Photos by Andy Argyrakis

When star of stage and screen Hugh Jackman made his Ravinia debut alongside the Chicago Philharmonic, the completely renovated Hunter Pavilion quickly reached capacity, plus fans of all ages were lined up along the lawn to catch at least a glimpse of the Tony, Emmy and Grammy Award-winner.

What they witnessed was a cross-generational entertainer, a true multi-threat as an actor, singer, dancer and multi-instrumentalist, accompanied by the grandeur of the globally renown local symphony behind Lady Gaga & Tony Bennett, Grateful Dead’s Bob Weir, “Weird Al” Yankovic, Nas and Laufey in an environment even more acoustically immaculate than ever.

It turns out Wolverine from “X-Men” and so many other iconic characters is an absolute natural for a variety-styled concert, swinging his way around showtunes while exploring some of the roles that made him a Hollywood and Broadway A-lister.

One early example was the “Song Sung Blue” alum’s channeling of Neil Diamond during “Crunchy Granola Suite,” followed by “The Greatest Show” as he fully embodied circus creator P. T. Barnum out of the similarly named film.

It was an apt description of the 90-minute night spanning fellow Diamond staple “Sweet Caroline,” which featured the headliner slapping high fives in the aisles, to “You Will Be Found” of “Dear Evan Hansen” fame and John Denver’s “Thank God I’m A Country Boy,” comically re-written in the perspective of an “Aussie Boy.”

Personally portrayed or not, Jackman conquered everything he attempted, including a bit of Christopher Cross’s “Arthur’s Theme (Best That You Can Do),” Melissa Manchester’s “Don’t Cry Out Loud” and Olivia Newton-John’s “I Honestly Love You” in a medley paying tribute to late superstar songwriter Peter Allen.

He soon settled upon the sacred ground of Frank Sinatra’s standards “Fly Me To The Moon” and “That’s Life,” building up to the Liza Minnelli-originated “New York, New York” and making it look a lot easier than it probably was to properly execute.

Known as part of “The Boy From Oz” and for being Barry Manilow’s brand new single, “Once Before I Go” was a fitting lyrical and emotional choice as final toast to Ravinia, who unanimously leapt to its feet for this genuine jack-of-all-trades meant as the utmost compliment.

For additional information on Hugh Jackman and the Chicago Philharmonic, visit Facebook.com/HughJackman and ChicagoPhilharmonic.org.

Upcoming shows at Ravinia’s Hunter Pavilion include Brian McKnight and Gladys Knight (Aug. 11); Joe Bonamassa (Aug. 12); The Music Of Quincy Jones (Aug. 13). Brahms X Radiohead (Aug. 14); Moe. and Umphrey’s McGee (Aug. 15); Gregory Alan Isakov & Chicago Philharmonic (Aug. 19); Ricky Martin (Aug. 20); Alabama Shakes (Aug. 21); Bonnie Raitt (Aug. 22); “Grease” Sing-Along (Aug. 23); Deep Purple (Aug. 25); Brandi Carlile (Aug. 26); Kool & The Gang (Aug. 27); Alabama (Aug. 28); Ray LaMontagne (Aug. 29); Miranda Lambert (Aug. 30); Snoop Dogg (Sept. 4); Rod Stewart (Sept. 5); Squeeze (Sept. 6); Erykah Badu (Sept. 10); Alison Krauss & Union Station (Sept. 12); Los Tigres del Norte (Sept. 13); Ziggy Marley and Thievery Corporation (Sept. 17); Tom Jones (Sept. 18) and Martina McBride (Sept. 19). For additional details, visit Ravinia.org.

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