Running 1 hour and 44 minutes long, The Greatest Showman was released in 2017 and became a smash hit.2 The film was made to be very family friendly, hence its PG rating. Currently, it is streaming on Disney +. It won 17 total awards out of 32 nominations, including Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media at the Grammy’s. As of 2024, it is rated a 7.5/10 stars on IMDb.3 The musical soundtrack quickly became a fan favorite and remained as the top Billboard album for several weeks, beating out pop artists such as Ed Sheeran and Bruno Mars.4
Production
Director: Michael Gracey
Producers: Laurence Mark, Peter Chernin, and Jenno Topping
Writers: Jenny Bicks and Bill Condon5
Songwriters: Pasek and Paul6
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Synopsis/Description:
“Step right up… and into the spellbinding imagination of a man who set out to reveal that life itself can be the most thrilling show of all. Inspired by the legend and ambitions of America’s original pop-culture impresario, P.T. Barnum, comes an inspirational rags-to-riches tale of a brash dreamer who rose from nothing to prove that anything you can envision is possible and that everyone, no matter how invisible, has a stupendous story worthy of a world-class spectacle.”8
Official Trailer:
Cast
Australian actor Hugh Jackman stars as P.T. Barnum. Before this movie, Jackman was well-known as Wolverine in the Marvel franchise and played Jean Valjean in the 2011 movie adaptation of Les Misérables. He also has had a career on Broadway including Oklahoma!.
American actress Michelle Williams plays Barnum’s wife, Charity Hallett. Williams was primarily known for her work on the television show Dawson’s Creek before she joined the Showman cast.
Swedish actress Rebecca Ferguson plays the face of Jenny Lind, the beloved opera singer or “The Swedish Nightingale.” Before Showman, Ferguson was known for her roles in The White Queen and Mission: Impossible — Rouge Nation. The singing voice of Lind is played by Loren Allred who was working as a voice reference for the film but was encouraged by Ferguson to sing and record “Never Enough” herself.13
American actor Zac Efron starts as Barnum’s fictional business partner, Phillip Carlyle. Carlyle is based in truth, however, as he is likely based on Barnum’s real-life business partner J.A. Bailey. Although this is not officially confirmed, the character’s middle name is Bailey. Efron was most well-known for his work in the Highschool Musical franchise and the movie adaptation of Hairspray.
- The Greatest Showman: Movie Poster, 20th Century Fox, 2017, https://family.20thcenturystudios.com/movies/the-greatest-showman. ↩︎
- “The Greatest Showman,” 20th Century Studios, accessed November 18, 2024, https://family.20thcenturystudios.com/movies/the-greatest-showman. ↩︎
- “The Greatest Showman,” IMDb, accessed November 18, 2024, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1485796/?ref_=ttawd_ov. ↩︎
- Ben Sisario, “‘The Greatest Showman’ Soundtrack Repeats at No. 1,” The New York Times, January 15, 2018, https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/15/arts/music/greatest-showman-soundtrack-billboard-chart.html. ↩︎
- “The Greatest Showman,” 20th Century Studios. ↩︎
- “About,” Pasek and Paul, accessed November 18, 2024, https://pasekandpaul.com/#:~:text=ABOUT,Hansen%2C%20and%20The%20Greatest%20Showman. ↩︎
- “The Greatest Showman,” 20th Century Studios. ↩︎
- “The Greatest Showman,” 20th Century Studios. ↩︎
- 20th Century Studios, “The Greatest Showman | Official HD Trailer #1 | 2017,” YouTube. June 28, 2017. Video, 2 min., 25 sec. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EodWwczRIe4. ↩︎
- The Greatest Showman, directed by Michael Gracey (20th Century Studios, 2017). ↩︎
- The Greatest Showman. ↩︎
- Loren Allred, “GOLDEN BUZZER! Loren Allred shines bright with ‘Never Enough’ | Auditions | BGT 2022,” Britian’s Got Talent, YouTube. April 16, 2022, Video, 8 min., 19 sec., https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=oTw8AECmUNA. ↩︎
- The Greatest Showman. ↩︎
- Allred, “GOLDEN BUZZER! Loren Allred shines bright with ‘Never Enough’.” ↩︎
- The Greatest Showman. ↩︎