Nicole Scherzinger ‘first choice’ for The Greatest Showman musical

Nicole Scherzinger is the "first choice" to play Anne Wheeler in Broadway’s adaptation of ‘The Greatest Showman’.
The blockbuster musical movie – which is based on the real life story of American showman P. T. Barnum (Hugh Jackman) and his vision to create the grandest show in the world – is being turned into a theatre production and an insider has revealed that the ‘Poison’ singer has been approached to nab the part of the acrobatic circus performer – who is played by Zendaya – and love interest of Zac Efron’s alter ego Phillip Carlyle.
The former ‘X Factor’ judge is wanted for the job as her "powerhouse voice" are the perfect match for songs like ‘Rewrite The Stars’ from the flick.
A source told The Sun newspaper’s Bizarre column: "There’s hasty movement behind the scenes to get ‘The Greatest Showman’ on stage and discussions have already begun about who’s going to take the lead roles.
"Nicole has been targeted to play Anne, who had a romance with Zac Efron’s character Phillip Carlyle in the film.
"She’s everyone’s first choice as she’s got the exotic look and the powerhouse voice to pull off the song ‘Rewrite The Stars’, one of the biggest numbers on the soundtrack.
"It’s still very early days but Nicole is very keen and obviously it would be a huge lift for her theatre career."
Nicole previously expressed her desire to want to do more theatre work after landing the role as Grizabella in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s ‘Cats’ musical.
She said: "I have several musicals in me. It would be a dream to create something original with Andrew."
Nicole dropped out of the Broadway show with little notice to rejoin ‘The X Factor’, but Andrew has forgiven her and would love to work with the Pussycat Doll again in the future.
He told BANG Showbiz previously: "The thing about Nicole is that she’s a wonderfully talented actress and singer. If I could find the right thing for her to work on then I’d love to.
"She really is an extraordinary performer and I in many ways understand why she chose not to do ‘Cats’.
"In many ways I’m sad because it would’ve been a great opportunity for her to be seen in America but at the same time I do understand and we are friends. We’ve both moved on."