The musical is at best mediocre. It has a very thin plot which is carried by very thin characters. Hugh Jackman's performance is quite good but almost every other character is shallow and forgettable. The musical itself offeres some good choreography but the music is absolutely awful. It is like listening to that ever-present pop cant and whining from the radio. The biggest flaw in my opinion is the attempt of trying to be a critical commentary on historical circumstances. Early American race thinking and class consciousness are touched on but somehow the director decided not to go the whole way. Consequently, the musical ends up to be a very friendly and toothless musical monotony. I do not understand why so many people wrote don't listen to the critics - is objective taste here coerced upon people who simply have a different criticism to offer?