By Tim Leeds
Ladies and Gentlemen! Children of all ages! Come see the greatest show on Earth!
The Havre High School Drama Department is putting on "Barnum!" Thursday through Saturday, March 23-25, at the Havre High Auditorium.
The play begins at 7:30 p.m., but the performance begins in the foyer at 7 p.m., when a circus with fortune tellers, a half-man/half woman, mermaids and more will be seen. Once the play begins, the action extends from the stage into the seating in the auditorium.
The show has a cast of 36, with Nick Newell as P.T. Barnum, Alison Booth as Chairy Barnum, Jenny Lind as Kristi Doll, Jesse Suek as Bailey the ringmaster, Sam Pollington as Joice Heth, and Tom Billingsley as Tom Thumb.
About 25 members of the Havre High band will also perform in the production.
Jay Pyette, director of the production, said some parts of this play took different work than most productions.
"It has some really unique things," he said. "We had to teach them how to juggle, how to walk on stilts, how to swing on a trapeze."
Pyette said here was a lot of choreographing in producing the play.
"There's a piece called The brick chase' with all 36 members tossing bricks and building a building," Pyette said.
He said he's enjoyed working with the cast on this play.
"They are an enthusiastic bunch," he said. "They're really having fun with the show, which is the important part, and I think the audience will, too."
