LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Australian actor Hugh Jackman, the first non-comedian to host the Oscars in more than two decades, brought some Broadway glitz to the Academy Awards telecast on Sunday, presiding over a show leavened with song and dance.

The Tony Award-winning stage performer, best known as comic book action hero Wolverine from the "X-Men" movies, put his talents as a Broadway veteran to the test as he opened the show with a campy musical salute to all five films vying for best picture.

He was joined by best actress nominee Anne Hathaway -- Jackman literally carried her to the stage -- for a gender-bending duet poking fun at "Frost/Nixon."

The number drew a standing ovation from the star-studded audience, but it remained to be seen how it played with TV viewers who have tuned in to the Oscars in steadily decreasing numbers.

Oscar organizers turned to Jackman, 40, in a bid to breathe new life into a live telecast that has slumped in the ratings in recent years. He is the first non-comedian to serve as solo Oscar host since Jack Lemmon in 1985.

Producers Laurence Mark and Bill Condon, who worked together on the 2006 hit movie musical "Dreamgirls," devised a number of twists to give the show a fresh look, including montage segments of the year's action movies, romantic dramas and comedies.

In another break with tradition, the four acting awards were presented by ensembles of previous winners, each paying a personal tribute to one of this year's nominees.

"How did he do it?" presenter Robert De Niro asked of Sean Penn, who won best actor for portraying a slain gay rights activist Harvey Milk in the biopic "Milk." "How for so many years did Sean Penn get all those straight roles?"

POLITICAL MOMENTS

That was a comical preamble to one of the show's few politically charged moments. Taking the stage to accept his award, Penn condemned California's recent ballot measure to ban gay marriage as "a great shame," adding, "We've got to have equal rights for everyone."

"Milk" screenwriter Dustin Lance Black struck a similar note in his acceptance speech for best original script, telling gay and lesbian viewers that "God does love you, and that very soon ... you will have equal rights."

While Oscar producers promised a departure from the usual format, Jackman's turn as emcee was not without the usual banter of his comic predecessors.

Poking fun at Meryl Streep, who earned a record 15th career nomination for her work in "Doubt", he said: "I hate to say it but when someone puts up numbers like that, it's just hard not to think: steroids."

Jackman's first joke of the night came at his own expense, saying he is an Australian playing an Australian character in his latest film, "Australia."

"Because of the recession, everything is being downsized," he said, deadpanning that, "Next year, I'll be starring in a movie called 'New Zealand.'"

Jackman later took the stage in top hat and tails for a medley saluting Hollywood musicals, joined by singer-actress Beyonce, and several cast members from "High School Musical" and "Mamma Mia!"

Queen Latifah sang the ballad "I'll Be Seeing You" over a montage of movie stars who died during the past year. And in a Bollywood moment, Indian superstar A.R. Rahman performed his Oscar-winning song from the night's big winner, "Slumdog Millionaire." He also won for best score.

Source: REUTERS