Greatest Showman Musical Sets Spring 2027 West End Opening
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- The Greatest Showman musical will open at Theatre Royal Drury Lane in spring 2027 after a sellout eight-week run at Bristol Hippodrome earlier in the year.
- Oliver Tompsett and Samantha Barks will reprise their Bristol roles as PT Barnum and Charity Barnum, joined by Ben Joyce, Vajèn van den Bosch, and Malinda Parris from that production.
- Benj Pasek and Justin Paul wrote the film's original songs including This Is Me and Never Enough, and have also penned a handful of new songs for the stage version.
- Director Casey Nicholaw (a Tony winner for The Book of Mormon) helms the production, which incorporates circus and magic tricks plus an aerial routine for Rewrite the Stars.
- Theatre Royal Drury Lane currently hosts Disney's Hercules, meaning the venue will run two Disney stage musicals simultaneously once The Greatest Showman arrives.
- A separate Come Alive! musical inspired by the same 2017 film has run at London's Empress Museum for two years with a different plot but the original songs, and is booking until spring.
Why it matters: Disney Theatrical now concentrates its West End footprint at a single venue, running Hercules and The Greatest Showman concurrently at Drury Lane from spring 2027. The transfer commits to the West End only after a sellout Bristol run tested audience demand with the same cast. A rival Come Alive! production has occupied Empress Museum for two years, meaning two competing stage versions of the same film will now operate in London simultaneously.
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