THE GREATEST SHOWMAN : Fan Reactions/Reviews

[jo]

Wow!!!

[jo]

Another WOW!

[jo]

[jo]

[jo]

[jo]

Re the new Miss Universe, who comes from the Philippines --

[hu4601]

Dec 17, 2018 4:49:07 GMT -5 jo said:

Re the new Miss Universe, who comes from the Philippines --

    She's actually more Australian than Hugh !!! Father is Australian and she grew up in Cairns... LOL

[jo]

Yes, she is of mixed parentage. Her Dad is Australian ( of Scottish parentage) and her Mom is Filipino. She studied in Boston (USA) where she majored in music theory... and decided to live and build her career here in the Philippines, where she is a TV personality. But she will be based in NYC during her reign.

Btw, the Miss U pageant is now owned by WME-IMG ( co-headed by Patrick Whitesell and Ari Emmanuel), which is now more than just a talent agency.

I brought her name up because of the reference to THIS IS ME


Jo

[jo]

And not only that - so many live shows patterned after the music or personas from the movie are coming up


Jo

[jo]

Interesting article and survey by someone who hates musicals!

noisey.vice.com/en_uk/article/ev3qmn/look-who-is-buying-the-greatest-showman-soundtrack-and-why

He asks 4 people of their reactions to the movie and the music … and the opinions do not deviate much from each other


Jo

[jo]

Welcoming winter...and the greatest SNOW!

[jo]

Dance cover -- A Million Dreams!

[jo]

Better than Santa, eh

Of course, Hugh did give us the gift of a Music Tour for 2019! Better than Santa, methinks

[jo]

A lovely gift to a husband on their 10th wedding anniversary --

[jo]

Moi, aussi

[jo]

Looks like the Ringmaster outfit is the hands-on favorite!

[jo]

Many people react in the same way

[jo]

[jo]

Kids continue to be fascinated with Phineas/Hugh --

[jo]

Not unusual request. I remember someone seated on Row AA for TBFO, proposing to his girl friend. Hugh got a note earlier requesting his cooperation on the romantic gesture


Jo

[jo]

[jo]

Not toys or other goodies -- but a Greatest Showman costume from SANTA

[jo]

[mamaleh]

The effect TGS has had on people from everywhere of all ages is nothing short of astounding. Is it unprecedented?

Ellen

[jo]

I was wondering about the same thing -- it's been a year since its release and yet the assimilation into the culture is quite unprecedented in the current age. It has seeped into different segments - across ages, gender, and country borders. Phenomena like superhero worship appeal to certain segments, even music phenomena appeal only to certain age range ( usually the younger population), the popularity of sports and its heroes also appeal to certain segments, even theatre is now dichotomized into those who favor traditional and those who favor avant garde theatre, etc.

The story of The Greatest Showman spread far and wide -- it astounded the USA box office, set almost identical records with Les Miserables in the UK ( where LesMis is the longest running musical in the West End) and in non-English speaking japan - again exploding like Les Mis. So across the globe, the regard and affection for The Greatest Showman was astounding!

In the case of TGS -- it has touched so many -- kids ( boys and girls), teens, young people, adults, mature demographics! It first started when mostly young people did so many covers of the many songs from the musical score...as well as clips of numerous car karaokes ...and even flash mobs-- of all the songs! And in 2018, how many celebrations have been marked by the music of Greatest Showman -- graduation ceremonies ( A Million Dreams was an inspiring theme for young grduates, the Greatest Show blared strongly as the graduates marched into the future amidst firework celebrations, birthdays ( especially for young boys and young girls) were marked with this special theme (I have never seen so many beautifully-decorated cakes), weddings inspired by the TGS themes, singalongs attended by both men and women, young and young-at-hearts, Halloween costumes ( It looks like Barnum and Anne Wheeler and Bearded Lady regalia are beating other perennials, including Wolverine and Disney princesses), Christmas house lights sway and blink to the sound of The Greatest Show, Christmas parties ( The other day, here at a local Christmas party, the theme used by a group of pedestrians was The Greatest Show-- Hugh singing and singing -- to perform some simple magic tricks as their presentation with the Barnum ringleader costume included)! And look at the number of BEST-EVER-CHRISTMAS-GIFT Jackman show tickets that were proudly reported on social media!


And Hugh -- a first time concert performer ( beyond just NYC or Australia) is going ( almost) worldwide with his first major concert tour ( 44 dates! Unprecedented for a concert performer newbie!). Patrick Whitesell was one of the first to recognize the worldwide appeal of THE GREATEST SHOWMAN and encouraged Hugh to start entertaining audiences in many countries. Of course, it has also been preceded by his fame as a movie star, but in the area of music, Hugh's appeal has before only been seen live in the theatre ( Broadway and West End) and in his homeland.


To me the most unexpected surprise is how the young people have loved the movie and the music! Not just the very young ones - even that Teenage Poll of Best Album rated it as # 4 for 2018.


What makes me sad --


Is how the movie, its performers, its music were ignored by their colleagues -- no Oscars! Not even one for original song! And most importantly, no recognition of how much Hugh Jackman et al have reinvigorated the love for musicals... with Oscar buzz now around some movies which are technically drama, with music, not true movie musicals! Look at what happened at the Oscars -- illness-stricken Keala gave the performance of This Is Me which brought the house down ( no other nominated song did that)! The Cinderella story of how the movie defied the critics and became the audiences darling is repeated often and used as example for stories that try to dissect box office performance for other movies! And the recording industry is amazed at how the soundtrack not only won platinum recognition ( 2 x for USA, 5 x for UK) but is still in the top charts after a year! Not only that, in less than a year, a cover album of some of the most popular pop stars has been released!


At the very least, I hope the Grammy's do them justice!


And in all these - I remember how nervous we were at this time in 2017 when the fate of The Greatest Showman seemed uncertain! That was partly because of how the critics trashed the movie... and Fox's non-support of an Oscar campaign for the movie... We should have had more faith


Jo