The lyrics of Join The Circus, arguably the best known number from the musical Barnum, may well encourage you to ‘join the circus like you wanted to when you were a kid…’ but Phineas Taylor Barnum was the grand old age of 60 before he succumbed to the lure of the circus ring.
“…a distinctly average example of style over substance…”
Consequently, there’s a lot of backstory to get through before he teams up with James A Bailey to form Barnum & Bailey’s American Travelling circus and not all of it is gripping stuff.
A forerunner to The Greatest Showman…
