The Greatest Showman is a huge crowd pleaser, even if it occasionally plays things a little safe.
What’s it about
The stage adaptation of the hit 2017 film follows P.T. Barnum’s rise from humble beginnings to creator of a spectacular entertainment empire. This world premiere production has had an 8 week ‘out of town’ try out and includes the addition of five new songs by the original songwriters, Benj Pasek and Justin Paul.
What we loved best
This is very much a crowd-pleasing musical experience, and one that already arrives with enormous goodwill thanks to its hugely popular film score. Hearing these songs performed live is easily one of the production’s biggest strengths — and alone arguably worth the price of a ticket.
The music sounds terrific, the cast are a talented blend of musical theatre performers and circus artists and the set and lighting design works well to create a nice flow and pace to the storytelling.
There are flashes of inventive staging too. In the song ‘Tightrope’ performed by Samatha Barks as Charity Barnum, there is a clever blend of circus and musical theatre styles, making this one of the more memorable theatrical ideas. And staging of the song ‘Rewrite the Stars’ by Ben Joyce (Carlyle) and Lorna Courtney (Anne) borrows from the film to re-create the magical trapeze moment to the audience’s joy.
Samantha Barks brings warmth, sincerity and emotional grounding to Charity, delivering a genuinely engaging performance. Jenny Lind is beautifully played by Vajèn van den Bosch while Barks and Oliver Tompsett (Barnum) share a strong chemistry together in the earlier stages of the show.
Anything we’d change
At times, it feels like the production stops just short of pushing its theatricality far enough. Given the immersive potential of the material, there were moments where it felt the action could have spilled further into (or above) the audience or embraced more surprising staging choices.
Similarly, while the inclusion of acrobats and circus performers adds texture, the production could perhaps have leaned harder into integrating some of those ideas and forms into the narrative and staging of musical theatre performers.
Opening the show with The Greatest Show is undeniably exciting, but it arguably removes some of the build and anticipation that could have made the number land even more powerfully later in Act One. In this way, the stage production seemed to closely follow the film rather than create more of a uniquely theatrical identity beyond the film.
While Oliver Tompsett delivers solidly as Barnum, the chemistry with Jenny Lind feels less developed than his connection with Charity. There are also moments in Act Two where Charity’s emotional perspective could perhaps have been played with slightly more awareness and edge.
Who would enjoy it
Fans of the film, audiences looking for a big musical night out, and anyone wanting to hear one of modern musical theatre’s most beloved scores performed live.
Who created it
Based on the film by 20th Century Studios. Music and lyrics by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul. Directed and choreographed by Casey Nicholaw. Book by Tim Federle.