Look out ‘cause here it comes.
Disney Theatrical Group announced that a new stage musical of “The Greatest Showman” is in development at their D23 fan convention in Anaheim, Calif., on Friday night.
That’s a bit of an understatement — the show already has venues booked.
Disney provided few specific details about the live version of the hit 2017 film that starred Hugh Jackman, Zendaya and Zac Efron.
So, let me help them out!
“Showman,” insiders said, will be directed by Casey Nicholaw (Broadway’s “Aladdin” and “The Book of Mormon”), and play the Theatre Royal Drury Lane in London after the House of Mouse’s “Hercules” packs up its Ionic pillars.
Before heading to the West End, the production will try out in Bristol in early 2026, confirmed multiple sources.
“Hercules,” the “Zero to Hero” Greek myth musical, also directed by no-sleep Nicholaw, starts next summer at the famed British theater that’s owned by Andrew Lloyd Webber.
“Casey said he’d only do ‘Hercules’ if he got ‘Showman’ too,” a source said.
Reports have popped up occasionally the last couple of years about a stage future for “Showman,” with a score by composer Justin Paul and lyricist Benj Pasek, who I ran into in London back in June while he was in town for work.
Aha!
Telling a spiffed-up story of the unusual performers hired by circus impresario P.T. Barnum, there’s no sleazy “Come Look At The Freaks,” like there was in the Broadway flop “Side Show.”
Pasek and Paul’s rousing “This Is Me,” which was nominated for the Oscar, is very 2024 — all about empowerment.
The “Dear Evan Hansen” duo also wrote pop-y tunes such as the ballad “Never Enough,” “A Million Dreams” and “Rewrite the Stars.”
Starting in the UK is sensible. It’s a lot cheaper, for one. But movie critics here, for the most part (including yours truly), did not think “Showman” was so great, and 60% of its box office was international. They’ll get a leg up if the show’s first audiences have accents.
If you don’t recall “Showman” being a Disney creation, that’s because it wasn’t.
The film, which grossed $434 million worldwide, was distributed by 20th Century Fox the very same year parent company 21st Century Fox was sold to Disney.
Now, it’s Mickey’s to mess with however he pleases.
Which, if all goes OK in the UK, means Broadway.
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Source: Los Angeles Times (edited)
