Barnum the musical traces Phineas Taylor Barnum's career from 1835 to 1881 when he joined James A. Bailey to form the circus which was called The Greatest Show on Earth. Barnum is a defender of "the noble art of humbug" with a philosophy, and has a free wheeling ambition to make a fortune. He buys the oldest woman in the world, named Joyce Heath, as a sideshow attraction. Barnum builds a museum of curiosities supported by his wife Charity, who would like him to settle down.

Sam Alden is the 17-year-old high school star player in baseball who seems to have it all. However, his family notices that he is often bothered with fits of coughing. Worried, his parents decide to take him to the hospital, where they are shocked to find out that he has a life-threatening heart disease. Sam has trouble dealing with his illness, but he pretends to still be a joyful teenager to not have his parents worrying even more than they already do. His health is deteriorating, though, and it is eventually revealed that he needs a heart transplant if he wants to survive. This is the beginning of a long journey, which is mentally and physically exhausting. Sam has countless operations, and tests. The search for a donor seems endless to him. Even before the final operation, Sam is forced to deal with several setbacks in his life.

An awkward, telekinetic teenage girl's lonely life is dominated by relentless bullying at school and an oppressive religious fanatic mother at home. When her tormentors pull a humiliating prank at the senior prom, she unleashes a horrifying chaos on everyone, leaving nothing but destruction in her wake.