The Greatest Showman: Experiencing the Greatest Show

We attended a screening as a guest of the studio

There are very few movies out there that are cinematic eye dazzling, body moving, tear-worthy masterpieces.  The Greatest Showman is that movie.  From the opening scene to the very end the audience’s attention is caught.  As the opening scene is about to appear you hear voices singing ‘Woah’ over and over for a good 30 seconds, this is the beginning melody from The Greatest Show.  As the melody continues, you see feet stomping on the ground and bleachers, unison to the beat of the song.  Then the voice of Hugh Jackman informs the audience that “Ladies and gents, this is the moment you’ve waited for…”   and he’s completely right this is the moment we have been waiting for, the moment to watch The Greatest Showman.  The movie takes us back to a young Phineas Taylor (PT) Barnum as he stands in front of a store window looking at his image.

The son of a struggling tailor who was buried in a pauper’s grave leaving his orphan son to fend for himself on the streets.  Begging for food and stealing to survive.  The only light in PT’s life was Charity Hallett, a socialite who had fallen for the son of her father’s tailor.  PT worked hard and was able to get a job in an office, marry Charity, and become a father. 

After losing his office job, PT came up with an idea to create something no one had ever seen.  A place covered in colored lights, with mystery and adventure, everything you ever wanted and needed all under one roof, the circus.

The movie takes the audience on PT’s journey from poverty, to excess, to ruins, and then back to success.  On his journey, we meet a colorful cast of misfits showcasing their struggles for acceptance. These talented artists, who were hidden and shunned, then brought together by PT, formed not only a bond but family with one another.

As PT’s rises in “society,” he turns his back on those who got him there and as Keala Settle belts out the anthem “This Is Me,” the audience sits back and weeps as they take in her pain.  The movie has many subtexts in it, and the more often you watch it, the more you get out of it. 

From the struggle of social class to racial tensions, this film brings to light what many have put in the dark.  I highly recommend you see the film so that its magic can move you and buy the soundtrack so that you can sing along as I did.  The Greatest Showman is a family-friendly film and is currently playing at a theater near you.

Naz Nodjoumi has lived in Orange County for over 35 years. She married the guy she sat next to in French class at WHS (go warriors), graduated UCI (zot zot zot) and has two kids. She’s grown up along side this once sleepy County and loves learning more and more about the ins and out of its great cities. When she’s not chauffeuring her kids around town, she’s either cooking, volunteering, or snapping away on one of her cameras. She loves museums, theater, art, discovering fun facts as well as traveling.