing the role in Vienna. Jackman’s not in the Vienna production, but a source tells me that director Trevor Nunn has him in mind for a Broadway or a London production. It’s a big, juicy role tailor-made for a major star such as, well, Hugh Jackman. He had bastard children running all over Vienna and died, at 61, in abject poverty. He was also a roué who cheated on his wife, Eleonore, one of the leading actresses of her day. He wrote the libretto to Mozart’s “The Magic Flute,” and originated the role of Papageno. He was Emanuel Schikaneder, an 18th-century German impresario, actor and builder of the fabled Theater an der Wien. It’s called “Schikaneder,” and while the title doesn’t exactly trip off the tongue, one source’s description is enticing: “It’s ‘Kiss Me, Kate’ meets ‘Amadeus’ with a score as lush and melodic as Stephen’s ‘The Baker’s Wife.’ This a major show.” Here’s a tip for Broadway’s theater owners: Get yourselves to Vienna to see the new musical by “Wicked” composer Stephen Schwartz.
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