Broadway adaptation of Greatest Showman film musical

[jo]

Posted: 8/9/24 at 11:52pm

Disney has announced that a stage adaptation of the musical hit The Greatest Showman (with Broadway/Hollywood star Hugh Jackman)  is now in development.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GUlv94mWQAAKjdi?format=jpg&name=medium

No indication if Hugh Jackman will lead the stage adaptation on Broadway.

He is enjoying a major renaissance in his return to his Wolverine role, which is expected to reach $ 1 Billion in box office receipts after this weekend.

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 8/9/24 at 11:56pm

I heard Joshua Henry was attached to this at one point, but I’m unsure for which role though.

[BwayLB]

Posted: 8/10/24 at 12:10am

I’ve wanted this since 2018!

[BroadwayNYC2]

Posted: 8/10/24 at 1:25am

This was announced years ago, Hugh Jackman would never be a part of it. Hope that helps! 

[jpbran]

Posted: 8/10/24 at 1:37am

He also requested to kill off Logan/Wolverine several years ago, and they did just that, with Jackman saying those days were over. 
Now seven years later, he’s suited up again, claws and all. Never say never. 🤷🏻‍♂️

[BoringBoredBoard40]

Posted: 8/10/24 at 2:02am

Def feels weird with Water For Elephants on Broadway now (I know its not at all the same story) but circus musical will feel a bit played out perhaps 

[DramaTeach]

Posted: 8/10/24 at 4:35am

BoringBoredBoard40 said: "Def feels weird with Water For Elephants on Broadway now (I know its not at all the same story)but circus musical will feel a bit played out perhaps"

There was no time frame given, so WFE will definitely close by the time this comes to fruition. There have been other circus-themed shows before it and there will be more after. All they announced was “we’re working on it.” Not shocking, Disney. 🙄

[BETTY22]

Posted: 8/10/24 at 11:00am

Casey is a great choice. i was worried Hugh Jackman might be involved and insist they hire his friend Warren.

Thankfully, they got a real director for this......

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 8/10/24 at 11:23am

?

No director or bookwriter was announced, from what I can tell.

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 8/10/24 at 11:34am

Curious if Alex Timbers and Disneys relationship is still soured? He’d be pretty good for this and reunite him with Sonya Tayeh as choreographer!

[jo]

Posted: 8/10/24 at 4:57pm

It looks like the stage adaptation will debut first in the UK.

https://nypost.com/2024/08/10/entertainment/disneys-greatest-showman-stage-musical-will-play-london-in-2026/

 

[TheatreFan4]

Posted: 8/10/24 at 5:25pm

This sounds like a dumpster fire...

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 8/10/24 at 6:25pm

Casey Nicholaw being attached to this already spells disaster to me.

[BwayLB]

Posted: 8/10/24 at 6:30pm

^ Are you kidding? I was a fan of his work on Aladdin

[Ensemble1716440075]

Posted: 8/11/24 at 7:28pm

TheatreFan4 said: "This sounds like a dumpster fire..."

Oh, you know critics will ravage it and audiences will love it.

[Kad]

Posted: 8/11/24 at 7:43pm

I think Nicholaw is a fairly limited director, but he’s helmed two of the biggest successes on Broadway in the last 15 years and both are still running, and this is firmly in his wheelhouse. One of those hits, not coincidentally, was also Disney Theatrical’s last Broadway success. After the disappointment of Frozen and the crash and burn of Hercules, it’s not surprising they’d want to go with a reliable and proven director. 

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 8/11/24 at 7:51pm

Nicholaw's a fun choice, and he has a much better director's eye than Michael Gracey had for the movie. The film was likable but flawed, because he wasn't so sure how to stage the non-musical sequences. (That, and the sanitization of the life of a man who was an opportunistic jerk.)

I just hope the stage version isn't too over-choreographed, and with some nifty new P&P songs and a slightly darker / edgier take on Barnum, this could be a bit better than we think artistically.

Updated On: 8/11/24 at 07:51 PM

[RippedMan]

Posted: 8/11/24 at 8:17pm

I just hope he doesn’t make the gay character tap again. 

[Broadway Flash]

Posted: 8/11/24 at 8:19pm

Oh god Casey Nicholaw is directing this??  I was just complaining about him because of his work and style.  It’s just so old school cheesy musical comedy. No wonder Disney loves him.  The only great thing he did was Book of Mormon.  Everything else was either fine or terrible. 

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 8/11/24 at 8:22pm

RippedMan said: "I just hope he doesn’t make the gay character tap again."

The Prom was full of gay characters and no tap in sight. 

[TheatreFan4]

Posted: 8/11/24 at 8:41pm

Call_me_jorge said: "Casey Nicholaw being attached to this already spells disaster to me."

He's who you hire when you don't need a director vision, just a project manager.

[Broadway Flash]

Posted: 8/11/24 at 9:10pm

I think musicals like something rotten and the prom and the drowsy chaperone and some like it hot are quintessential  casey Nicholaw.  It’s all good, it just feels so dated.   Even tho I was actually pleasantly surprised at how fresh some like it hot was, but that was because of the book.  Not because of the score or direction or choreo. 

[Theatrefanboy1]

Posted: 8/11/24 at 11:01pm

Maybe jermey jordan will get his time with the greatest showman now

honestly though I’d love:

cheyenne Jackson - p t barnum

 Philip carlye - Isaac Powell or Jeremy jordan (just realizing it’s like a Gatsby casting) 

anne wheeler - Eva noblezada

lettke lutz - keala settle reprising

charity Barnum - Sherie Rene Scott 

jenny Lind- Caisse levy or Heather Headley 

[jo]

Posted: 8/12/24 at 4:46am

They'll need a strong actor, with singing and dancing talent, if they are going to base it on the movie. PT Barnum was not very likable and was too obsessed with his ambitions. 

It is doubtful that HughJackman will be involved. This was his passion project after Oscars producer Larry Mark suggested a Barnum musical to him when HJ was rehearsing his 2009 Oscars duties. Announced the project in 2009 but it was only released in 2017. 

If the timetable is 2026, HJ will likely be filming his Wolverine role in an Avengers 6 MCU movie - not confirmed but subject of much speculation. Coming from the success of his latest movie (Deadpool&Wolverine, which has just crossed the milestone $ 1 Billion mark at the global box office), it is likely he will be involved in Avengers 6.

In the meantime, he is filming a comedy ( 3 Bags Full :A Sheep Detective Movie) now, with Emma Thompson & Nicholas Galitzine. Of more interest is his next project "The Death of Robin Hood" with Jodie Comer, a rethinking of the last battles of RobinHood and his healing under the care of a mysterious woman. It is an action-drama movie.

Is it possible that they will cast the UK version of Greatest Showman  with British musical theatre talent?  

That will be a bit sad as the workshops for the movie were done with Jackman, Keala, Cynthia Erivo,  other Broadway actors and Loren Allred.(Never Enough) Interestingly, the first workshop included Keala, Aaron Tveit( as Philip) & Sutton as Charity.

We'll see.

 

Updated On: 8/12/24 at 04:46 AM

[verywellthensigh]

Posted: 8/12/24 at 3:09pm

Another "well known IP".  How thrilling.