Showmanship: Lee Mead’s P. T. Barnum in Barnum The Circus Musical. Picture: Pamela Raith
PHINEAS Taylor Barnum may have been “America’s greatest showman” – his biography sold second only to the Bible in his lifetime – but Barnum is not America’s greatest ever musical.
Bill Kenwright Ltd and Watermill Theatre throw razzle-dazzle and razzmatazz aplenty at composer Cy Coleman, lyricist Michael Stewart and book writer Mark Bramble’s show, from Lee Newby’s circus set and costume designs to Strictly Come Dancing alumna Oti Mabuse’s choreography, from circus director Amy Panter’s array of acrobatic talents to the company of actor-musicians playing 150 instruments between them.
All topped off by a star lead turn from Lee Mead, who combines verbal and visual twinkle and tightrope walking with resolute singing, from his opening There Is A Sucker Born Every Minute to Out There, in his personable portrayal of Barnum.
However, in keeping with the essence of Barnum’s infamous spinning of humbug – deceit and lies by another name – director Jonathan O’Boyle’s production is rather more style than substance, especially in Act Two.
This is not to suggest that Barnum is a big flop under the big top, merely that its high qualities in performance cannot compensate for an underwhelming score that pales by comparison with the Oscar, Grammy and Tony-winning songwriting of Ben Pasek and Justin Paul for 2017’s The Greatest Showman.
“Barnum’s the name, P T Barnum, and I want to tell you that tonight, on this stage, you are going to see – bar none – every sight, wonder and miracle that name stands for,” proclaims Mead’s inspirational Barnum, showman, businessman, politician and visionary, whose gift for humbug carries far more eloquence, chutzpah and wit than today’s quotidian, rather than quotable, politicians, even trumping Trump for braggadocio.
His humbug is not of the “Bah, Humbug” variety of Charles Dickens’s misanthropic cynic Ebenezer Scrooge, with his distaste for deception, but more a brand of playful bluster, full of exaggeration and theatrical hoaxing delivered with a showman’s flourish that may be on foreign terms with the truth but is all in the cause of entertainment.
Alas he needs a little of that humbug to cover this biographical 19th century tale’s musical failings: the lack of knock-out songs in the weaker second half, with nothing to match its opening Come Follow The Band, where Mead’s Barnum is dressed as a clown.
That said, the transition from the black-and-white stars and stripes and costumes – reminiscent of Humbug mints – for Dominique Planter’s Blues Singer belting out Black And White to the riot of colours in the reprise of the Act One stand-out The Colours Of My Life is the high point of O’Boyle’s direction.
Acrobatic and circus skills play their part but would benefit from more highlights to match the wow-factor dexterity of the bow-and-arrow routine, and overall they are outshone by the actor-musicians’ prowess on multiple instruments, with the brass playing being a particular delight.
The visual scale ranges from the big to the small, from the life-sized model of an elephant to Fergus Rattigan as General Tom Thumb, singing Bigger Isn’t Better on his return to a York stage for the first time since playing Tudor sleuth Matthew Shardlake in York Theatre Royal’s 2023 community play Sovereign.
Amid the surface-level showmanship, Barnum finds its heart in P. T. Barnum’s relationship with his steely wife Charity (Monique Young), full of her own bright ideas and suggestions, and his six-month fling with opera singer Jenny Lind, the Swedish Nightingale (Penny Ashmore).
Mead shines brightest but Young pulls heartstrings too and Ashmore is the very definition of a polymath with her spectacular singing of Jenny Lind’s Obbligato and Love Makes Such Fools Of Us All, her heavenly harp and piano playing, and even her dancing on point, once serving in the ensemble, for the Finale.
Overall, this Barnum is a better performance than its source material, good in individual parts but not great.
Barnum The Circus Musical, Grand Opera House, York, tonight and tomorrow, 7.30pm; Saturday, 2.30pm and 7.30pm Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Lee Mead’s American showman P. T. Barnum in Barnum: The Circus Musical, on tour at Grand Opera House, York. Picture: Pamela Raith
LEE Mead will lead the cast as legendary circus showman, businessman and politician P. T. Barnum in Bill Kenwright Ltd’s tour of Barnum: The Circus Musical at the Grand Opera House, York, from February 24 to 28.
West End performer and television star Mead, now 44, made his breakthrough when winning the BBC One reality show Any Dream Will Do in 2007, going on to star in the Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat tour that brought him to the Cumberland Street theatre in 2010.
Lee is no stranger to Barnum, first playing the show-hosting Ringmaster in a school production when he was 13 or 14 in his home town of Southend-on-Sea.
“I had such a brilliant time and I thought the story and the characters were wonderful. And it had all these fantastic songs, like Come Follow The Band, The Colours Of My Life and There Is A Sucker Born Every Minute.”
Lee’s friend Chris was cast in the lead role. “And he was a great Barnum, but I remember thinking, ‘It would be lovely to play that part one day’.”
Now, three decades later, his wish has come true at last as he headlines a lavish new UK tour of the 1980 musical by Cy Coleman (music), Michael Stewart (lyrics) and Mark Bramble (book).
Barnum: The Circus Musical tells the story of legendary American showman, marketing genius and master of spectacle P.T. Barnum, who revolutionised entertainment in the 1800s through the Barnum & Bailey Circus and the Greatest Show on Earth.
Premiered on Broadway in 1980 and fronted by Michael Crawford at the London Palladium in 1981, ahead of a UK tour, the show has been revived numerous times since, both here and around the world.
As he steps into the ring for the 2026 tour, Lee says: “It’s an absolute classic and I can’t quite believe I now get to play Barnum some 30 years after that school production. I think I must have somehow manifested it.”
“This is definitely my most challenging role,” says Lee Mead of playing P. T. Barnum
Barnum’s tour show is directed by Jonathan O’Boyle, choreographed by Strictly Come Dancing alumna Oti Mabuse and features more than 20 actor-musicians, alongside acrobats and international circus acts.
Starring as Barnum is not only a dream come true for the Any Dream Will Do winner but also an homage to his grandfather Bert and grandmother Lil, who did not have much money, meaning that a trip to the theatre was very rare for them.
“But they saved up for a year and a half to see Barnum at the London Palladium and they loved it,” says Lee. “It stayed with them their whole lives. Sadly they’re no longer with us, but I know they would have been so proud to see me in it. Every performance is going to be for them.”
Since Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Lee has starred in Wicked, Legally Blonde, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Chicago and Sister Act and plenty besides. “But this is definitely my most challenging role,” he says.
“It’s one of those rare roles for a leading man. It’s an enormous part, with huge monologues and so many songs, and I don’t think I leave the stage for two hours, apart from the interval of course.”
Then add the tightrope walking, a discipline that has required several months of intense training for Lee. “It’s the kind of thing you learn at 24, not 44,” he says. “I’ve had to get myself fit and put in the work. The rope is about 7ft off the ground and, although I trained with a harness on, there’s no harness during the show itself.
“You have to use your whole body, your whole core and every ounce of your focus and energy to get across that wire, but I like a challenge.”
Does he play an instrument too in this actor-musician show? “I don’t, no. I already have enough to do with the acting, singing, dancing and tightrope walking!” he says.
Lee Mead in the poster image for Bill Kenwright Ltd’s tour of Barnum: The Circus Musical
As with Hugh Jackman’s portrayal of P.T. Barnum in The Greatest Showman, the musical looks at the real man behind the on-stage showman, not least how he had a wife named Charity but became infatuated with Swedish singer Jenny Lind.
“So he’s a flawed character, as most human beings are,” muses Lee. “As an actor, it’s interesting to explore that side of him alongside all the spectacle. It makes for great drama.”
When researching the role, “it was interesting to learn about Barnum’s tenacity and his drive, which I think you have to have to be as successful as he was,” says Lee. “At times he kind of put his wife to one side, even though she was so supportive and loving, so I guess you could say that he was very selfish.
“But he wanted the world to see all these amazing acts that he brought together, like the oldest woman in the world, Joice Heth and General Tom Thumb. It was his passion.”
Lee picks The Colours Of My Life as his favourite song in the show “because the melody is beautiful and it’s about him trying to explain to Charity why he is the way he is, with all the different colours to him as a person and why he wants to light people up, entertain them and make them happy,” he says.
Since his schooldays productions of Barnum and Grease, Lee has enjoyed the camaraderie of the stage life and the chance to lose himself in different characters. “Then, as time went on, I discovered I had a bit of a talent for it and I worked really hard, trying to get better and better,” he says.
He attended Whitehall Performing Arts College in Essex, performed on the Portsmouth to Bilbao ferry and at Bridlington Spa Theatre, played Levi and the Pharaoh in a touring production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and was in the The Phantom Of The Opera ensemble in the West End.
Any Dream Will Do then launched him to stardom. “It was a bit of a blur, although I remember certain moments in detail, so it was very surreal,” he recalls of competing on the BBC One talent show in front of a panel that included composer Andrew Lloyd Webber and impresario Bill Kenwright, winning the public vote and then playing the lead at London’s Adelphi Theatre.
Oh what a circus: Lee Mead’s P. T. Barnum, centre with actor-musicians, acrobats and circus acts in Barnum: The Circus Musical. Picture: Pamela Raith
“You never think anything like that would ever happen to you, and the TV show was seen by around 13 million viewers every week. Even now, more than 18 years later, I get people stopping me in the street or at the supermarket and saying that they voted for me. I feel very blessed, because it opened up all the parts that have come my way since.”
His subsequent career highlights include performing at the London Palladium on his 40th birthday with a full orchestra as he followed in the footsteps of legends such as Frank Sinatra and Judy Garland.
Singing in front of H.M. The Queen and the Royal Family at the Royal British Legion’s Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall in 2019 is way up there too, along with playing Caracticus Potts in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
“I remember seeing it as a teenager, with Michael Ball in the lead and thinking ‘I’m going to play that role one day’. Again, as with Barnum, I must have manifested it somehow,” says Lee.
His television work has included stints as Nurse Lofty Chiltern on Casualty and Holby City, but his appearance as himself on Motherland drew the biggest response from the public. “I played Lofty for five years in total but I’ve had more people stop me and ask about Motherland, even though I was only in one episode. That’s the one thing in my career that I haven’t done yet that I would love to do: to have a recurring role in a sitcom.”
For now, however, Lee is focusing on Barnum. “I get to be in one of the greatest, most iconic musicals ever,” he says. “I’m still in shock that I’ve landed the part, to be honest, and I can’t wait to take it around the country and to see the smiles on the audience’s faces.”
Lee Mead stars in Barnum: The Circus Musical at Grand Opera House, York, February 24 to 28, 7.30pm plus Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday matinees at 2.30pm. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Also Alhambra Theatre, Bradford, March 31 to April 4, 7.30pm plus 2pm Wednesday & Thursday matinees and 2.30pm Saturday matinee, 01274 432000 or https://www.bradford-theatres.co.uk/; Hull New Theatre, June 2 to 6, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday matinees,https://www.hulltheatres.co.uk/
Helen Spencer’s Dolly Levi in Joseph Rowntree Theatre Company’s Hello, Dolly!
Hello, Dolly!, Joseph Rowntree Theatre Company, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, 7.30pm tonight; 2.30pm, 7.30pm tomorrow. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk
THE Joseph Rowntree Theatre Company’s fifth production as the JoRo’s in-house fundraising troupe since 2017 is their “most ambitious yet” and first to be directed by company regular Kathryn Lay.
She brings experience of directing for several Gilbert & Sullivan companies to the task, along with a familiar right-hand man for this bright and breezy production, husband Martin Lay, a figure in constant motion in white tie and tails as conductor and musical director in the dozen-strong orchestra pit.
Hello, Dolly!, with its book by Michael Stewart and music and lyrics by Jerry Herman, had its day as the longest-running show on Broadway after its 1964 debut, further buoyed by Gene Kelly’s 1969 film starring the irrepressible Barbra Streisand.
Based on Thornton Wilder’s 1938 farce The Merchant Of Yonkers, re-written as The Matchmaker in 1954, it is a lightweight, gently amusing piece, not dissimilar in spirit to those works from the other side of the Big Pond, G&S’s light operas. Or, you could call it “an absolute hoot”, as the JoRo’s publicity puts it.
The setting is 1885 New York, where wily widow and meddling matchmaker Dolly Levi (Helen Spencer) has her eye on hooking tight-fisted half-a-millionaire Horace Vendergelder (Alex Schofield), a man short on joy and even shorter on humour.
Ever chirpy Dolly has calling cards for all manner of skills she claims to have, but resourcefulness is her primary asset, along with an ability to confuse all around her in pursuit of her goal. Spencer triumphs, both in song, especially her ballads, and as leading lady with an artful yet appealing air and bags of brio. Vandergelder is a stick in the mud, all the more so for Schofield playing him so straight.
The path to love may not run smoothly, but Hello, Dolly! is giddy with a supporting bill of billing and cooing involving Stuart Sellens’s Cornelius Hackl and Jennie Wogan-Wells’s Irene Molloy, alongside Jamie Benson’s Barnaby Tucker and Jennifer Jones’s Minnie Fay. They make a swell foursome, amusing, smartly attired and characterful in their singing.
“Flouncing around in a feather boa”, Sophie Cooke is a good sport as Ernestina, the butt of Dolly’s meddling with a voice to launch a thousand cough lozenges. Abigail Atkinson and Jonathan Wells make their mark too as artist Ambrose Kemper and young Ermengarde.
Supporting roles and ensemble players add to the jollification, particularly in the big numbers, whether beneath twirling brollies or on waiter duty in Lorna Newby’s lively choreography.
Tickets are in limited supply for tonight’s show and tomorrow’s matinee with better availability for tomorrow night’s finale. All proceeds go back to the JoRo in support of York’s community theatre and the chance to put on more big musicals with big casts to match.
Helen Spencer: Leading the Joseph Rowntree Theatre Company in the role of Dolly Levi in Hello, Dolly!
THE Joseph Rowntree Theatre Company are putting on their Sunday best from tonight until Saturday in Jerry Herman and Michael Stewart’s Broadway classic Hello, Dolly!.
This 1964 musical adaptation of Thornton Wilder’s 1938 farce The Merchant Of Yonkers will be staged by the JoRo’s in-house fundraising company with glitz, glamour and a troupe of tap-dancing waiters in their most ambitious performance to date.
Noted for such musical theatre favourites as It Only Takes A Moment, Put On Your Sunday Clothes and the title song, Hello, Dolly! follows strong-willed widow and self-proclaimed meddling matchmaker Dolly Levi in her wooing of wealthy but tight-fisted Horace Vandergelder, while she spreads joy and confusion among everyone she encounters in 1885 New York.
Premiering on Broadway on January 16 1964 with Carol Channing in the title role, Stewart and Herman’s show played for 2,844 performances, making it – at the time – the longest-running Broadway musical in history.
The show has been revived several times on the New York stage, most recently in 2017 with Bette Midler in the title role, while Barbra Streisand famously starred in Gene Kelly’s 1969 film version.
Playing Dolly for the Joseph Rowntree Theatre Company (JRTC) will be Helen Spencer, a regular in the company’s shows and on the wider York theatre scene, who works as a psychiatrist in the NHS.
Platform to entertain: Hello, Dolly! principals Jamie Benson’s Barnaby Tucker, left, Helen Spencer’s Dolly Levi and Stuart Sellens’s Cornelius Hackl
Hello, Dolly! will be even more special for her, beyond the lead role, because she will be sharing the stage with her two children in their first theatrical performance.
This will be JRTC’s fifth full-scale production, following on from their flash, bang, walloping hit Kipps: The New Half A Sixpence Musical last February, with a continuing focus on producing high-quality, low-budget productions to maximise profits to give every penny straight back to the JoRo.
Taking the reins this time is Kathryn Lay, who steps off the stage to make her JRTC directing debut, alongside her husband Martin Lay as musical director. Both have been performing with the company since its inception in 2017.
“Hello, Dolly! perfectly showcases the company’s diverse and talented members,” says Kathryn. “There’s a large ensemble, which has allowed us to embrace our inclusive ethos, and the variation in roles really plays to everyone’s strengths. It’s a feel-good musical and the cast and creative team are having a wonderful time bringing it to life.
“The Joseph Rowntree Theatre is such a valuable asset for the York community, helping make theatre accessible for wider audiences. So, as well as being treated to a wonderful evening of entertainment, you’ll also be supporting a great cause and helping to play a part in keeping theatre alive in York.”
Joseph Rowntree Theatre Company, Hello, Dolly!, at Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, February 8 to 11, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee.Tickets: £15, under 18s, £13, on 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.
Joseph Rowntree Theatre Company cast members rehearsing the title number in Hello, Dolly!
Joseph Rowntree Theatre Company’s cast for Hello, Dolly!
Dolly Levi: Helen Spencer
Horace Vandergelder: Alex Schofield
Cornelius Hackl: Stuart Sellens
Irene Molloy: Jennie Wogan-Wells
Barnaby Tucker: Jamie Benson
Minnie Fay: Jennifer Jones
Ambrose Kemper: Jonothan Wells
Ermengarde: Abigail Atkinson
Ernestina: Sophie Cooke
Rudolph: Nick Sephton
Mrs Rose/Ensemble: Vanessa Lee
Judge/Manny/Ensemble: Ben Huntley
Clerk/Ensemble: Lois Cross
Louis/Ensemble: Cameron O’Bryne
Harry/Ensemble: Gary Bateson
Hank/Ensemble: Jack James Fry
Ensemble: Michelle Atkinson; Helen Barugh; Victoria Beale; Pamela Bradley; Ashley Ginter; Lorna Newby; Jennifer Payne; Susanne Perkins; Zoe Sellens; Heather Stead and Jane Woolgar
Production team
Director: Kathryn Lay
Musical director: Martin Lay
Assistant director/choreographer: Lorna Newby
Assistant director: Rosy Rowley
Producer: Stuart Sellens
Stuart Sellens’s Cornelius Hackl, left, and Jamie Benson’s Barnaby Tucker
Sarah Hall: opening event at York Literature Festival
YORK Literature Festival’s celebration of the written and spoken word opens today.
More than 20 live events will be held at venues across the city centre, such as York St John University, St Peter’s School and York Explore Library and Archive.
Running until March 27, the festival launches this evening when two-time Booker Prize nominee Sarah Hall will be in conversation with Professor Abi Curtis at the new York St John University Creative Centre at 7pm, discussing her latest novel, Burntcoat, set in the first pandemic lockdown.
Pioneering reformer and president of the Supreme Court Lady Hale will discuss her autobiography, Spider Woman, A Life, in a free event at The Mount School, Dalton Terrace, tomorrow at 11am. Tickets are required.
Northern Film School graduate, producer of low-budget British horror film Heretic and Saber Productions director Bethany Clift will talk about her debut novel, Last One At The Party, and dystopian fiction with festival chair Dr Rob O’Connor at York Explore, Museum Street, tomorrow at 11am.
To be closer to the Brontes, Michael Stewart began walking the historic paths they trod while writing their most famous works, leading to his book Walking The Invisible: Following In The Brontes’ Footsteps. He will be appearing at York Explore tomorrow at 2pm in the wake of releasing his latest novel, Ill Will: The Untold Story Of Heathcliff.
After a long career in archaeology in York, Sarah Maine has drawn on her knowledge of the city’s vibrant past for her fifth novel, The Awakenings, set in two timeframes, the 790s and 1890s. Written when she was confined to York in the lockdowns, it now forms the subject of her In Conversation event at St Peter’s School, Clifton, tomorrow at 7pm.
Amanda Owen: The Yorkshire Shepherdess will be in conversation on Sunday
Martin Figura and Helen Ivory will host the Try A Little Tenderness writing workshop at York Explore on Sunday from 2pm to 5pm, when they will explore how to write with feeling about those we care about without slipping into sentimentality.
The workshop price (£30) includes a ticket to writer-poet Figura and poet-artist Ivory’s poetry reading on Sunday at 7pm at the Hungate Reading Café, Hungate. The duo set up their Live From The Butchery online spoken-word series during lockdown.
The Yorkshire Shepherdess, Amanda Owen, from Channel 5’s Our Yorkshire Farm documentary series, will be in conversation with BBC Radio York’s Elly Fiorentini at St Peter’s School on Sunday at 7pm. The focus will be on her latest book, Celebrating The Seasons, part photography book, part recipe book and part family and farming memoir.
On Monday, at 7pm, St Peter’s School will play host to The Sunday Times’ Insight investigators Jonathan Calvert and George Arbuthnott as they discuss Failures Of State, their exposé of the Conservative Government’s handling of the coronavirus crisis: “one of the most scandalous failures of political leadership in British history”, they contend.
Female writers Jane Austin, Janet Dean Knight and Yvie Holder will explore ordinary lives against a backdrop of momentous global events, through poetry, fiction and memoir, in Encore Careers! Readings and Conversations on Tuesday at 7pm at Hungate Reading Café.
Creative writing students and staff at York St John University present Wednesday’s Beyond The Walls Student Showcase of readings at the Lord Mayor’s Walk campus in a free event at 7pm, but with tickets required via the festival website or at yorksj.ac.uk/events.
This showcase celebrates the annual Beyond The Walls anthology project , hosted and organised by students.
Further details on York Literature Festival will follow. For tickets and the full programme, go to: yorkliteraturefestival.co.uk.
