They had a hard time bringing in the Laurey who was British Equity at the time for that production, and I think American Equity finally allowed her over because she danced her own ballet, which someone deemed an American wasn't available -- (untrue probably, because Susan Watson years earlier in a production had danced her own Dream Ballet). This was a number of years after the whole Sarah Brightman "Phantom of the Opera" saga, where Andrew Llloyd Webber was threatening to cancel the production if she, his wife at the time, who he had written the role for, was denied to perform it in NY. With a whole bunch of American jobs at stake, she was allowed to open the show and perform for, was it, 6 months? But, Hugh Jackman wasn't a name here at the time of "Oklahoma!" other than the buildup he was getting from reviews over in London, so I don't think he necessarily would have been allowed over by American Equity then.
Predicting someone's career trajectory in theater is difficult -- as they said the same thing about Faith Prince after she won her Tony. |
