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Come follow the band
Darlington Operatic Society has put in 12 hard months of circus training to
bring the musical, Barnum, to the stage
TWELVE months of
learning circus tricks is
about to pay off for
Darlington Operatic Society
when it puts on a colourful
version of the musical,
Barnum, at the town's Civic
Theatre next week.
With Julian Cound in the
title role of Phineas T Barnum,
the rest of the cast are taking
on several roles, which meant
them having to accomplish stilt
walking, juggling and riding a
unicycle to ensure the nonstop,
action-packed atmosphere
of the big top.
Since spring last year there
have been circus skills
workshops organised by Bell
and Bullock to develop the
showmanship required each
night. Frayed Knot were
engaged to provide tuition for
Barnum's tightrope walking
and the result has been that
the cast have had a fantastic
time learning new skills which
they are keen to show off.
Barnum comes from a book
by Mark Bramble, music by Cy
Coleman and lyrics by Michael
Stewart and is in the hands of
director and choreographer
Joanne Hand and musical
director Michael Trotter
The cast members are:
Samantha Currie as Charity
Barnum, Paul Mason as the
Ringmaster, Sue Limbert plays
Jenny Lind, Zoe Kent is Joice
Heth and Nick Holmes is Tom
Thumb. Barnum recounts the
tale of Phineas T Barnum and
his plan to recruit an exciting
band of characters to enable
him to demonstrate that There
Is A Sucker Born Ev'ry Minute.
The musical opens with
Barnum signing up Joice Heth
and putting her on show as the
oldest woman in the world,
with limited success. He then
tells the public that she was
George Washington's
nursemaid and the art of
humbug begins in earnest.
The show follows Barnum's
desperate struggle to build a
successful circus empire while
his wife, Charity, is keen to see
him settle down and take a
steady job. Torn between his
love for Charity and the
infatuation with one of his
acts, Jenny Lind, we see
Barnum ride his own roller
coaster of emotions before
finally meeting Mr Bailey, and
then, as Barnum and Bailey,
delivering the Greatest Show
on Earth.
■ Barnum runs at Darlington
Civic Theatre from Wednesday
until May 3 at 7.15pm each
evening, plus a Saturday, April
26, matinee at 2pm Tickets:
£10-£15. Available from ticket
secretary John Lloyd 01325-
467107, online at
www.darlingtonoperatic
society.org.uk or from the
Civic Theatre Box Office:
01325-486555
10:03am Thursday 17th April 2008
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