Interview: COME ALIVE! Creative Director Simon Hammerstein: 'Our Production Absolutely Would Not Work in a Traditional Theatre'

This month sees the much-anticipated arrival of Come Alive!, a live blend of circus and musical theatre inspired by the 2017 film The Greatest Showman.

Despite having a killer cast headed by Hugh Jackman and making almost half a billion dollars at the box office from a budget of only $84m, the movie was something of a sleeper hit that never reached the top of the cinema charts. Despite that, it is still a popular choice on streaming channels and Disney has announced that their own live version will be coming to Broadway sometime next year.

Beating the House of Mouse to the punch, Come Alive! is directed by Simon Hammerstein, grandson of lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II and, as co-owner of The Box, one of New York and Soho's top cabaret producers.  For his latest venture, a space in Earls Court has been transformed into a dedicated 700-seat big top called the Empress Museum. Come Alive! features a new story and hit songs from the The Greatest Showman composers Benj Pasek and Justin Paul including "This Is Me", "Rewrite the Stars" and "A Million Dreams". The show's run has already been extended to 30 March 2025.

We caught up with Simon as he prepares to officially open Come Alive! next week.

Come Alive! is a very different venture to the one you are most well known
for here in London (The Box). How did you come to pick such a project?

The project came about following the My Way Usher residency I did with OTBA in Las
Vegas. (Film producer) Chip Seelig saw it and set up a meeting. I don’t think he thought I’d want to do this, but I jumped at the chance.

I started out directing theatre before I moved into live entertainment in the nightlife space, and this project offered the opportunity to bring all of that together. The challenge of marrying both worlds— circus and musical theatre storytelling— into a true "Spectacular", I found incredibly appealing.

Working with the talented team and seeing the show take shape has been a very satisfying creative journey. I like to think a large part of that is because we’ve interwoven not one, but multiple elements of performance in the show through musical theatre, circus, and dance. The sum of these incredible parts when they are brought together elevates the show and lifts it up to something special.

Although Come Alive! is different to The Greatest Showman film, in that it has a
brand new story and new characters, we still wanted it to evoke a similar feeling in
audiences and the challenge of trying to achieve that that was immensely exciting as
well.

There are a number of major current and upcoming shows that lean heavily on
The Greatest Showman film, not least the British touring production Cirque: The
Greatest Show and the recently announced Broadway musical. How will yours
stand out?

Any show has to stand out on its own merit: ours is no different. It’s a brand new story
that has the film's composers Benj Pasek and Justin Paul’s involvement: using their hit songs from the movie. By reworking that for a contemporary setting, our hope is that these new characters, on a new adventure, give the show a distinct feel and sense of wonder.

The venue and the world we’ve built within it are truly unique. Our aim was that we
really want people to feel as though they are entering The Greatest Showman universe
when they set foot in the Empress Museum. The space is created and designed with
that in mind. The team and OTBA have put so much care and attention to detail into it
that we hope it offers those who come along so much to explore and interact with before
they’ve even taken to their seats to watch the show.

Your cast is led by Simon Bailey and Aaliya Mai. What was the casting process
like - did you audition widely or did you know early on who would be your leads?

We had a great casting director who helped guide a somewhat targeted audition
process. I was lucky enough to work with Simon in the workshop and it was
very clear to everyone involved that we wanted him to be a part of it and that he should
be The Showman.

Joining Simon in a lead role is newcomer Aaliya Mai who plays a young superfan of the show, a circus hopeful in her own right called Max. Aaliya is an incredibly talented singer and we can’t wait for audiences to see what she’s capable of. She has only recently graduated from the London School of Musical Theatre and this is her professional debut so we feel very privileged to have found her at this stage of her career.

We are blessed with such a strong company for this production— the level of talent on
display across our cast, singers, dancers and our array of international circus artists is
incredible.

You have picked an interesting venue. What led you to choose this one? Has
the venue shaped the show in any way?

For any interactive show, the venue is an integral character in the creation of what
you’re doing and plays a huge role so we knew we had to get it right. This isn’t a typical
West End show, we needed the full volume and very high ceilings to pull it off.

Our location in Earls Court feels really fitting for Come Alive! It allows us to tell a
Greatest Showman story steeped in the area’s rich history in entertainment. How
exciting for us to be part of its next chapter?

Not only is the location fantastic, but the sheer scale of the space is so generous that it
afforded us the flexibility to realise our vision and construct a big top circus tent inside
this world we’ve built. The tent is surrounded by a magical midway that our guests can
explore before watching the show. Finding the right home for the show was essential so
it’s a great relief to us that we were able to deliver that.

Immersive shows are going through something of a fillip at the moment with
major players like Punchdrunk, Secret Cinema and You Me Bum Bum Train all planning new shows for this year. How will Come Alive! realise its "immersive circus landscape" premise? Will there be any interactive elements?

I think if you’re going to call the show a ‘Spectacular’ and be positioned as having an ‘in-
world’ experience, there of course absolutely has to be an interactive element, it’s
something me and the team felt very strongly about. So, without spoiling any surprises,
it’s a big fat ‘yes’.

Chrisalys, one of your Box superstars, hit the mainstream this year when he
made it through to the final of Masterchef. What did you think when you saw him
on TV? Has he offered to cook for you?

If only... The whole Box family is incredibly proud of what Chrisalys has achieved and
accomplished and I do hope one day that I'm lucky enough to experience his mastery in
the kitchen but so far I'm just grateful to have experienced his mastery on the stage.

Last question: what do you think your grandfather would have thought of
Come Alive! Was he a fan of circus or vaudeville shows?

My grandfather was very well-versed in vaudeville and circus - his own grandfather was
one of the pre-eminent vaudeville impresarios at the turn of the century, so he was
brought up and raised right in and amongst it all. In the same way I'm being asked about it - I’m sure my grandfather was probably asked similar questions too back in the day. 

So, whilst of course there’s no way of knowing for sure, I’d like to think they’d both find it pretty satisfying that this kind of story has been in the Hammerstein family for five
generations now.

Come Alive! opens at the Empress Museum on 16 October.