Hugh Jackman to Star in P.T. Barnum Film Musical

By Andrew Gans
August 4, 2009

Tony Award winner Hugh Jackman, who will return to Broadway later this season in the two-character Keith Huff play A Steady Rain, will play P.T. Barnum in a new movie musical for Twentieth Century Fox, according to Variety.

Jennie Bicks ("Sex and the City") will write the script for the film, which will feature a contemporary score. The studio is currently in discussions with singer-songwriter Mika to pen the score.

"The Greatest Showman on Earth" will be produced by Laurence Mark, actor Jackman and Jackman's Seed partner John Palermo.

The role of "Swedish Nightingale" Jenny Lind will likely be played by Anne Hathaway, who shared a duet with Jackman during the most recent Academy Awards ceremony.

The 1980 Broadway musical Barnum — which cast Jim Dale in the title role — featured music by Cy Coleman, book by Mark Bramble and lyrics by Michael Stewart.

Jackman, who was recently seen on screen in "X-Men Origins: Wolverine," earned a Tony Award for his work in the Broadway musical The Boy From Oz. He is also known for his film roles in the "X-Men" trilogy, "Someone Like You," "Swordfish," "Kate and Leopold," "Van Helsing" and the recent "The Fountain" and "Happy Feet" (in voice). His stage credits also include Trevor Nunn's staging of Oklahoma! at Britian's National Theatre and award-winning work in productions of Sunset Boulevard and Beauty and the Beast in his homeland.