The Greatest Showman

'The Greatest Showman' is a musical which chronicles the life of P T Barnum who rose from childhood poverty to international renown as a Circus promoter.

The story is presented in Baz Luhrmann style without matching Baz's levels of excess. The songs are by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, the duo behind La La Land and in my opinion they are a great improvement over the earlier work.

The plot gallops along from one musical number to the next by performers who for the most part are competent singers and dancers but there is not much attention to developing their characters. Like Barnum's product itself 'The Greatest Showman' is a confection packed with oddities and beauties. If you don't like this scene, just wait because another one will replace it momentarily.

Definitely better than the over-hyped 'La La Land'.

✮✮✮½