Thursday, June 26, 2008

Visiting an Old Friend

It wasn’t a person rather it was a DVD of the musical Barnum. This is the version of the musical with Michael Crawford in it and was recorded live in London. The show was recorded in 1986.

I smiled a great deal while watching and I have to admit that at the end I was singing along to Join the Circus. As you might guess from the title it is about the life of P.T. Barnum. I never realized that Barnum got involved in the circus only late in life, that he was elected to the Conn. legislature and mayor of Bridgeport. The show also emphasizes his showmanship and his many hum bugs he pulled on people.

It is a very fast paced show. There are many actual circus stunts. People on stilts, people being twirled on ropes. Crawford participates in many of these in fact he even walks across a high wire the width of the stage.

I discovered Barnum when I was working at a video store in the early 90s. Watching last night brought back memories of working at the store and all the great people I worked with. Several of whom, very unfortunately, are no longer with us. It brought a rather wistful smile to my and reminded me of how much I still miss them.

But it also lead to other much more pleasant memories. I got to see Barnum on Broadway in December of 1980. In fact I still have the playbill. Jim Dale played Barnum and Glenn Close played Chairy. If I looked hard enough I sure I could find the ticket stub as well. It was a great show. Before you even got into the theater there were clowns and stilt walkers outside the theater. It was a truly magical performance.

Here’s a clip from the Michael Crawford version of the show. Join the Circus. It’s a little long but well worth watching.

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