THEATER REVIEW
“Barnum”
Grade: B
Through June 28. 8 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays; 2 p.m. Sundays; 2 p.m. Saturday (June 27). $35-$55. Jennie T. Anderson Theatre (at the Cobb Civic Center), 548 S. Marietta Parkway, Marietta. 404-377-9948, www.atlantalyrictheatre.com.
Bottom line: Fanciful entertainment.
As a very deep or thorough biography of the famous circus promoter P.T. Barnum, the musical “Barnum” is sketchy at best. But as a splashy celebration of a man for whom life was like “living inside a pinwheel,” director Alan Kilpatrick’s current Atlanta Lyric Theatre version is fittingly colorful and rousing.
Most of the big production numbers aren’t so memorable for the songs (music by Cy Coleman, lyrics by Michael Stewart) as for the sheer spectacle that accompanies them. With nods to the lavish work of set and costume designers Lee Shiver-Cerone and Amanda Edgerton, Kilpatrick captures the show’s late-19th-century circus atmosphere with nice detail and genuine flair.
Moreover, under the acrobatic choreography of Jen MacQueen, the numbers are energetically delivered by a breathless — at times daring — 13-member chorus (including MacQueen herself). In addition to general singing and dancing, many of them are occasionally called upon for performing on ropes or rings or stilts, for juggling balls or riding a unicycle or walking on hands.
Some get to shine in their own “sideshow attractions”: In “Bigger Isn’t Better,” the diminutive and gymnastic Austin Tijerina (best-known for last year’s “Oklahoma!” at Serenbe, if not also as Atlanta’s successor to Russ Tamblyn) plays a discovery Barnum bills as General Tom Thumb, the world’s smallest man; and Kenya Hamilton is featured in two solos (the comic “Thank God I’m Old” and the bluesy “Black and White”).
In short, all of them deserve to be mentioned: Tawni Edwards, Crawford Horton, A.J. Klopach, Nathan Lubeck, McKinley MacLean, David Morton, Joseph J. Pendergrast, Hayley Platt, Daniel Stefek and Ansley Van Epps round out the chorus.
The charismatic Logan Denninghoff stars as Barnum, who guides the audience through the highlights of his life and career. Leading man or not, Denninghoff gets into the circus act, too. He juggles in one song, and during another, he crosses the stage while balancing himself on a wheel. No less athletically, his handling of the tongue-twisting lyrics to “Museum Song” is a real kick.
B.J. Brown serves as the show’s music director, and artistic director Brandt Blocker conducts the Lyric’s typically accomplished 12-piece orchestra. (A few of the members take a rare turn on center stage for a robust marching-band routine that opens the second act.)
The script (by Mark Bramble) spans 1835 to 1880 — mainly skimming the surface, with only fleeting references to Barnum’s two daughters, his wife’s social activism (and health problems), his ill-fated political ambitions, and the tragic fire that eventually led to his renowned business partnership with one James Bailey (the Ringling Brothers came much later).
Elsewhere in the cast, Lisa Manuli co-stars as Charity Barnum, the wife, providing a sensible voice of reason to counter P.T.’s grandiose dreams about the “noble art of humbug,” and otherwise grounding the private man behind the public persona. And Emily Budd plays Jenny Lind, the Swedish opera singer with whom he has a brief affair.
It’s hardly the greatest show on Earth, but in its unbridled style and spirit, the Lyric’s “Barnum” is about the next best thing to an actual outing under the big top.
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