Word: barnumism
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Danbury's Barnum died in 1975, and the trustees of his estate carried on his legacy, though without the master's flair and brio. Despite record crowds and steady profits, the undeniable lure of a $24 million offer from Wilmorite spelled the end for Danbury's autumnal rite. "It's a shame," admits Fred G. Fearn, one of the estate's executors, his purple fair badge resplendent on his red ultrasuede jacket, "but we had no choice...
...Zacchini, 87, Italian-born circus clown credited with developing the perilous, modern "human cannonball" act in 1922; in Tampa. Zacchini broke his right leg the first time he used a spring-powered cannon to hurl him 20 ft When he came to the U.S. to join the Ringling Bros. & Barnum & Bailey circus in 1930, he had already designed compressed-air cannons that could send him or one of his six brothers flying 100 ft through the air, although by the time he stopped performing the stunt in 1934 he had suffered four other leg fractures...
...afraid of heights," complains Actor Stacy Keach, 39. "I don't have any trouble on planes, but I can't go near edges." No wonder Reach's preparations for the title role in the national touring company production of Barnum put him on edge. Not only would he have to sing onstage for the first time, he had to master the art of tightrope walking. "It took six weeks and a lot of intimidation," he admits. "I finally made it after a friend kept calling me chicken and walking away in disgust." Reach's schedule...
...course, the plot is not the point. The savory core of this musical is song and dance. The tuneful seductiveness of the score, especially Thinking of You, Any Little Thing, Up in the Clouds, is not to be found in Evita, Barnum or 42nd Street. Choreographer Dan Siretta sculptures stage space with stylized forms, and his Dancing the Devil Away is a New York prairie fire kindled with tap shoes. The show is not for worrywarts who want to cure the world's ills with a $25 donation...
...wields such influence over the stock market is a flamboyant showman who has become the Mick Jagger of investment. At some 200 speaking engagements a year, Granville peddles his advice amid a Barnum-like performance that includes ventriloquism, juggling and bikini-clad models...