Humbug is the name of the game...

Humbug is the name of the game in the musical play “Barnum,” as produced by the San Gabriel Valley Civic Light Opera.

The play, which opens Friday, is the story of the great showman P. T. Barnum, who started the Barnum & Bailey Circus and was also known for his observation that “there’s a sucker born every minute.”

One of the show’s charms “is that the audience is constantly being humbugged,” said Steve Wappel, who is directing the play for the fifth time. “Barnum is being humbugged. Everyone is being humbugged.”

Wappel declined to reveal the play’s surprises, but he dropped a hint or two.

“One of the strangest things is that when the audience sees it, it looks easy. And that’s one of the humbugs of the show,” he said. “What makes it complex is that everyone is doing something different. There’s only 20 in the cast, but the audience will probably believe there’s 40 or 50.”

Circus acts are crucial to the plot.

“A person doesn’t just come out and juggle,” Wappel said. “If a person is juggling, it’s for a reason.”

Actor Jamie Torcellini, who plays Barnum, had to learn how to walk a tightrope.

“That is really cool,” he said. “I really sort of took to it. I hope I don’t fall.”

The possibility of such a mishap is a concern, Wappel said. The scenery or set pieces are integrated with a lot of circus rigging. Not only are there people on some of the pieces as they are lowered, general acrobatics are going on at the same time.

“There’s a lot of danger and risk to it,” the director said. “It’s that someone’s in the air while another piece is flying.”

Barnum plays at 8:15 Friday and Saturday and at 2:15 p.m. Sunday through February 28. On Saturday and Feb. 27, there will be matinees at 2:15 p.m. Tickets range from $18 to $35. The auditorium is at 320 S. Mission Drive.