The Greatest Showman Review

The Greatest Showman starring Hugh Jackman, Michelle Williams, and Zac Effron was released in 2017. You can stream it on Disney+ and Netflix. 

The storyline follows Hugh Jackman as P.T. Barnum who goes from being a poor, hungry, tailor’s son to a successful showman. While he is young he falls in love with one of his fathers clients’ daughters. The rich client tells the boy he isn’t good enough for his daughter and sends her away to a boarding school. The boy waits for her to return and when they are old enough they get married and have two kids. Barnums employer gets shut down so he buys a museum in an attempt to earn a living. The wax museum doesn’t do very well until his daughters suggest that he needs some live exhibits. This gives him an idea and he hires a variety of social outcasts and creates the first circus. He gets swept away in success and ends up hurting the people around him.

This musical is incredibly vibrant and energetic. No matter how many times I watch it I can never take my eyes away from the screen. The message is beautiful, the soundtrack is phenomenal, and the casting couldn’t be better. 

Each song tells a story and helps move the musical along really well. You watch the kids fall in love and grow up and have kids in one number yet it doesn’t feel rushed. Most of the songs are very energetic and upbeat and keep your attention. I don’t feel like the storyline drags at any points. 

The message is amazing. A bunch of outcasts come together and form a family bond that none of them had experienced because of their quirks. They all are so talented and become part of the show together and are very successful. Of course there is backlash because people can never handle things that are different. The theater is eventually burned down by protesters but this sparks the idea for the traditional tent circus.