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“Without promotion, something terrible occurs…nothing!” says the author. Phineas Taylor Barnum is credited with creating this phrase.
A pure piece of pure entertainment, “The Greatest Showman,” directed with verve and panache by Michael Gracey, is punctuated by 11 memorable songs composed by Oscar- and Tony-winning duo Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, who also composed the songs for “La La Land” and the current Broadway hit Dear Evan Hansen, is punctuated by an unabashed piece of pure entertainment. Because the film is intended to be enjoyed by the entire family, many of the more disturbing elements have been removed (explored in the 1980 Broadway musical Barnum, music by Cy Coleman). While walking this tightrope can be difficult, Gracey, a perfectly cast Hugh Jackman, and the entire cast do an excellent job of portraying the story in the spirit of which it was written (by Jenny Bicks and Bill Condon). It positions itself as a story about acceptance of people of all backgrounds and races, as well as the importance of embracing all kinds of people.
Those who oppose this will argue that it is a romanticized version of what was a fairly exploitative situation. However, in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the circus and later vaudeville were welcoming places where those who possessed special abilities or were rejected by society could find a place to call home. Barnum made the statement “They bring out their “misfit toys” onstage and say something like, “Aren’t they amazing?” (All the while, he is stuffing his pockets.) (For more information on the little-known influence of P.T. Barnum on American culture, author Trav S.D.’s 2005 lecture at the Barnum Museum in Bridgeport, Connecticut, is a good place to start. Cary Grant, who grew up in a tough, impoverished environment, got his start as a tumbler in a vaudeville troupe. A number of years later, he recounted his enlightening first visit to the Bristol Hippodrome:
“It was mid-show when I arrived backstage, and I found myself in a dazzling land of smiling, jostling people dressed in and not dressed in all kinds of costumes and performing a variety of clever stunts. And that’s when I realized what had happened! What other life could there be but that of an actor? They had a great time traveling and touring. They were carefree, cheerful, and devoid of social graces. They had a good time laughing, living, and loving.”
That is exactly what the film “The Greatest Showman” captures.
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The title song, “The Greatest Show,” is a show-stopper with repetitive thumping percussion (reminiscent of Queen’s ferocious “We Will Rock You”) that sets the tone for the rest of the film. Featuring Hugh Jackman, dressed in a red impresario’s coat and top hat, the film takes us on a dazzling tour, with cinematographer Seamus McGarvey ensuring that the movements are fluid and that all of the actions are connected, putting you right in the middle of the action. The entire number is derived from the audacious heart of show business: make it interesting! Give them something interesting to look at! Make sure you get to the cheap seats as soon as possible! In a seductive croon, Barnum says, “Just surrender, because you feel the feeling taking over!” I didn’t have any reservations about following orders.
A young and impoverished Barnum (Ellis Rubin) meets and befriends a well-bred little girl named Charity Hallett (Skylar Dunn) during the next number, “A Million Dreams,” and the two hope to write their own destiny. This is the first time in “The Greatest Showman” that a character refrains from speaking and instead begins to sing; the transition is handled gracefully, establishing the artificial device from the beginning of the film. Unless you approach that trope with confidence, it will appear as if you are embarrassed to be performing in a theatrical production. Throughout the song, the little boy transforms into Hugh Jackman, and the little girl transforms into Michelle Williams, leaping and twirling across the rooftop of their tenement, bed sheets on the line billowing to the beat as they do so.
In the wake of his failure to establish himself, Barnum strikes out on his own, establishing his own theater in the heart of New York City. Barnum brings together people who have special talents as well as those who have physical abnormalities (a giant, a bearded lady, Siamese twins, and a dwarf—who would later become known as General Tom Thumb, Barnum’s first “breakout star”) in order to perform for the public. However, Jackman’s inclusive delight at the parade of humanity in front of him sets the tone for the entire “audition” sequence, which is extremely difficult to pull off. It’s a moment when previously unnoticed individuals are for the first time truly noticed.
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As one of the first characters to join the cast, Lettie Lutz, played by Tony-nominee Keala Settle and blessed with a powerful voice, is one of the most memorable. One of the many reasons that “The Greatest Showman” is so successful is because of Settle’s performance, which is her first major role onscreen. It is fascinating to watch her transformation from cringing shame to confident Diva as the project progresses through the stages. Her anthem “This Is Me” serves as one of the film’s emotional lyrical high points. Phillip Carlyle (Zac Efron), a playwright and society boy, is Barnum’s business partner. His snobbish parents are not only horrified at his success, but also at his appearance “But it’s also about his romance with Zendaya, an African-American trapeze artist with cotton-candy pink hair, who he meets while “slumming” on the streets of New York. Their love story is tender, painful, and ultimately sweet, as it is told.
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Jenny Lind, the “Swedish Nightingale,” is played by Rebecca Ferguson, and she is accompanied by P.T. Barnum on a whirlwind concert tour of America. The experience served as his initiation into “polite” society. When you listen to Jenny Lind’s power ballad “Never Enough,” you understand why Barnum, who is backstage, falls in love with her right away, causing his marriage to fall apart. The fact that Ferguson is lip-syncing to Loren Allred’s breathtaking vocals does not diminish the impact of her performance.
There are many innovative moments in the numbers, where Ashley Wallen uses the outer environment to inform the movements of the characters, thanks to the choreography of Ashley Wallen. In “The Other Side,” Barnum persuades a reticent Carlyle to join the circus, and as he sings, the bartender places shot glasses on the floor and swipes the bar with a cloth, all in time to the beat. It’s the love song between Efron and Zendaya, “Rewrite the Stars,” that stands out the most. It takes place in an empty circus tent, and it depicts their relationship as she flies on the trapeze far above him, and he tries to climb up the ropes to meet her. They move up and down with each other, sometimes coming together and dangling above the ground, and other times sweeping in a wide circle around the perimeter of the tent as a group. In this moment, the film—every element seen onscreen—combine and transform into a single, overwhelming wave of emotion. This is something that a musical can accomplish unlike any other art form.
A major pleasure of “The Greatest Showman” is that you don’t have to grade the singing and dancing on a curve, as you did with “La La Land” (or, even further back, with “Chicago,” where quick cuts concealed Richard Gere’s lack of tap dancing ability). A powerful high baritone, Hugh Jackman got his start in musicals, first in Melbourne productions and then a critically acclaimed revival of Oklahoma! in the West End. Hugh Jackman is known for his strong high baritone. For his performance as Peter Allen in The Boy From Oz, he received a Tony Award, and he has gone on to host the Tony Awards on three separate occasions since then. He’s a classic triple-threat, in the best sense of the word. A song-and-dance man like Hugh Jackman’s once had the ability to sing and dance his way through mainstream Hollywood. While most people know him as “Wolverine,” and there’s nothing wrong with that, there was a time when he could sing and dance his way through mainstream Hollywood. He’s been let loose in this place.
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So, too, is Zac Efron, who got his start in the entertainment industry because he was able to sing and dance in the cult classic “High School Musical.” His filmography has evolved into something quite distinctive, with roles in films such as “Hairspray,” “Neighbors,” and a hilarious cameo in this year’s “The Disaster Artist.” He possesses something that cannot be replicated, despite the fact that many have attempted it: old-school movie star charisma. In addition to having a beautiful voice, he also has dancing abilities and a surprising ironic sense of humor, which makes him a complete package. It’s exhilarating to see him in such a big-budget production. He appears to be completely at ease.
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Michelle Williams, who has anachronistically long blonde hair, has a strong, clear voice, and there’s something exhilarating about the way she throws herself into thin air, knowing that Hugh Jackman will catch her, that makes you want to jump out of your seat and cheer for her. In what could have been a thankless “wet blanket wife” role, Williams injects a sense of adventure into the role, demonstrating the kind of woman who would say “No” to a ladylike society wife life and instead throw herself and her man into the unknown.
It’s interesting how this release came out at this particular time. After 146 years of continuous operation, the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus folded its tent for the final time on May 21, 2017. As a result of criticisms of exploitation and animal abuse, they decided to retire the elephant acts in 2016, but it was already too late. Barnum was dogged by critics from the beginning of his career…. A large number of the “acts” were staged. Barnum didn’t actually say the quote that is most associated with him (“There’s a sucker born every minute”), but he could just as easily have, and his critics despised him for making such a broad generalization about popular entertainment and the people who enjoy it. Although Barnum has a brilliant smile throughout the film, his explanation to a skeptical journalist is as follows: “People come to my show for the pleasure of being hoodwinked.”
The film “The Greatest Showman” played a joke on me. And it was a genuine pleasure to work with you. Barnum is still alive and well, even though Ringling Brothers has closed its doors.
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