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10 February 2018 Entertainment The Greatest Show- man has raked in over $151 million in the box office in just under three weeks of release. Honestly, who can be surprised with a star-stud- ded cast, a phenomenal soundtrack, and a unique, but seemingly predictable sto- ryline. However, do audienc- es understand what they are actually watching? The true story of P.T. Barnum, founder of an American Museum in New York City and what would later become the Bar- num and Bailey Circus, is a story that is not well known, and in this case, not portrayed well in The Greatest Show- man. Phineas Taylor Barnum, before the large top hat and the peanut shells came into his life, was a Connecticut legislature and small business owner in 1865 in Fairfield. As it is stated on Biography.com, he later became the mayor of Bridgeport, Connecticut where he founded a hospi- tal in 1878 and was its first President. Most of Barnum’s fame, however, took place long before his political career; when he was just 25 years old, he began his career as a showman. He became popular in show business for fooling people and becoming the “ringleader” of several hoaxes. One of the most famous oddities in Barnum’s traveling circus was a man by the name of Charles Stratton, or “General Tom Thumb” (played by Sam Humphrey in the film), who boasted as the world’s smallest man to walk alone. However, according to Encyclopedia Britanni- ca, it turns out that Stratton was just a five year old boy who looked much older than five. With a larger group of “freaks” to go along with his tiny general, Barnum had a show. Thirsty for more fame and a larger audience, Bar- num took a colossal risk in his next production. In 1850, the Swedish Nightingale, Jenny Lind, came to Amer- ica for a “one night only” performance orchestrated by Barnum. Strange that a circus ringleader would be able to rope in Europe’s most famous singer, bringing in an average of the modern equivalent of $21 million in a nine month period. However unlikely it may seem, she was an indescribable sensation, and it triggered an American tour P.T. Barnum: ‘This is me’ By Matt Strecker Editor By Jenna Salerno Staff Reporter that brought Barnum away from his circus. However, in real life, there was no Zac Efron to cover for him while he was gone, so the circus began to fail miserably. A major issue between the truth and the movie be- gins when Jenny Lind begins to want more than just a manager out of Barnum. In the movie and in a 1980 Broadway version of the story, Lind makes several discrete advances toward Barnum, and he struggles with keeping his relationship strictly professional. Ac- cording to VanityFair.com, this story of romance is all completely fictional. It was extremely important to Bar- num and Lind that their rela- tionship be solely based on the tour and not contain any romantic involvement. Bar- num trusted his wife, Charity Barnum, to keep house and care for their three daughters as he wrote to them from the road. However, this became difficult for the couple, and Charity began to fight through intermediate chronic illnesses and the tragic death of their fourth daughter. The road life began to be too much for both Barnum and Lind and the remainder of the tour after nine months was canceled. Barnum returned to Connecticut and dedicat- ed all of his attention to the American theatre and began the nation’s first theatrical matinees instead of returning to a burned down muse- um build- ing and continuing his circus “under the big top” with a ste- reotypically huge circus tent. Bar- num was able to eventually rise back to power as a circus king in 1870 with the founding of “P. T. Barnum’s Grand Trav- eling Museum, Menagerie, Caravan & Hippodrome”, which was his large, ex- tremely successful traveling circus that was eventually sold after his death in 1891 for $400,000 or $10.5 million in 2017 monetary value ac- cording to USAToday.com. Even though The Greatest Showman may not be historically accurate and factually correct through and through, it was still a fantas- tic movie worth the price of admission. With an energetic and talented cast, toe-tapping songs, and a great semi-true backstory, you’ll find your- self lost in the brilliance of the story of one of, if not the, greatest showman. As a fan of all musical theatre, I entered my first showing of The Greatest Showman with the hopes of a great movie that would leave me happy, but not obsessed. But within the first five minutes of the movie, I knew this would not be just another movie. The Greatest Show- man wowed me, rocketing past any expectations I had before seeing this movie and wedging itself in as my new favorite movie, leading me to see it another three times and still wanting more. The Greatest Showman is inspired by the imagination of P.T. Barnum, a man who grew from being a home- less orphan to a worldwide success in his circus. The story follows his gener- al lifeline, starting in his young childhood, and then moving on to show his slow growing success and all of the challenges included in finding that success. While following Barnum’s life, we also see his growing romance with his future wife Charity Barnum, which then leads to his two children. Throughout the movie, there are two themes the sto- ry revolves around, self-love and the meaning of family. With the many odd-looking people in the movie, they all learn they are worth the same as all other people, even if they do not look the same. The meaning of family is also prevalent in the show, as it is the main drive of Barnum’s climb to success. There are also some issues with racism and the battle between upper class and lower class in the film, which truly add to the overall effect the movie leaves on its viewers. The movie itself has everything that any fan of musical theatre expects in a show. It hits the nail on the head for both talented musicians and dancers, has an intriguing story line, and shows a great message for all ages without including anything inappropriate in an attempt to attract more viewers, which is uncommon in most of today’s media. The music included in this musical movie is part of the reason it has snatched a place in both mine and most viewers’ hearts. The songs have great messages, includ- Rewriting the modern musical ing some that tell people to be proud of who they are or others that show that working hard will lead to success. The music is catchy and fits into the film well. Most of the movie is filled with music, which explains a great deal of the show. One of the reasons I adore the music so much is it tied so well into the story that when listening to the music alone, you can still picture the scene from the movie in your head. The dancing throughout the show is also breathtak- ing, as the choreography was beautifully done. Ashley Wallen choreographed all of the moves seen in the show, from the dancing horses to the partner duets. Each move was not only choreographed for the dancers, but for the cameras as well, allowing for the flying camera views throughout the movie. The acting in the movie is also incredible, helping a viewer to believe and feel the emo- tions the characters are going through. Although I personal- ly have loved this movie, there are a few let downs. Throughout the movie, there were a few scenes that do not make sense realistical- ly, whether it be too much editing, or breaks in the flow of the movie, with charac- ters outfits changing when they shouldn’t have. Another downfall is that the sto- ryline is not historically accurate, and although they never claimed it to be a biogra- phy of P.T. Barnum, it still leaves false beliefs about who the man really was in all viewers’ minds. Overall, this movie will be on my ‘to recommend’ list for all of my friends. The storyline, music, and act- ing in the movie will leave anyone speechless, lost in the wild imagination of P.T. Barnum’s life and career. Whether you are a fan of musicals or not, it is worth a shot because even if you do not end up loving it, you will still have been treated with true artistic talent and hope- fully a new view on some of the main issues found in the movie. The Greatest Showman first came out on December 20th, 2017. One of the featured songs “This Is Me” received a Golden Globe for Best Original Song. cinematerial.com Thoughtco.com Phineas Taylor Barnum stands next to Charles Stratton, his “General Tom Thumb”. Stratton was labeled “The worlds smallest mad to walk alone” and was one of Barnum’s first acts in the early 1840s and played a major roll in the movie The Greatest Showman. “Throughout the movie, there are two theme the story revolves around, self-love and the meaning of family. With the many odd-looking people in the movie, they all learn they are worth the same as all other people, even if they do not look the same.” ~Jenna Salerno “When he was just 25 years old, he began his career as a show- man. He became pop- ular in show business for fooling people and becoming the “ring- leader” of several hoaxes.” ~Matt Strecker A Day in the Life February 14, 2018: Valentine’s Day Teachers Valentine’s Day already? How are we already a month into the new semester? I feel like January flew by. Maybe I’ll look up some Valentine’s Day trivia for my students to win candy. I’m just thankful I’m not an elementary school teacher; they have to deal with children going crazy from the sugar. Plus, you know it’s bound to happen that one kid doesn’t get a candy they want, and it ends in tears. This is why I chose high school students; they know how to control themselves around candy a little better. 7 th Grade Do we do anything special at Scotus for Valentine’s Day? Every year we’ve gotten to make Valentine’s Day boxes and hand out treats. Is it okay if I still give my friends treats? Maybe I will just bring some treats and leave them in my locker and only hand them out to a couple friends. I’ll honestly kind of miss getting all that candy. My favor- ite was always the fun dips; I still can’t decide what was better, the stick with the sugar or just the stick itself. 8 th Grade Honestly, I’m not too excited for Valentine’s Day. This year it just kind of feels like another day of the week. I’m too old for Valentine’s Day treats but not old enough to go on a date yet. Although I do have this crush on this one boy, but I don’t think he likes me that much. It must be nice to have a boyfriend; I just want a guy to buy me flow- ers for no reason. I wonder what that would feel like. 9 th Grade Honestly, I’m not too excited for Valentine’s Day. This year it just kind of feels like another day of the week. I’m too old for Valentine’s Day treats but not old enough to go on a date yet. Although I do have this crush on this one boy, but I don’t think he likes me that much. It must be nice to have a boyfriend; I just want a guy to buy me flow- ers for no reason. I wonder what that would feel like. 10 th Grade I don’t know how much to spend on Mark’s gift. I don’t want to get a bad gift and have him get me something really nice and look like I don’t care. But I also don’t want to get him something really nice and spend more than he did and make his gift look bad. What if he thinks we aren’t doing gifts? Maybe I’ll have Emma talk to him for me. 11 th Grade Who’s even dating right now? I feel like there are only a few people in our class in an actual relationship. I don’t need a date to be happy. Being single is nice; I can just stay home and watch Netflix all day without having to worry about dressing up for a date. I’d much rather just stay in with a cozy blanket and binge watch my show all day. Thank goodness I don’t have to go out and buy some cheesy ‘I love you’ card and some dumb present they won’t even like. 12 th Grade I have no idea what to do for Valentine’s Day; literally ev- erything has already been done. Ugh. Why can’t Columbus have something fun to do? I can’t wait to get out of here and actually have new places to go to besides the movies. Half the time the movies don’t even play anything good. The fanciest date you can really go on around here without leaving town is Applebee’s. Honestly, I’m just excited for the left-over chocolate that will be on sale after Valentine’s Day. Written by Caitlin Steiner
