Hugh Jackman's next The Greatest Showman is a musical story about the circus

Hugh Jackman introduced his upcoming musical The Greatest Showman at CinemaCon 2017. [caption id=“attachment_1385409” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  AP[/caption] CinemaCon 2017 is an annual love fest between studios and exhibitors, which is unfolding this week in Las Vegas. It’s a chance for Hollywood to unveil its slate of blockbuster hopefuls. Jackman presented a sneak peak of the musical which was filled with songs written by the La La Land songwriter duo Justin Paul and Benj Pasek. The Greatest Showman is the story of P.T. Barnum, a circus impresario who rose from humble roots and was able to hoax a gullible public, as he created the three-ring Barnum & Bailey Circus that made him famous. Barnum gained fame as a 19th century impresario with tours of Tom Thumb and Lind; he began calling it the ‘Greatest Show on Earth’ near the end of his career. They introduced the likes of   ‘Jumbo’ an enormous 11 1/2-foot, 6-1/2 ton elephant from the Royal Zoological Society in London. [caption id=“attachment_3365198” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  Barnum’s greatest show on Earth. Image courtesy: Creative Commons[/caption] Barnum also bought Scudder’s American Museum to lower Manhattan in December 1841 and reopened it as Barnum’s American Museum, where he displayed the ‘Feejee Mermaid’ and other oddities of dubious authenticity among its 500,000-plus exhibits. The footage that Jackman debuted at CinemaCon offered a look at Jackman’s Barnum as well as Zac Efron and Zendaya Coleman’s characters. It also featured newcomer Keala Settle, who plays sensational character the Bearded Lady. “All the main actors have a very big moment. We have Michelle Williams and I ballroom dancing on a rooftop. Zac and I tap dancing on tabletops. We have Zendaya Coleman and Zac flying through the air on trapeze rigs.” “P T Barnum, you know what he said, ‘Life is what you choose to make it’,” Jackman said. (With inputs from agencies)