Barnum (musical)
Barnum is a musical with a book by Mark Bramble, lyrics by Michael Stewart, and music by Cy Coleman. It is based on the life of showman P. T. Barnum, covering the period from 1835 through 1880 in America and major cities of the world where Barnum took his performing companies. The production combines elements of traditional musical theater with the spectacle of the circus. The characters include jugglers, trapeze artists and clowns, as well as such real-life personalities as Jenny Lind, and General Tom Thumb.

As he presents his circus acts around the world, Barnum resists joining with James Anthony Bailey. Finally, after his beloved wife Charity dies, he relents and joins with Bailey and they form the famous circus Barnum and Bailey.

Barnum tells the story of the Prince of Humbug, Phineas Taylor Barnum. Over the objections of his wife, Charity, Barnum attempts to create a show in which the main attractions are freaks of society. Included in this mix of characters includes the oldest women alive, Joice Heth, the smallest man in the world, Tom Thumb, and to top it all off, a glamorous Swedish opera singer, Jenny Lind. Eventually, to appease Charity, Barnum agrees to give up the show and start a normal life. In the end, after Charity dies, Barnum returns to the circus business in grand fashion by forming a partnership with James A. Baily. Thus, the two men form The Greatest Show on Earth.