Good word of mouth has helped to propel The Greatest Showman into a better position at the domestic office, and the movie has also been released worldwide in recent days. There have been a few big moments in the new musical movie that have become standouts. Among them is a scene between Zac Efron and Zendaya, and another is the rendition of "This is Me," led by Keala Settle. This week, Fox released a behind-the-scenes look at The Greatest Showman, and you can watch Settle sing her heart out to "This is Me" at a rehearsal performance, below.
Keala Settle plays bearded lady singer Lettie Lutz in the musical take on the life and times of P.T. Barnum and his famous circus. The role was a tough one, because it required Keala to sing live in front of her peers and co-stars and to also lead "This is Me" to fruition. Before jumping into the musical performance in the video, Settle and director Michael Gracey discuss how Settle was so nervous about singing in front of people she couldn't even come out from behind the music stand until the day the musical was being presented for the first time. Luckily for fans, that performance was taped by someone involved in the production.
The rehearsal performance itself is stripped down from the visually ecstatic performance we get in The Greatest Showman. Watching the clip, Keala Settle's voice seems to gain confidence as it goes on, and she seems really emotionally in the moment. Finally, we see her move away from the stand and into the middle of the room, a space that Michael Gracey had previously described as "the circus ring." Along with Settle, we see many of the other people who brought The Greatest Showman to life really getting into the "This is Me" performance, including Hugh Jackman who gets up and starts dancing near the end. If you liked the movie at all, you're going to want to give this one a watch, as it gives us a good indication of how Settle went from a timid performer to the object of our attention in the final project.
From previous accounts of The Greatest Showman, the musical presentation was a big deal. A few weeks ago, Hugh Jackman revealed that he was dealing with stitches following getting sun cancer treated on his face when the big presentation for the movie came up. He was supposed to leave the singing to the other people involved in the movie, but he couldn't contain himself and jumped in, causing himself to bleed. It's clear that the actors signed on for the movie were involved emotionally, as well.
Musicals haven't been as popular on the big screen as of late, but projects like La La Land and The Greatest Showman are starting to change all that. If you haven't caught the latter on the big screen, yet, you are still in luck. The flick is currently still in wide release in theaters, and will probably have you humming along by the end. So be prepared for that.
