Ladies and gents, this is the moment you’ve waited for — “The Greatest Showman” is coming to the stage.
Disney Theatricals is developing a stage musical adaptation of the hit 2017 movie starring Hugh Jackman. The company announced the project on Friday at the D23 Expo, the company’s biennial fan convention in Anaheim. The debut production’s cast, creative team and venue will be announced at a later date.
“The Greatest Showman” is loosely based on the entrepreneurial endeavors of P.T. Barnum, who founded the Barnum & Bailey Circus. The cast of the movie, directed by Michael Gracey, also features Zendaya and Zac Efron — performing an aerial-centric duet, no less — plus Michelle Williams, Rebecca Ferguson, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Keala Settle.
Its chart-topping soundtrack featured 11 infectious original songs written by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, with the anthemic “This Is Me” earning the duo an Oscar nomination. A second album — featuring new renditions by Kelly Clarkson, Pink, Panic! At the Disco and Missy Elliott, among others — was released the following year.
Zac Efron and Zendaya in “The Greatest Showman.”
(Niko Tavernise / 20th Century Fox)
Though the movie received mixed reviews from critics, its theatrical run spanned 219 days and grossed a worldwide total of $435 million, making it one of the highest-grossing live-action movie-musicals of all time. Jackman even performed the songs during his worldwide concert tour in 2019.
The stage project will be the first to result from the Disney-Fox merger completed in 2019. It will also be one of Disney’s few stage adaptations of a live-action title (“Mary Poppins,” “Newsies”); most of its stage musicals have been based on animated movies (“Tarzan,” “The Little Mermaid”).
“The Greatest Showman” joins a number of other stage musicals in development at Disney Theatricals, including adaptations of “Coco” and “Tangled.” Currently, “Aladdin” and “The Lion King” are running on Broadway, and “Frozen” is touring the U.S. and playing on the West End. A 30th anniversary production of “Beauty and the Beast” will kick off a North American tour next year, and a new staging of “Hercules” will debut in London in 2025.