The Greatest Showman Circus Spectacular will transform Sydney's Entertainment Quarter into an immersive world of music, circus, and storytelling.
Immersive circus world at Sydney’s Entertainment Quarter
If you’ve not seen the movie The Greatest Showman with Hugh Jackman (2018), then where have you been? This is what I’m told by two friends who can’t wait to see the circus version of the movie: Come Alive! The Greatest Showman Circus Spectacular! "It’s my favourite movie of all time," says one, while another exclaims: "I love it so much I’ve seen it seven times!"
Which is why you’ll also see packed houses here. While curiosity for the musical version is drawing people in, the producers have cleverly masterminded an immersive circus-slash-musical version of the movie, bursting at the circus seams with out-of-this-world acrobatics, choreography, costume, and set design, not to mention the rich talent, making it a "next level" circus vibe. While not a stage adaptation of the movie, it uses the movie’s songs and themes about following one’s dreams through the lens of a travelling circus.
The show has become such a smash hit in London, it is going global; first stop, Australia at the Entertainment Quarter (EQ), known for transforming its land into mystical circuses inside a Hippodrome.
Pre-show experience and audience immersion
It’s the pre-show entertainment where the magic starts: immediately we step right into a circus tent where performers from the main show mingle with the crowd, warming them up for a taste of things to come. There’s shadow puppetry, singing, and dancing, a circus bar with overflowing popcorn and fairy floss. We hang out in the cast’s "dressing rooms" and appear in photoshoots. Psychic Sapphire (Jade Delmiguez), with her big crystal ball, tells me: "Special touches have been planned with you in mind!" Every sense is catered for, which is why I don’t notice that an hour easily flies by, a delightful segue to the main circus ring where the show starts.
Story, performance, and standout moments
As the story evolves about a young girl called Max (Ruby Clark), who goes to watch her boyfriend become a trapeze artist in the circus while getting drawn into its magic, acrobats dazzle, and the movie’s hit songs roll out: "Come Alive", "Never Enough", "A Million Dreams", "This Is Me", and finally "The Greatest Show".
So overcome with the circus community and its potpourri of humanity, Max is drawn into the world of possibility and dreams, and soon finds herself training to be the next Ringmaster.
Her cohort of circus friends includes the Faceless Man: subtle, powerful, commanding, interwoven throughout the show, winding around mysteriously in a hoop. Then there are the aerial artists soaring overhead: one even held up literally by her hair (!) while pirouetting at top speed; a tightrope artist who not only rides on it with a unicycle but also sits on it in a chair; and fire dancers. The detail in the choreography is mesmerising and masterful, fusing perfectly with the brilliant kaleidoscopic costumes by costume designer Susan Kulkarni. All 120 costumes "pop" in splendid colour and character, all 70,000 individually hand-applied crystals making them dazzle. Yes, really!
Of course there’s the stellar local Australian cast. The Ringmaster (Des Flanagan) leads the show throughout; his emotional sincerity and storytelling are an immediate drawcard, making the audience feel connected and drawn in for this glorious ride. His line: "Our business is your pleasure!" pretty much sums up the show.
Max, both girl-next-door turned glamorous Amazonian Ringmaster with a beautiful singing voice, impresses: "This Is Me" is an obvious hit.
None of this, however, would have happened had it not been for Creative Director and theatre producer Simon Hammerstein, from the famous Hammerstein family; the grandson of Oscar Hammerstein (Sound of Music).
Known for creating unconventional live experiences that blend theatre, circus, music, and audience participation, he was approached by the film’s producers in 2017 to create a musical from the movie, pitching his vision as "a circus musical: a real marriage of the two forms".
Says Hammerstein: "What I love about musical theatre is that there are a trillion ways to tell a story on stage, and it can mean so many things to so many people. My goal is to have people immersed in the show, to clap and dance along to the songs. I want it to be a unique night out, and a show that makes you feel alive."
Alive it does. By the end of the show the entire audience is dancing; one theatre-goer belting out all the words solo into the microphone to the finale: "This Is The Greatest Show!" (or was he a plant? I have to ask!).
Universally exciting to anyone of any age, this "Musicus" is a must-see!
For more information, check out: www.entertainmentquarter.com.au/visit/come-alive-the-greatest-showman-sydney/
Reviewed by: Georgia Cassimatis