Laura Nagg
Copy Editor
The holiday season has been big time for new movies to be released. Big motion pictures this year included Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Thor: Ragnarok, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, Pitch Perfect 3, Downsizing, and The Darkest Hour. Another big box office movie this past holiday season was high credited The Greatest Showman, which stars Hugh Jackman, Zac Efron, Zendaya, Michelle Williams, Rebecca Ferguson and making her film debut is Keala Settle. It is a biographical-based story on P.T. Barnum risking it all to start the first circus in the late 1800’s, creating a grand show of unity and joy from a group of social outcasts.
I’ve had the pleasure of seeing the movie twice over the winter break and once more this past week, falling in love instantly in the first minutes. This movie is a full musical filled with elaborate roof-top dances, ensembles of singers, creative backdrops, fancy periodical costumes, love stories enduring the pressures of life, and a classic happy ending. The story, written by Bill Condon and Jenny Bicks, doesn’t follow Phineas Taylor Barnum’s life completely; it incorporates multiple fictional characters and some embellished details. While most people are familiar with the name Barnum from Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey Circus, the endearing story depicts the beginning creation of the first circus, which would later become the world-traveling three ring circus that sadly shut down in May 2017.
This movie is one of few movie-musicals released in recent years, with the music written with a modern theme. Another high rated and award winning film was La La Land that came out in Dec. 2016, which in fact shares the same Oscar-winning composers for The Greatest Showman: Benj Pasek and Justin Paul. The soundtrack is one of the most memorable aspects of the movie, which includes original song “This Is Me” receiving a Golden Globe on Jan. 7, 2018 and has been the No. 1 album by Billboard for two consecutive weeks, staying consistently in the Top 10 since the release. The soundtrack, available on iTunes and Spotify, is composed of 11 original songs with superb vocals, upbeat tunes, and creative lyrics.
As a musical fanatic myself, growing up watching older classic musicals and enjoying the more recent modern ones, I can say assuredly that this is truly a special project. The characters’ individual struggles and joy throughout the movie pull you right into 1800’s New York, creating a desire to be singing and dancing right along with them. Audiences are captured by glamour and poverty, glory and pain, that compliment each other perfectly in a delightful cinematic experience. Despite many peoples’ opinion that musicals are boring or not cool, do not write this one off just yet. This magical show has something for everyone and doesn’t fail to spark your imagination or keep your feet moving!
