The Greatest Showman Gets The Savannah Bananas Treatment With New Performance

Jackson Olson is bringing his signature Savannah Bananas showmanship to the ballroom—without forgetting how to entertain on the diamond. Check out the video!

The Banana Ball player joined his Dancing with the Stars partner, EMMA SLATER, for a performance set to “Rewrite The Stars" from the movie musical The Greatest Showman. The energetic number offered fans at the Grayson Stadium.

The Greatest Showman holds a special connection to Olson, who has incorporated it into the larger-than-life character he created with the Savannah Bananas. During an appearance on the Zach Sang Show, Olson discussed his love for Hugh Jackman and the movie musical, as well as the role it played in developing his on-field persona. “I love The Greatest Showman. I’m buying a coat. I’m going to wear this jacket,” Olson stated of his early efforts to become a more confident entertainer. The idea eventually became part of what he described as his “signature character.”

Olson is now channeling that theatrical energy into an entirely new challenge. He revealed during the same interview that he has been training for approximately five hours each day with Slater, adding that learning to dance has been one of the most difficult things he has attempted.

Although Olson regularly performs elaborate choreography and comedy routines during Banana Ball games, competing before the Dancing with the Stars judges presents a different kind of pressure. “I’ve never been judged by anyone,” Olson told Us Weekly in a September 2 interview. “They are giving actual scores, so that’s what I’m nervous for.”

The Savannah Bananas are a song-and-dance sports team that plays "Banana Ball", a fast and entertaining take on the game of baseball. The players perform choreographed dances every game, including songs from Taylor Swift, Mariah Carey, and more. Check out videos of the Savannah Bananas performing Broadway and theatre songs here. Roku is streaming Savannah Bananas' games from the 2026 Banana Ball World Tour to audiences at home.

The Savannah Bananas announced plans to play in 40 cities during the 2025 season, including three NFL stadiums and 17 MLB ballparks. The team made its NFL stadium debut at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, drawing a sold-out crowd of 65,000 fans. On April 26, the Bananas and the Party Animals faced off at Clemson University’s Memorial Stadium, where 81,000 fans attended the game. Tickets for the Bananas’ games at Coors Field were distributed through a lottery and sold out in less than two hours. More than 50,000 fans attended, marking the largest crowd for a Bananas game at an MLB stadium in the team’s history. As the team’s popularity continued to grow, some of its games also began airing on ESPN.

The Greatest Showman is set to open in the West End, following its sell-out run at The Bristol Hippodrome earlier this year. This brand-new stage adaptation of The Greatest Showman, based on the 2017 smash-hit film, with songs by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, book by Tim Federle and direction and choreography by Casey Nicholaw, will premiere at Theatre Royal Drury Lane in Spring 2027. The Greatest Showman continues DTG’s longstanding association with LW Theatres’ historic venue since it reopened following its extensive restoration completed in 2021.

The Greatest Showman stars Oliver Tompsett (P.T. Barnum), Samantha Barks (Charity Barnum), Ben Joyce (Phillip Carlyle), Vajèn van den Bosch (Jenny Lind) and Malinda Parris (Lettie Lutz). Further casting to be announced.

The musical will feature the GRAMMY® Award-winning and Academy Award®-nominated songs by EGOT winners Pasek and Paul (La La Land, Dear Evan Hansen), including “The Greatest Show,” “A Million Dreams,” “Come Alive,” “Rewrite the Stars,” “Never Enough” and the Golden Globe® Award-winning “This Is Me,” together with their brand-new songs written especially for the musical.