BY EVAN MUSIL & ANN CHRISTENSON
In case you didn’t see the many, many posts about it, Hugh Jackman graced Milwaukee with his presence on Tuesday.
He didn’t show up just for the love of our fair city or simply a taste of Kopp’s custard, although he said he’ll never take cheese off his head again. He was here for a special premiere at the Oriental Theatre of the movie Song Sung Blue, about Milwaukee’s own Lightning & Thunder, the Neil Diamond/Patsy Cline tribute act of husband and wife Mike and Claire Sardina. Also making an appearance were writer/director Craig Brewer, the real-life “Thunder,” and her daughter, Rachel Cartwright.
Somehow we – arts & culture editor Evan Musil and dining editor Ann Christenson – snagged an invite to this snazzy event. Who and what did we see at the Hollywood-meets-Cream City extravaganza? What did we think of the movie, which comes out Dec. 25? Here’s what we had to say:
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EM: Where should we begin? Hugh Jackman was in Milwaukee! He’s real – we saw him with our own eyes.
AC: I had convinced myself he wouldn’t look good in person. He did. Even from the distance I saw him from, he had that star quality. I really wish I’d gone to Kopp’s. (Editor’s note: Jackman had served 500 cones of custard at Kopp’s in Brookfield earlier that day.)
EM: Can’t imagine the stamina of that guy. It seemed like he was jetting around the whole area, from Greenfield to West Allis to Brookfield.
AC: It was funny. I parked about four blocks from the Oriental and as I was walking to the theater, I heard a collective roar from the crowd. I started running toward the sound. I thought he’d pulled up in – a Bentley, a limo, a bus?? – but no, it seemed a guard or someone outside was revving up the crowd of people who seemed to be in a special receiving line outside. People in Song Sung Blue hats.
EM: It was a spectacle. My favorite part was the Neil Diamond (or Lightning?) impersonator crooning in the corner. What’s his story?
AC: He looked more like Neil Diamond than Hugh Jackman did. The impersonator had a certain something. It added to the anticipation.
EM: A je nais se quois. Made it feel like a real premiere.
AC: Exactly. My niece was my date for the night and I wanted to get a photo of her somewhere. We were looking around for a good spot, but there were people everywhere. Finally, we found an opening and she posed next to a movie poster board. Only after we gently asked the lady standing nearby to scooch over a bit did I realize that that lady was Thunder! She looked so happy, almost like she was in a dream, clutching a bouquet of flowers.
EM: I can’t imagine that feeling – seeing all these people gathered to see a Hollywood movie about your life. She seemed so grateful that so many people cared.
AC: Yes! I can only imagine what she was feeling. Also – random. I didn’t know she is the sister of Jim Stingl, a beloved former Milwaukee Journal Sentinel columnist. Smallwaukee.
EM: Whoa, fascinating! I must admit, as a Milwaukee transplant, I wasn’t familiar with Lightning & Thunder before this movie.
AC: Honestly, I had to look at some Cliff Notes ahead of the show because, while I remember Lightning & Thunder, I never saw them perform. I couldn’t remember which was which. Also – it was kind of fun for me to look around and pick out faces of other Milwaukee notables. I was seated next to Fox 6 meteorologist Rob Haswell. Anyway…
You were closer to the front than I was. It looked pretty emotional up there. We had Gino Salomone (a local radio guy who has interviewed a lot of Hollywood stars), Thunder (aka Claire Sardina), Thunder’s daughter Rachel, and the film director Craig Brewer.
EM: It all felt rather genuine on stage. The most heartfelt moment was when Thunder asked the crowd if they felt Lightning – her late husband Mike, who died in 2006 – in the room tonight. She said, “I love you, Lightning.” Hugh Jackman explained how the film came together, with Craig watching the Song Sung Blue documentary that served as the inspiration, and Lightning & Thunder’s story having a hold on him for years. He brought it to Hugh, and Hugh said he wanted to tell everyone about it.
AC: I need to watch that documentary! I want to know how the documentarian found them, the backstory.
EM: It’s on YouTube! They talked about how the documentarian, Greg Kohs, intended it to be much shorter before the story took several left turns and grew into something bigger. And it originally premiered at the Oriental Theatre, too – talk about full circle.
AC: Wow! I couldn’t think of a better place for it.
EM: Also, Hugh made his custard stance clear: “Kopp’s is good!”
AC: Yeah – the food critic in me wanted to ask him more about that. And where did he eat in MKE?
EM: Going off of Instagram, cheese curds and schnitzel were had. It looks like he went to Old German Beer Hall and was served a brandy old fashioned at Kegel’s Inn by none other than Charlie Berens.
AC: The movie didn’t start on time (7 p.m.), but I didn’t care. Evan, you heard that it was Hugh Jackman’s idea to come to Milwaukee. Any details on that?
EM: It’s how director Craig Brewer introduced the man! Jackman did say it’s a movie that celebrates Milwaukee, along with love, family, Neil Diamond and other things that I missed.
AC: So, the movie. Did you like it? What did you think?
EM: Honestly? I liked it! There’s a certain level of cheese that comes part and parcel with these kinds of inspirational stories, but it never spoiled my appetite. The serious moments actually carried weight.
AC: I was afraid of the cheese, to be honest – largely what I expected to be wrapped into a Hollywood take on Milwaukee. I’ll admit I watched the trailer and hearing Kate Hudson with a M’waukee accent made me cringe… But I agree. I went in skeptical and was happily surprised. Overall, I found it pretty charming.
EM: I only caught one shoehorned “you betcha” from Hudson – otherwise, her accent and mannerisms were well done and reminded me of a few of my neighbors. She and Jackman shined, for sure. Their acting, singing and chemistry elevated the film.
AC: I knew Hudson sings, but she’s better than I thought. Were there any surprises for you?
EM: A few moments in the plot, but I needn’t spoil anything.
AC: Yep, mum’s the word on plot.
EM: But fact-checking those after watching and finding out they actually happened? Some big whoas.
AC: I agree! Stuff you’d think could only happen in a movie – not in real-life, to one family.
EM: Anything else that we missed? Did you feel like we were watching Milwaukee?
AC: Yes and no. There wasn’t anything that screamed Milwaukee in the setting, though it felt like Milwaukee.
EM: Probably better that way – an essence of Milwaukee, rather than too many clumsy references.
AC: I’ll say this: If I’d known that Hugh Jackman would be at Landmark Lanes after the film, I wouldn’t have gone straight home!
EM: Absolutely! And duetting with the real-life Thunder? I might’ve even sung along, maybe.
AC: Hah! Overall, it was fun and exciting to have this kind of energy in Milwaukee.
EM: Please come back, Hugh. You still need to meet Milverine.
