Hugh Jackman Is ‘Laying the Foundation’ to Become a Full-Blown Broadway Mogul After Split From Wife

Hugh Jackman is expanding his Broadway ambitions with the help of Tony Award-winning producer Sonia Friedman – and a source says she’s helping to fill the void vacated by his estranged wife, Deborra Lee-Furness, who managed most of his business interests when they were together.

“You have to hand it to Hugh in that he’s doing exactly what he said he was going to do after he and Deb decided to part ways,” an insider who has worked on multiple high-stakes productions with the Deadpool & Wolverine star exclusively tells Closer. “He’s picked himself up, dusted himself off, and he’s begun laying the foundation for what he really wants to do with the second half of his show business career, which is to become a full-blown Broadway mogul and truly put his stamp on the live theatre scene like never before.”

The source continues, “The partnership with Sonia Friedman makes a lot of sense because Hugh treasures his ‘good guy’ reputation in New York and Los Angeles and with Deb out of the picture, he needed a new ‘battle axe,’ somebody willing to get her hands dirty, making deals and acquiring theatre projects for Hugh to produce and potential projects. Of course, this now officially puts Hugh into direct competition with Deb, who still has serious producing ambitions of her own and, most essentially, the financial resources to chase after them.”

However, the insider tells Closer that “the numbers don’t lie” and “pretty much every Broadway project Hugh has involved himself with over the last 25 years has been a massive financial success.” Plus, The Greatest Showman star has an eye for figuring out what audiences want.

“He’s extremely good at gauging the appetites of that audience, and working with Sonia is going to help him scale up that success and turn it into a real business,” the source adds. “It’s going to be interesting to see how long it takes them to mount a real hit, but right now, Hugh is pushing aside a lot of his movie work to focus exclusively on building out his Broadway business.”

Hugh, 56, and Sonia, 60, first announced their plans to launch their new company, Together, in March. The duo “will work with director Ian Rickson to stage short runs of fully rehearsed, full-length plays, along with readings, panel discussions, and other events around the world,” and “the focus will be on collaboration, ensemble, equal pay for actors and shared creative credit,” according to an article from Playbill published on March 19.

Sonia and Hugh also released a joint statement to the outlet at the time that said, “With director Ian Rickson we wanted to create a company where actors, writers, and directors could experiment, explore, and take risks, away from the pressures that are often associated with the commercial theatre world. Together is about going back to basics, rediscovering the simple, thrilling essence of live performance.”

They continued, “At the same time, this isn’t about our stepping away from Broadway or the West End — it’s about supporting and coexisting alongside them. We have always been drawn to theatre because of its raw energy — the excitement of a first reading, the joy of stepping into an unexpected role, that sense of a shared experience. With Ian, this company is our way of sharing those moments with audiences, making them part of our process.”

The Logan actor and Sonia concluded by saying that they wanted to “embrace flexibility” and by “removing some of the usual constraints,” they hoped to “create a space where the productions can feel fresh, alive, and ever-changing.”