Barnum

HUMBLE BEGINNINGS: Barnum signs up his first attraction, Joice Heth, the oldest woman in the world. Joice turns out to be less of a draw than he’d hoped until he tries a bit of humbug and pitches her as George Washington’s nurse. Joice is a big success and sings the virtues of living to be 160,

P.T. BARNUM VS. THE FEMALE OF THE SPECIES: Barnum’s wife, Chairy, wants him to settle down, run a respectable business – a clock factory, for instance – and Barnum explains that clock-making is just not the right color for him When he rushes off to close a deal to build a museum for his growing collection of attractions, Chairy reflects on her own values

CLOWNS! A cornucopia of them, tumbling into the ring as they build Barnum’s American Museum with Chairy singing One Brick at a Time.

“STEP RIGHT UP, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN” says Barnum, and let me tell you about all the wonders you’re going to see inside my museum!

BARNUM VS. THE FEMALE OF THE SPECIES, PART II: Years have gone by, and the Barnums are a bit older and a bit more successful, but their playful conflict and affection for each other endure.

25 INCHES FROM TOE TO CROWN! Barnum’s latest and most sensational attraction, General Tom Thumb, asserts that Bigger Isn’t Better.

A RESPECTABLE ATTRACTION AT LAST: Barnum presents Jenny Lind, the Swedish Nightingale, in her first American concert at Castle Garden. Jenny wins the hearts of all who hear her. 

THE HUMBUGGER HUMBUGGED! Barnum buys his own bill of goods, and leaves Chairy to tour the world with Jenny Lind Out There.