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Let's talk about THE GREATEST SHOWMAN cast | Thoughts on the stars of the upcoming Disney musical...
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This is the Greatest Casting announcement. I mean it's pretty good. Oh my God. Hey. Welcome back to my theatre themed YouTube channel or hello to those of you listening on podcast platforms. My name is Mickey Jo and I'm obsessed with all things theatre. And today we're going to be talking about one of the most exciting and high profile new musicals opening in 2026. I am talking about the stage adaptation. Finally, the long awaited stage adaptation of Disney's the Greatest Showman. Bucking the trend of many of Disney's most substantial previous stage adaptations, this show going to be opening in the UK first, just like Hercules and just like Mary Poppins before it, it is having a regional world premiere production at the Bristol Hippodrome before making its way to London. This will happening in early 2026. That much we already knew. Now we finally have the more specific dates, information about when tickets are going to be on sale, as well as the all important casting announcement which as well as obviously letting us know who is going to be appearing in the show, gives us a little bit of a sense of how Disney is adapting this major film property for the stage. And amid some crit of their most recent stage venture, Hercules. And with considerable time since Disney last brought a new show to Broadway, all eyes are looking towards the Greatest Showman as Disney's possible next big hit. So let's talk through today's news including dates, details and casting. And as always, I will share all of my thoughts about all of the above, but I'm particularly interested to hear yours as well. Will you be trying to book tickets to see the Greatest Showman? Are you going to try and see it in Bristol? Are you going to wait for it to come to London? Which part of this casting excites you the most? And what are you expecting the Greatest Showman on Stage to look like? Let me know all of your thoughts and feelings in the comments section down below. And if you enjoy listening to mine, make sure to subscribe to my theatre themed YouTube channel or go follow me on podcast platforms. In the meantime, ladies and gents, and those thriving outside of the gender binary, this is the moment you've waited for. Okey dokey. We have a press release here. One of the first things I noticed about it is, is actually the new artwork. I can't spell showman. Apparently I'm searching for the Greatest Snowman. That's not what we want at all. Though it does sound like a lovely holiday show. New artwork. This is, I think the first real unveiling of what the artwork is going to look like for the stage presentation. And it's interesting because, you know, it's a step away from the film and it's very classic theatrical. It's a nice red background and a nice eye catching, glowing golden font. Just the littlest bit changed from the logo design for the film, which is not a surprised. Disney often differentiate between the film branding and the stage branding. The Lion King being a great example of this, but I do feel it's made it seem just a little bit more generic. And this is like regional world premiere initial artwork. By the time that this arrives in London, this will have been updated. We're going to see gorgeous posters with characters and imagery, all of that stuff. I dare say that really beautiful artwork is on the horizon. And this is simple, it's classy, it is sort of very familiar of a lot of the Greatest Showman imitation shows that are happening in the many any sort of circus productions using the Greatest Showman likeness. I want this to feel a little bit more specific and definitive. Carrying on. Disney Theatrical Group announces full cast and creative team I don't think we knew that many members of the creative team before. I think one of them had been sort of sneakily divulged. But this is for the premiere of the stage adaptation of the Greatest Showman at the Bristol Hippodrome. Oliver Thompsett and Samantha Barks lead the company as PT Barnum and Charity Barnum. These were the names that I was hearing. Oliver Thompsett being of the West End's most terrific and prolific leading men. He originated the role of William Shakespeare in and Juliet, which I believe he got to play briefly on Broadway. He was also one of our earliest fieros. He's been in a whole bunch of shows recently. He's been in a handful of world premiere new musicals like In Dreams at Leeds Playhouse, but also A Knight's Tale as the villainous Count Adhemar. He is, depending on who you ask, returning to the role of hero. Some people still see him as a villain and I'm not going to question it with P.T. barnum here. But he is a very tall, handsome, high tenor, traditional leading man type. And opposite him is Samantha Barks. Very interesting that they are leading it with the pair and sort of holding charity Barnum alongside P.T. barnum. Because when you think of the Greatest Showman and the role that Michelle Williams plays in the film, I don't know if it feels as much like a second lead. I think the film always feels more like Hugh Jackman and Zac Efron. Perhaps as the second major character. So interesting to find out just from that and the fact that it's Samantha Barks who is a rising star leading lady in the West End, and the fact that they have released it this way and billed them this way and shared an entire photo shoot here of the two of them being cute and coupley and wearing beautiful clothes and laughing about them, as people tend to do in these photo shoots. That already, I feel, is suggesting to us a little bit of a change with the stage version. I feel like Charity Barnum is going to be a little bit more uplifted here, and I'm excited to see that. Now, I heard Samantha Barks name a little while ago when the show was being workshopped. It's had many workshops recently, and there were many fantastic leading ladies attached to this workshop. So I wasn't quite sure who everyone was going to be. And it was a question of, is Samantha Barks the Michelle Williams role or is she the never enough Jenny Lind role? And I will confess, I think they're gonna have to do a decent amount of legwork to walk me around to the idea of this man, like, leaving Samantha Barks at home with his children to go and have an affair with a more beautif woman because it's Samantha Barks. What on earth are you doing? Like, stop building a circus. Stay home and let her sing. Let it go to you on repeat. That's all you need. That's all you need. You know what? Tightrope is gonna sound amazing, and I'm absolutely overthinking this, but does it throw a dramaturgical spanner in the works? If Charity Barnum has that epic a belt in comparison with Jenny Lind, does that cause any kind of a problem? I don't know. But let's carry on and hear about some other names in the cast. Lorna Courtney is going to be playing the role of Ann Wheeler. This is the Zendaya role in the film opposite Ben Joyce as Philip Carlisle. Do you know what? Gun to my head, I could have been doing trivia somewhere. You could not have asked me to tell you the names of other characters in this film. I know the ones who also exist in the musical Barnum, which I have seen a couple of times. Could not have told you. Even the first name of Zac Efron's greatest showman film character, like, could not have shot Keala's character. Could not tell you. That's none of my business. I simply do not know. Apparently he's called Philip. Anyway, Ben Joyce and Lorna Courtney are playing this younger set of lovers. Lorna Courtney, who was also in and Juliet on Broadway. In fact, she was the original Broadway Juliet in that company and is now appearing off Broadway in Heather's as Veronica Sawyer. So very exciting for her to be heading to the UK to star in the world premiere of a new Disney musical. She's doing great things. Good for you, Lorna Courtney. And I'm very excited to see her on stage because I've not yet had the privilege. At least I don't think I have. I'm sure I saw a different Juliet when I saw Anne Juliet on Broadway. I think she'd already left. Ben Joyce. Meanwhile, I have seen several times on stage and I had heard this rumoured because the rumour was that he was maybe attached to play Emmett in the Legally Blonde tour. And then maybe the Greatest Showman Happened and no Shade on the Legally Blonde tour. But this is world premiere new Disney musical heading for the West End. It's a bigger show to a part of even if his in real life partner Amber Davis is leading the Legally Blonde tour. But Ben is not working for Disney for the very first time because he just recently played Quasimodo in a concert production of the Hunchback of Notre Dame, which no doubt put him on Disney's radar if he wasn't already. Prior to this he had been a replacement Marty McFly in back to the Future, he was Beau in Shucked at Regent's Park Open Air Theatre and he was a terrific Frankie Valian Jersey Boys. He has been another one whose star is very much on the rise recently. He's got a fantastic voice, he brings a really charming quality to the roles that he plays. I think this is going to be a slightly more interesting version of the kind of generic Zac Efron character from the film. There, I said it. And I'm excited to see the story that he tells with Lorna Courtney. I think the two of them are going to be great in this together. Also, not for nothing, not Lorna Courtney's first time performing and belting while suspended above a stage. Presuming that we're going to do some trapeze stuff. Now we have two more principal cast members for me to tell you about and I am going to have to google how to pronounce the name of one of them because this is a performer from the Netherlands and I want to do them the courtesy of saying their name correctly. Could you please tell me how to correctly pronounce the name of the actress who is doing the greatest showman. Thank you so much. Tell me why I've had to voice note one of the few Dutch people I know to find out this information. Vayen. Vayen van Den Bosch. That's what I'm going. That's what we're going with. Vayen van Den Bosch is going to be playing the role of Jenny Lind. This is a performer from the Netherlands, but like many performers from Europe, has worked in a handful of countries. She is currently starring as Elsa in Frozen in the Netherlands. She has also been Eponine in Les Miserables. She has, of course, been Elphaba in Wicked, as well as Jane in Disney's Tarzan. Those two productions having been in Germany, I believe. And as a voice actor, she has also given voice to multiple Disney princesses in European languages. She has been the singing voice for Mirabel and Viana, which is the European name of Moana. If you know why, then you know. But she is going to be playing Jenny Lind and presumably belting out Never Enough. I think it was never. I think this was the one song that wasn't explicitly mentioned in the interview that Baz Bambigboi did for Deadline. When they were talking about adapting the show to the stage, they named almost every other song except Never Enough, and it got me incredibly nervous. But you don't cast an Elsa who is also a former Elphaba without having them sing Never Enough. Like, that's. That's got to be a part of the show still. And interestingly enough, it does imply that Mr. Barnum is cheating on one former Elsa with another Elsa. This is a great example of Disney working with performers from around the world who they have worked with previously, because Samantha Barks was, of course, London's Elsa in Frozen, and now Vayenne is currently Elsa in the Netherlands. It also means we're getting a Ginny Lind who is European. She is not specifically Swedish. But I'm already enjoying the fact that this cast is bringing talent from around the world. Lorna Courtney from Broadway, a lot of West End performers, and now a Dutch performer to one stage together. I think that's really exciting. Finally, then, another Disney alumnus, Melinda Parris, is going to be playing the role of Letty Lutz. Once again, gun to my head. Could not have told you the name of this character, but this is the Keala Settle bearded lady character who sings the iconic breakout song this Is Me. And if we know one thing, we know that Melinda Paris is going to sing the hell out of this song and give us a fantastic performance as she has done previously. She has already shared a role with Keala Settle because they have both played the nurse in and Juliet, so there is form for this. More recently, Melinda has appeared appeared in the Little Big Things at at Soho Place and is currently starring in Disney's Hercules at Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, which is rumored to be the ultimate destination of the greatest Showman. I don't know if that has explicitly been said. I can't remember what it is that they have revealed and fully said and what it is that I have just speculated so many times that I feel like I've spoken it into existence, but the writing is essentially on the wall that it's going to Drury Lane. If that's not yet been confirmed. Melinda is currently playing one of the Muses, which speaks to the vocal prowess. I think this is terrific casting. I am excited to see it, excited to hear it, and I am glad that this role in particular and this song and this story can still be performed by an actress of colour. I think that that is important with the kind of narrative that we're talking about here. And I do want to talk about diversity for a second because I've mentioned lots of performers from different countries around the world. I had heard for a time that there was a rumour Disney was workshopping this for years in New York with Joshua Henry as P.T. barnum, which would have been exciting, if only because I think Joshua Henry is extremely talented. I am also mindful of the fact that while it would have been really fantastic to see these roles which were white on screen, reinterpreted and made available to a wider array of actors, you do also have a racial component of the plot, which is the storyline between the Zac Efron character and Anne, the Zendaya character. She is canonically a black woman, he is canonically a white man. And had Barnum been played by an actor of colour, that may have confused that plot line a little bit and also would have kind of necessitated a little bit of reconfiguration of his entering into business with Philip. Like, if he's willing to go into business with Barnum, but he's not willing to be seen with Anne, then it sort of confuses it all a little bit there. Now we have some more casting here. As well as Caroline Young, Charity, we have Mia Raggio, Angelica Pearl Scott and Maya Suri as Helen, we have Harley Gill, Ellie McArdle and Eleanor Sebastian. Oh, these are the daughters. These are Barnum's daughters. I was like, who are Caroline and Helen? I don't remember who these people are? These are Barnum's two children and as young Barnum of course heard and seen in Every Night I Lie in Bed that bit we have oh, Max Bispham, Joel Tennant and Clark. Young Max has just recently finished becoming a viral TikTok sensation as one of the young performers, the brilliant young performers in 13 going on 30. If you saw my rehearsal room visit to that show, then you heard him singing the role of Young Matt. He was the one who then went viral on TikTok singing wanna travel the world and take pictures. But I'm stuck here because I'm 13. He's gonna be a great young Barnum. I am not surprised that they snapped up his talent. And we also have an alternate P.T. barnum and a stand by Ann Wheeler. Alternate P.T. barnum is going to be the fantastic Josh Sinclair, currently working with the same director Casey Nicolaure over in 50 First Dates in London. Go and check him out in that if you haven't already. It also references Disney lot. So if you're excited about the greatest showman on stage, go see 50 First Dates and a standby. Anne Wheeler. Interesting that she has a standby who doesn't exist in the ensemble. I'm not quite sure I understand why that is, but the fantastic Katie Tonkinson, who I enjoyed very much as Bonnie on the sadly cut short UK tour of Bonnie and Clyde. That is intriguing though that she explicitly has a standby. Usually you will see this in roles where the COVID for a performer doesn't necessarily fit the demographic of the ensemble. Elder Cunningham in the Book of Mormon has often had a standby, but then again, so has Elder Price. Elphaba and Glinda both have standbys. Curious that Charity and Jenny Lind don't seem to, but Ann Wheeler does. I wonder if it's to do with the physicality of the role. Maybe there is going to be an awful lot of trapeze. I don't know from my recollection in the movie she pretty much just sings on Rewrite the Stars. But speaking of that ensemble, here they are and we have an awful lot of performers. Derek. I do. Cornelius Atkinson, Matt Bateman, who is going to sound sensational as he always does. Nikki Bentley. Y for you. Nikki Bentley. Courtney Brady. I'm already thinking about who is covering who and who is covering these principal tracks. Thea Bunting, Amara Campbell, Jonathan Corden, Angus Good, Raisha Higgs, Barney Hudson, Annie Knight, Nathan Louis Fernand, Liam Marcelino, Aisha Maynard, Susie McAdam, Emily McCarthy, Will Meaga, Michael Patterson Stuart, Matthew Price. Fantastic. Emil Ruddock. Oh, amazing. Annie Southall, Zoe Schubert. With Abigail Clymer, Bobby Cookson, Katrina Dick Zach. Guest Georgie Hutchinson, Fallon Mondlane, Stephen Raleigh, Jess Smith. BL Took Santino Zapiko as swings. That is an awful lot of swings. That's 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 swings. What I am hearing from that is that there is going to be an awful lot of physicality and circus stuff. And so it would track that Anne Wheeler is going to have to do a lot of that as well, and that's why she has a standby. Maybe that's what I'm thinking. But that is a big ensemble, and you have some great names in that ensemble. Some big names in that ensemble. You've got Nikki Bentley, Matt Bateman, Stuart Matthew Price, Susie McAdam. Gosh, the talent that is going to be on this stage and also just number of people on this stage and the sheer scale of this cast is going to be quite something. Everything I have heard about the Greatest Showman on stage as a musical thus far has been that it is going to be epic and it is going to be vast. Worth saying, though, that I recognized a great many of those names, and I believe they were committing to doing a nationwide talent search and they were looking for unique, dynamic new performers. I don't know if any of the individuals whose names I read out there are specifically acrobat or circus performers. And without being able to diligently check the background of everyone in the cast, I have seen a little bit of backlash around the idea that there is not a lot of disabled representation. And the one explicitly disabled character from the film doesn't seem to have been retained for the stage version, which I dare say is an attempt to sidestep Barnum's more nefarious legacy with that particular character. I'm talking about the character of Charles Stratton, who was dubbed Tom Thumb. And I think there is certainly room to criticize an adaptation of the Barnum story that doesn't feature any disability representation. At the same time, there is as much room to criticize adapting Barnum's story for the stage at all. And I think the prevailing wish for a lot of people has been to just make this about a fictional proprietor of a fictional circus, because tying it to some very sanitized version of his actual history just makes it a little bit harder to support, especially for the disabled community. And inherently, any version of the Greatest Showman is, within the title alone, glorifying him to such an extent that Even if they were to incorporate a lot of very genuine disabled casting and try and uplift that within the narrative, it would still be actively committing to whitewashing his history. So it's a very difficult position that they find themselves in, and one that is really a hangover from the film because at this point that's what they're adapting. And it's a lot harder now to take steps away from the historic P.T. barnum once that already exists on screen. I'm very curious what else people are saying about this casting, and I will read all of your comments once they come through on this. A couple of people had been very eager that Jeremy Jordan might be involved, although at least one person here was hoping that he would finally get his chance to play Philip. I know he was snubbed from being in the film and not for the first time in his career. For what it's worth, when I spoke to Jeremy Jordan a little while ago to interview him around the release of the Bonnie and Clyde pro shopping shot, the show that he said he would most like to revisit is Finding Neverland. That's one where he played the leading role in a regional world premiere and then didn't get the chance to on Broadway because it went to Matthew Morrison. So if you're going to manifest anything for Jeremy Jordan, let him play JM Barry again, for which he is definitely more age appropriate than Philip in the Greatest Showman. And some people wanted him to now be P.T. barnum in the Greatest Showman. Perhaps he will be if the show is a big success in the West End and then heads to Broadway, which I dare say that it might. I can think of few other shows that would be grand and gorgeous and successful enough to evict Aladdin from the New Amsterdam Theater than the Greatest Showman. Carrying on. Let's talk through some more of the details that we discover here, including the creative team. Oh, we have some names. So Alex Lacamore is music supervisor, as well as incidental and dance music arrangements and all orchestrations. He has a Tony Award winner, a Grammy Award winner. He has worked on Dear Evan Hansen. He has worked on Hamilton. David Corin will be doing the scenic design. Oh, this is a hell of a creative team. Hold on. David Corin's scenic design, Greg Barnes and Sky Switzer costume design Natasha Katz lighting design Peter Hylensky sound design George Reeve video design Lorenzo Pisoni circus creation and design. There you go. Josh Marquette hair and wig design Milligras Medina Cadera makeup design Jeremy Chernick special effects design Skyler Fox for Illusions. Intriguing that those are separate things and that special effects design has been credited. How I really hope that that isn't any kind of visible difference or disfigurement. But we will wait and see on that front with a slight nervousness. Justin Paul of Pasek and Paul is also providing vocal and incidental music arrangements and as has been mentioned before, Casey Nicolor will be directing. Casey Nicolor, who has directed previous Disney property Aladdin and we have a statement from here as well. He says, it's an absolute joke Joy to finally share our incredible cast with the world led by the brilliant Oliver Thompsett and Samantha Bucks. There you go. The two of them build together once more. After an exhaustive search, we have gathered a group of artists whose talent will bring to life this fantastic story. With a theatrical new book by Tim Federly and the beloved score created by Pasek and Paul together with a world class creative team, we are so excited to bring this story to life for the first time on stage. Oliver Thompsett has said roles like this don't come along very often, unless of course he was pitched a Barnum revival which is about to tour the UK once more with noticeable timing. So it's an absolute privilege to be taking on this incredible character in the original company of the Greatest Showman. I'm so very fortunate to be surrounded by the most brilliant cast and can't wait to begin the creative process with Casey and the team. In the rehearsal room, Samantha Barks added, I'm thrilled to be rejoining the Disney family to play Charity Barnum. She said, you better remember that I am still and will always be a Disney princess, nay, a Disney queen. There is something utterly magical about the Greatest Showman. The songs have become instant classics that they have and I'm so excited to partner with Oli to bring this incredible couple and their enduring love to life on stage. And they are going with the tagline A Million Dreams. One glorious new musical that's quite compelling. Leave what's real behind and be the first to experience the stage production of the Greatest Showman. Based on the global movie phenomenon, this brand new musical comes to the Bristol Hippodrome in spring 2026 for a strictly limited season. But how limited and when exactly in 2026? Well, let me tell you because we finally have the specific dates. So the production premieres at ATG Entertainment's Bristol Hippodrome, which gorgeous regional theater and a very big one from 15 March to 10 May 2026. That is just under two months. Audiences are invited to sign up for access to priority booking at thegreatestsshowman.co.uk that's www.the greatestshoman. Don't say snowman. It's easily done.co.uk priority booking will open on the 4th of November. You have plenty of time and it's after payday at 12pm with tickets going on general sale at 10.10am on the 6th of November. This is going to be a hot ticket, especially for those early performances. I dare say we can expect to see this selling out its entire world premiere pre West End run quite quickly and before performances begin. So if you want to make sure that you have the chance to see it, I would advise booking promptly and I otherwise don't feel like I have that much more to say about it. I am hugely excited. I think that this is inevitably going to be massive. I know a lot of people and I still haven't seen it, but I saw it in Germany and New Jersey. A lot of people have been disappointed by a certain lack of scale and production value in Hercules. I don't think that's going to be the case with the Greatest Showman. I think they are building it in the uk, not because it's not Broadway calibre, but because they want to get it right and it's cheaper to develop over here, frankly, with how expensive everything is at the moment on Broadway. I think they also learned with Frozen when they opened it on Broadway, tinkered with it as it toured around the US and then opened the production they'd wanted all along in London and filmed that production for posterity, that it's maybe better for them to fix the show before Broadway and not use Broadway as the kind of the testing ground. So they're going to do that in London instead. And Hercules, it seems, has always been destined to be something of a filler production to keep Theatre Royal Drury Lane warm while they wait. But so much about the Greatest Showman on stage, I think is inevitably going to be very popular, going to be very successful. It's like Paddington the Musical. I think this could be to a certain extent disappointing painting and it would still manage to be a hot ticket for a long time because it was such a big phenomenon. Not immediately, but it really continued to be popular and they brought out all of these sing along screenings and the songs have this enduring popularity. I think the Greatest Showman is going to become a force to be reckoned with on stage. I hope that the production lives up to its legacy and is also thrilling and exciting in new ways. I hope we get a little bit of new music and I think the best Disney screen to stage adaptations are the ones that allow for a little bit of adaptation, a little bit of reworking. Mary Poppins is a great example of this. The Lion King is a great example of a creative team being allowed to really bring their own unique vision to a piece and look at the enduring success that that has had. So I am hugely optimistic about the Greatest Showman. I would encourage you to go and see it with the very, very, very valid criticisms of the piece and of P.T. barnum notwithstanding. And generally speaking, I'm sort of surprised that there isn't more buzz around the Greatest Showman. Like how often do we have Disney launching a world premiere production of a new stage musical here in the uk? Well, not since Mary Poppins is the answer and that was more spearheaded by British producer Cameron McIntosh. But also it's going to be vast. Why are we not being more buzzy about this? Why aren't more people talking about this? I think this is going to be one of the most exciting openings in the UK in 2026 and I am of two minds as of right now as to whether or not I plan to go and see it in Bristol to try caught on like the nature of the production without reviewing it prior to its arrival in the West End or if I let them go and do that over there and I just review it when it comes to London, I don't know, what do people think? Would you like me to go and see it in Bristol and talk about it? I am open to doing so. I didn't chase the Devil Wears Prada down to Plymouth, but I have seen a lot of other regional world premiere productions and truth be told, I'm very excited about the Greatest Showman and I don't know that I have the patience to wait for its West Ender arrival. If you want to hear every update that I have about the show between now and then, including a possible sneaky little visit down to Bristol, maybe I'll go in disguise. Make sure you're subscribed to my theatre themed YouTube channel with the notifications turned on. So YouTube lets you know every time I post a new video or go follow me on podcast platforms. In the meantime, thank you so much for listening to my thoughts about the casting announcement for the Greatest Showman on stage. Share all of yours in the comments section down below. And as always, I hope that everyone is staying safe and that you have a stagey day for ten more seconds. I'm Mickey Jo Theatre. Oh, my God. Hey, thanks for watching. Have a stagey day. 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