This past December, 20th Century Fox released a new movie that combined history, fantasy, struggle and singing into one spectacular package. I’m talking, of course, of the musical “The Greatest Showman,” a story about P. T. Barnum and the birth of the circus.
The movie follows Barnum, played by Hugh Jackman, from rags to riches as he heads up one of the riskiest business investments in history: the circus!
He worked alongside not only his business partner, Philip Carlyle, played by Zac Efron, but also oddities and freaks of the human race, which in most cases were caused by odd medical conditions that caused people to fear in light of not understanding.
Along with the flashy colors, on screen circus acts and startling yet lovable cast of “freaks,” such as a bearded lady, a dog boy and the fattest man in the world, the movie produced several beautiful and exciting songs.
“A Million Dreams” was sung by a younger Barnum–played by Ellis Rubin, voiced by Ziv Zaifman–to his sweetheart/wife Charity Hallett Barnum, played by Skylar Dunn as a young Charity and by Michelle Williams as the older Charity.
Later on in the movie, “Come Alive” was sung by Barnum to encourage the “freaks” that the audience would love them.
The song “This Is Me,” sung by Keala Settle who plays the bearded lady, managed to snag a Golden Globe for the Best Original Song and a nomination for the same category at the Academy Awards.
The movie deals with following your dreams, as Barnum does. However, it also shows the consequences of becoming so engrossed in your dreams and success that you start to lose the people you care about, as Barnum almost lost his wife, kids and all the performers he came to know.
This movie is the perfect balance of humor, singing and acting. As one not keen on musicals, I nevertheless fully enjoyed the movie and have become admittedly addicted to the soundtrack, which is now on Spotify and Google Music. If you can catch “The Greatest Showman” while it is still in theaters, you definitely should. “It’s everything you’ll ever want/It’s everything you’ll ever need!”