Jenny Lind Presents P.T. Barnum at Whitefire Theatre

P.T. Barnum, that Greatest Showman, has put Jenny Lind, the Swedish Nightingale, on an exhausting tour of multiple cities that made Barnum extravagantly wealthy and that provided Lind with the funds that she sought to found a music school in Sweden. It’s 1850, and she refuses to be exploited any more. She wishes to take control of her own career. She calls out Barnum not only for exploiting her, but for his other sins, like the time he sold tickets to the public autopsy of a Black enslaved woman, whom he tried to pass off as the former nanny of George Washington. Lind confesses her own shortcomings: Despite her reputation for philanthropy, she failed to speak out against slavery. But now, Lind is ready to take back control of her life and career and confronts P.T. Bafrnum.

Shelley Cooper portrays Lind, and Cooper brings her thrilling voice to the fore as she sings a selection of what amounts to a list of Lind’s greatest hits by composers who adored her.

Directed by Dr. Michelle J. Crouch. Accompanist: Ron Barnett.