P.T. Barnum may have been a great showman, but he also had a lot to say about manipulation of the public. There’s a really interesting dark study of human nature to be made in a film biography of him, which Hugh Jackman could knock out of the park. The Greatest Showman won’t be that.
Instead, it’s going to be a feel good, poppy, bright musical that sells the idea of how inclusive he was, instead of, from our perspective, possibly exploitative. It’s a fantasy, a Disney version of Moulin Rouge (notice we have a shot of Zac Efron in dramatic consumption make-up), and dammit, I’m totally in for it.
As fascinating as [amazon text=the true story of Barnum&asin=0252072952] would be, I just don’t think I could take it right now. Give me the ol’ razzle dazzle and let me have an old-fashioned feel good Christmas holiday musical to watch with my family. With music from the composers of La La Land and my kids’ current Broadway obsession [amazon text=Dear Evan Hansen&asin=B01N5AU6MD]? Please.
Lest we forget, Jackman was “discovered” by X-Men casting directors watching him play Curly in Oklahoma. He won a Tony for playing singer/songwriter Peter Allen in The Boy From Oz. And if he ever revives his one-man show for Broadway or touring or Vegas — you should see it. It isn’t enough that he’s Wolverine and always will be in our hearts, he’s also an incredibly versatile talent.
