P.T. BARNUM! THE ONE AND ONLY!
A One-Man Show Written and Performed by Joe Baer
PREMIERE!
Saturday, September 26, 2026. 7pm
Sunday, September 27, 2pm
Doors open 1/2 hr prior to showtime at Morton Memorial Library, 82 Kelly St., Rhinecliff, NY 12574
P.T. Barnum was a master showman, a bit of a scoundrel, a fierce abolitionist, and a complex American original who invented modern fame.
Not a saint. Not a myth. A man who invented the spectacle.
He didn’t just put on a show—he captured America’s attention by showing them things they had never seen before. From the grand hoaxes that fooled a young nation to the massive circus that defined an era, discover the brilliant, contradictory mind behind the greatest show on earth.
The cost is $12. / $15. at the door. Shows benefit Rhinebeck Grange #896 and Morton Memorial Library
Tickets available now at Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/pt-barnum-the-one-and-only-tickets-1997053007304?
ABOUT THE SHOW
Loving the game creates something, loving the money consumes something.” ~ P.T. Barnum, The Art of Money-Getting (1880)
Joe Baer has been writing and performing solo shows for the past 17 years, including a successful 7-year run of Samuel Clemens: Tales of Mark Twain. His passion for researching and portraying historical figures comes from an avid belief in how the past informs the present. In the case of P.T. Barnum, history remembers him as a shameless hoaxer who chased a dollar at any cost. But Baer disagrees, “I believe this is only partially correct. I am hoping that this show challenges a lot of what people know about history’s Greatest Showman.”
Written and performed by Joe Baer, the production steps away from modern Hollywood myths to look at the real history of P.T. Barnum through the lens of a charismatic apprentice who learned from the master himself. Far from being a heartless con man, this high-energy “theatrical lecture” proves Barnum was a visionary marketing genius, driven by a radical desire to entertain at the turn of the 19th century.
Armed with a cane and a massive vault of historical projections, the apprentice takes the audience on a whirlwind journey through Barnum’s most legendary marketing triumphs. Audiences will witness the meteoric rise of the 25-inch, global icon, General Tom Thumb, and the carefully engineered cultural obsession of the Swedish Nightingale, Jenny Lind. Through these stories, the true heart of P.T. Barnum’s empire is revealed; a genuine, radical desire to provide wonder and joy to a weary world.
Says Baer, “Modern audiences either love Barnum, or despise him. But I don’t think they know the whole history surrounding him. In this show, I try to bridge the gap between the Hollywood myth and the historical facts of who is P.T. Barnum. Barnum didn’t trick people to hurt them. He tricked them to delight them. In a world that can feel gray and exhausting, the show celebrates the profound human right to experience curiosity, wonder, and joy.”
Morton Memorial Library is located at 82 Kelly Street in the heart of Rhinecliff, N.Y. Street parking only so add a few minutes to your journey.
Get your tickets on-line or at the door! Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/pt-barnum-the-one-and-only-tickets-1997053007304?