The Greatest Showman Star And Award-winning Songwriters Perform Hit Songs From Film For Hospital Patients Through Musicians On Call
Patients in New York, Los Angeles and Nashville experience live performances of popular songs from blockbuster movie during special holiday programs through its Bedside Performance Program, Virtual Program and Music Pharmacy.
Musicians On Call welcomed The Greatest Showman’s Benj Pasek, Justin Paul, Keala Settle and Greg Wells to healthcare facilities in New York and Los Angeles to perform for patients as part of the organization’s The Greatest Showman Holiday Concert. Settle, who played “The Bearded Lady” Lettie Lutz in the film, performed her show-stopping rendition of the Oscar-nominated song “This Is Me” for patients at UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital in L.A.
Pasek and Paul, the award-winning and 2019 Grammy-nominated songwriters who wrote the entire soundtrack for the film, performed “The Greatest Show,” “A Million Dreams,” “Never Enough,” and “This is Me” for patients at Children’s Hospital at Montefiore. In Nashville, patients at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital visited the Seacrest Studios for live performances of songs from MOC’s Volunteer Musicians.
“The Greatest Showman was such a huge movie and its songs of hope and perseverance resonate so deeply with fans of all ages, but especially children. The purpose of Musicians On Call is to bring joy through music to patients in healthcare facilities, and this holiday season we wanted to share this film’s incredible music with children at hospitals across the country through our The Greatest Showman Holiday Concerts,” said Musicians On Call President Pete Griffin. “We are profoundly grateful to Keala, Benj, Justin and our volunteers for joining us in L.A., New York and Nashville. By sharing their talents they have given these children an unforgettable gift during a difficult season in their lives.”
Pasek and Paul performed for children in the upper lobby at Children’s Hospital at Montefiore in the Bronx, playing a selection of songs from the film joined by Natalie Weiss and Tim Basom. Through Musicians On Call’s Virtual Program, the performance was also broadcast through hospitals’ closed circuit television to patients at Boston Children’s Hospital, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Children’s Health Dallas and Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis. After the program, Pasek and Paul met with patients who joined the concert and took photos and offered autographed posters and The Greatest Showman: Reimagined CDs to families.
“Musicians On Call is an incredible organization bringing the joy and universality of music to people in need,” Pasek and Paul said. “It’s a gift to be here to play our songs and share that experience with people, knowing that it’s touching lives and bringing joy and good cheer this holiday season.”
At UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital in L.A., Settle wowed the patients and staff in the hospital’s Playroom Rotunda with her hit song, “This is Me,” from the film accompanied by Greg Wells, multiple Grammy-nominated record producer, songwriter, musician, and mixer, who produced and mixed the soundtrack.
Musicians On Call’s Volunteer Musicians Meredith Baker, Katie Hargrove and Ben Bostick joined Settle to perform songs from the soundtrack, including “The Other Side,” “Never Enough” and “From Now On.” Following the performance, Settle went room to room to visit with patients who couldn’t leave their beds for the concert.
“Performing for the kids, volunteers, doctors and nurses is an experience I wish everyone could go through. You hear about the difference music makes, but if you’re not there in the moment, you don’t know what impact it makes. Not only you making an impact on the kids but the kids making an impact on you. I got more walking away today than they got from me,” said Settle. “The healing power of music, speaking from experience, is unbelievable. It’s the only language that everyone understands. I had the opportunity to sit at the bedside of a couple people and sing to them, and sing with them, and I wish I could do that for everybody.”
Patients at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital in Nashville visited the facility’s Seacrest Studios to hear MOC Volunteer Musicians Brandon Ray, April Kry, Fiona Culley and Josh Wilcutts perform selections from the soundtrack and play The Greatest Showman trivia games.
Musicians On Call also invited recipients of its Music Pharmacy to listen to the soundtrack. The Music Pharmacy program provides hospitals across the country with access to digital streaming music through tablets equipped with specialized Musicians On Call Pandora mixtapes designed to promote positivity and healing for the hospital environment.
Musicians On Call believes that all patients, families and caregivers should have access to and benefit from the healing power of live music. Through MOC’s Bedside Performance Program, Volunteer Guides and Volunteer Musicians go room to room to play for patients at their bedsides. These one-on-one interactions between musician and patient have a powerful effect of restoring normalcy, sharing joy and even bringing medical benefits. Since 1999, Musicians On Call has delivered the healing power of music to more than 700,000 individuals nationwide.
