‘The Greatest Showman’ Is So Big That Hugh Jackman Is Going on Tour
The Greatest Showman continues to blow past all odds and expectations. Since opening in theaters in December last year, the musical film — despite drawing largely tepid responses from critics — has broken a litany of box office records and music chart records; its success has been so ludicrous that lead actor Hugh Jackman is now embarking on a massive world tour.
Jackman announced the arena tour (titled, in a style befitting of The Greatest Showman‘s flamboyance, “The Man. The Music. The Show”) on Thursday, with the Tony-Award-winning actor performing hit songs from The Greatest Showman, Les Misérables and other songs from Broadway and film accompanied by a live orchestra. The traveling production will kick off next year with 12 shows across Europe and the United Kingdom beginning on May 19th, and 24 shows in North America beginning on June 18th. Tickets for most shows go on sale this Friday.
While Jackman will perform songs from other musical projects, his role as a circus impresario in The Greatest Showman has catapulted him — and his co-stars including Zac Efron, Michelle Williams and Rebecca Ferguson — to staggering attention in the last year. The film has been on a slow simmer, going from a point of niche interest to a Twitter meme to a pop-culture phenomenon fueling global adoration and even SoulCycle classes.
But of the film’s many milestones, it’s the ones within the music industry that have been the most interesting. The Greatest Showman soundtrack bounded up to Number One on Billboard‘s 200 album chart a few weeks after coming out, and has all but refused to vacate the top spots, becoming one of only seven soundtracks to have spent over 30 weeks in the top 10. It’s sold more than any other album in the U.S. this year, according to Nielsen Music.
In the U.K., it’s on par with the chart runs of Adele’s 21 and The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. Cleverly capitalizing on the fervor, Atlantic Records released a “reimagined” soundtrack of cover songs from the likes of Pink, Kesha, Missy Elliot and Panic! At the Disco earlier this month — just in time for the entertainment spurt of this year’s holidays. With the original Showman soundtrack getting almost as big as Drake and Post Malone this year, Atlantic’s president Kevin Weaver said his “expectations are very high for this.” Given the tenacity of everything else around the film thus far, the same can be expected of Jackman’s upcoming performances.
Hugh Jackman Tour Dates
May 13, 2019 – Hamburg @ Barclaycard Arena
May 14 – Berlin @ Mercedes-Benz Arena
May 16 – Cologne @ Lanxess Arena
May 17 – Amsterdam @ Ziggo Dome
May 19 – Zurich @ Hallenstadion
May 21 – Mannheim @ SAP Arena
May 22 – Paris @ AccorHotels Arena
May 24 – Manchester @ Manchester Arena
May 27 – Birmingham @ Birmingham Resorts World Arena
May 30 – Dublin @ 3Arena
June 2 – London @ The O2 Arena
June 3 – London @ The O2 Arena
June 18 – Houston @ Toyota Center
June 19 – Dallas @ American Airlines Center
June 21 – Chicago @ United Center
June 22 – St. Paul @ Xcel Energy Center
June 24 – Detroit @ Little Caesars Arena
June 25 – Toronto @ Scotiabank Arena
June 27 – Boston @ TD Garden
June 28 – New York City @ Madison Square Garden
June 29 – New York City @ Madison Square Garden
June 30 – Philadelphia @ Wells Fargo Center
July 1 – Washington D.C. @ Capital One Arena
July 3 – Atlanta @ State Farm Arena
July 5 – Tampa @ Amalie Arena
July 6 – Sunrise @ BB&T Center
July 10 – Denver @ Pepsi Center
July 11 – Salt Lake City @ Vivint Smart Home Arena
July 13 – Las Vegas @ MGM Grand Garden Arena
July 14 – Glendale @ Gila River Arena
July 16 – San Diego @ Valley View Casino Center
July 17 – San Jose @ SAP Center
July 19 – Los Angeles @ Hollywood Bowl
July 20 – Los Angeles @ Hollywood Bowl