THEATER REVIEWS : Fullerton College’s ‘Barnum’ Is a Lead Balloon

Mark Bramble’s “Barnum” glosses over the career of P.T. Barnum like those old movie biographies that were satisfied to skim a subject’s life without bringing up too many problems, letting flashy musical numbers mask their shallowness.

In the case of “Barnum,” the oddly pedestrian score by Cy Coleman and Michael Stewart doesn’t help much. The viewer keeps thinking about the richness and depth of that other bio-musical, “Gypsy.”

Of course, “Barnum” was tailor-made for its original star, Jim Dale, whose buoyant energy and multiple talents carried most of the burden on Broadway.

Tom O’Toole has the title role in this Fullerton College production and makes every effort to keep it alive. He has a pleasant musical-comedy voice that has no trouble sparking his numbers, particularly effective for ballads. He dances well and keeps the energy up when he’s on stage. In a better production he would shine.

Most of this staging by Gary Krinke doesn’t help.

Krinke’s tempos are very slow throughout, as laggard as musical director Doug Austin’s. There is none of the excitement of the circus that is so much a part of the show’s effect. Every moment on stage seems about four seconds past its time.

At Saturday’s matinee, the sluggishness was amplified by a disastrous breakdown in the sound, by Jay Hamacek and Susan Harris, which picked up feet clomping across the stage, and sometimes even a voice here and there.

As Barnum’s wife, Karen V. Curry is charming, but her laid back approach in both dialogue and song doesn’t provide much excitement. The same problem was encountered by Jennifer M. Rosengarth as Jenny Lind, whose performance also suffers from a lack of focus and a Scandinavian accent that too often veers into Eastern European.

The only cast member, other than O’Toole, who has the feel and the bounce “Barnum” needs is Sean T. McNall, who is on stage too briefly as Tom Thumb, lighting up the show with his effervescent “Bigger Isn’t Better.” He stands out as the liveliest member of the ensemble.

Rex Heuschkel’s circus-ring set is colorful and should have inspired choreographer John Vaughan to greater heights. The production is brightly, albeit interestingly, lighted by Steven Pliska.

A note of caution to parents: Although the setting is a circus ring, there’s very little actual circus here, and the Saturday matinee was predominantly made up of young children who were wiggly and bored during most of the show, particularly in the leaden book sections and the ballads. Many spent their time squeaking the balloon animals given them as they came in.

* “Barnum,” Campus Theatre, Fullerton College, 321 E. Chapman Ave., Fullerton. Thursday-Saturday, 8 p.m., Sunday, 2 p.m. Ends Sunday. $5-$8. (714) 871-8101. Running time: 1 hour, 45 minutes. Tom O’Toole Phineas: Taylor Barnum Karen V. Curry: Chairy Barnum Rosalind Johnson: Joyce Heth Sean T. McNall: Tom Thumb Mark Zawatski: Julius Goldschmidt Jennifer M. Rosengarth: Miss Jenny Lind Matthew A. Tully: Ringmaster and James A. Bailey Aime M. Wolf: Clara

A Fullerton College Theatre Department production. Music by Cy Coleman and lyrics by Michael Stewart. Book by Mark Bamble. Directed by Gary Krinke. Musical direction by Doug Austin. Choreographed by John Vaughan. Set design: Rex Heuschkel. Lighting: Steven Pliska. Costume design: Mela Hoyt-Heydon. Sound: Jay Hamacek and Susan Harris. Make-up and wig design: Gretchen Klyver. Technical director: Steven Craig. Production stage manager: Denise Ward Cradit.