Hugh's Hunting
Harry Houdini
by MEL KIENTZ

In addition to the assorted magic reading material prominently available on our living room coffee table, including Genii, Magic and of course our own Linking Ring, my wife chooses to broaden my world horizons with a few other choices.  This includes this week's edition of People Magazine which currently promotes the sexiest man alive on the cover, Hugh Jackman. I quietly think to myself,... when I was his age, was I ever that remotely handsome or for that matter that Australian? This brings me to a few notes floating about the entertainment industry of late. It seems that handsome Hugh is toying with the idea of using his bountiful talents to play the part of magic's past mega superstar Harry Houdini in a Broadway musical. (read more) 

It seems that his starring lead role in Christopher Nolan's 2006 movie The Prestige has taken root in much the same way it has with many of us. Once seriously bitten in the magical arts you seem to be hooked for a lifetime.

So, as reported in a Fox News piece, Hugh may be teaming up with New York writer Kurt Anderson and one of my favorite movie music master, Danny Elfman, for a venue that could hit some time in 2010. The Broadway arts scene could certainly use a heavy dose of magic due to the downturn in this economy... but that's another story.

Word has it that Hugh will be performing some of Houdini's most famous routines for the show and that he has been in consultation with Ricky Jay and others including the staging talents at Cirque du Soleil - no not Criss Angel.

Will we all fall under the spell of Hugh Jackman as Harry Houdini?  ... time will tell, but it's nice to have his picture on the front page of the I.B.M. Web Portal!