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I love a good thick Jersey accent !

Thanks for this Grove Path. I really like good positive stories.

Australian adjusting to life in Jersey City

Monday, January 11, 2010
By JONATHAN MANDELL
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

Actor has role this spring in 'Hairspray' road company

Although he had traveled the world, sung on television, played stage roles in everything from Shakespeare to Mel Brooks, it is safe to say that Benjamin McHugh has never had as exciting a time as the months surrounding his move to Jersey City.

Within a short time, the Australian performer got married, received his visa to immigrate to the United States, found an apartment off Central Avenue in Jersey City, and scored his first role in North America, as Corny Collins the cheery TV host in a touring production of the musical "Hairspray." The musical is coming to the Sun Center (formerly the Sovereign Bank Arena) in Trenton for a single performance on January 12th.

"It has been a very productive several months," McHugh said, an understatement that he delivers in a pronounced Australian accent.

His journey began, appropriately, on a ship, the Coral Princess, where McHugh was performing as a singer in the on-board variety shows in 2007, and one of the passengers was a student at Florida State University named Elizabeth Ruff, who was taking time out from her studies to sail the Caribbean for 10 days.

What followed was an inter-continental romance that resulted in last year's wedding. His wife is now completing her PhD in psychology and interning at East Orange VA Hospital.

His move to the United States, and to Jersey City, and to American stages, has required some adjustments. For one thing, he has had to work on his accent. "I thought I had a good American accent," he said. "About 70 percent of the television and film we get in Australia is American."

He has also performed in American musicals since his very first one, in high school, as Danny Zuko in "Grease" and including "How to Succeed in Business" and "The Producers."

"But most of the notes I got during rehearsals were about my accent."

He has also been overwhelmed by the crowds. "We have a total of about 30 million people in all of Australia," he said. "Somebody told me there are that many just in the metropolitan area."

But the experience has not been an unfriendly one; quite the opposite: When he and his wife were looking for an apartment, "people almost fought each other to help us out with directions."

While one passerby was offering directions, a driver going by in a car yelled out in a thick Jersey accent "No you wanna go this way! Central Avenue is this way!" It's an accent he might want to remember if his next role is in, say, "Guys and Dolls."