What If The Greatest Showman Hadn’t Been A Musical?

Michael Gracey’s The Greatest Showman was a huge success, but this might not have been the case if it hadn’t been a musical. Despite the rags-to-riches narrative and the glamorous visuals, it’s hard to shake the feeling that the film wouldn’t have had the same commercial appeal had it not been for the award-winning soundtrack. Even now, the songs from The Greatest Showman are what people remember most about the 2017 smash hit. If the film’s musical elements were taken away, it’s interesting to wonder what it would have been like and if audiences would have engaged with the movie anywhere near as passionately as they did.

In all likelihood, The Greatest Showman would have turned out very differently if the producers had made the decision to make a more traditional movie. Although it’s possible that they could have retained some of the family-friendly atmosphere, it would have been nearly impossible to achieve the same level of upbeat, feel-good nature that the film’s songs possessed. Sometimes, there’s just no adequate replacement for a high-production musical number. That said, it’s worth wondering if it still could have enjoyed some degree of success without embracing the musical route.

The Film Would Have Become A Basic P.T. Barnum Biopic

The Greatest Showman makes no claims regarding its historical accuracy. Some sources state the version of P.T. Barnum in the film is an incredibly generous interpretation, adapted solely for the sake of entertainment. Although the real Barnum did venture into entertainment, it’s believed by some that he didn’t value his performers as special and unique individuals, but rather as vulnerable people he could exploit for personal financial gain. This is one of the reasons why sticking to the source material wouldn’t have lent itself to the creation of a euphoric musical production.

Therefore, the options that remained would have been a more macabre musical in the vein of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, or a gritty, mature biopic that depicted Barnum’s life more authentically. Neither of these approaches would have appealed to the same target audience as The Greatest Showman did. As an additional knock-on effect, certain casting decisions may also have gone another way. In other words, the actors who auditioned wouldn’t have needed to be the triple-threats that they were, and audiences would have missed out on one of the best Hugh Jackman movies.

Hugh Jackman’s Skill Set Would Have Been Underutilized

There was no one better suited to The Greatest Showman’s lead role than Hugh Jackman. Not only did he have the charisma and good looks to draw people in, but also the talent to bring it all together. Jackman had the sought-after combination of being a skilled actor, singer, and dancer. However, if the film wasn’t a musical, two of these abilities would have been neglected. Only using Jackman as an actor in a story about performing would have been a huge waste of his skill set.

Jackman’s extra abilities may even have made him surplus to requirements and possibly resulted in the search for an actor who more closely resembled the real P.T. Barnum. If an alternate casting would have taken place, then it would likely have happened across the board. Jackman’s castmates, such as Zac Efron and Zendaya, may also have been replaced to fit with the tone of a traditional biopic. Although, following Zendaya’s performance in Euophoria, she may also have been a great asset to a version of The Greatest Showman that took a more grounded approach.

However, the focus during the casting process would likely still have focused on physical appearance and acting ability, rather than the need for the actors to sing and dance their way through the script. Although Hugh Jackman and the rest of the cast were the right choices for the version of The Greatest Showman that was made, a version that was more faithful to history wouldn’t have needed their additional flair.

The Run Time Could Have Suffered

While The Greatest Showman was not a complete musical, the soundtrack did take up a great portion of the film’s runtime. That means much of the communication between the characters happened during choreographed numbers that often repeated lines during choruses and hooks. With traditional dialogue, this isn’t something that typically happens. In a typical biopic, characters tend to speak to each other, and the time it takes to convey meaning is much shorter than when it’s done in song.

The Greatest Showman did have stretches where the characters simply spoke to one another, but they also spent minutes at a time conveying their meaning through lyrics and melody. Some of the runtime could have been recovered with extra footage if the songs were to be removed, but it’s still unlikely the film would have run for as long as it did. While a longer film doesn’t necessarily indicate quality, one that’s too short can struggle to make a real impact. On the other hand, the film’s pacing may also have struggled if the producers decided to patch the missing sequences with drawn-out dialogue and long, pensive silences.

It’s Possible The Greatest Showman Could Have Flopped

The movie had an incredibly broad appeal, with a great deal of the soundtrack taking the form of pop songs rather than traditional musical theater compositions. Therefore, it didn’t alienate certain audiences like some musicals do. If the songs were removed altogether, the desire to see a film about a relatively obscure historical figure may not have been strong enough to get viewers into the theater. the catchy songs that appeared throughout played a big role in its appeal, meaning that the movie would have been without one of its biggest draws.

So, while there’s a chance The Greatest Showman could have been an intriguing P.T. Barnum biopic, it’s obvious that the fact it ended up as a musical production was a reason for the film’s undeniable triumph. The demand for a more accurate telling of Barnum’s story could have been there, but if the producers had opted to pursue that avenue, they may very well have missed out on the chance of creating the pop-culture phenomenon that they did. As it stands, they left fans eagerly awaiting an update on The Greatest Showman 2.