Dictionary Definition

barnstorm

1 appear at county fairs and carnevals as a stunt flier and parachute jumper

2 tour the country making political speeches, giving lectures, or presenting plays; "The presidential candidates are busy barnstorming this month"

User Contributed Dictionary

1899, Mark Twain, as cited in 1901, J. B. Pond, Eccentricities of Genius, page 227

I'm not going to barnstorm the platform any more, but I am glad you have corralled Howells.
2005, Marion Elizabeth Rodgers, Mencken: The American Iconoclast, page 109

It wasn't just the smell of perfumes that assailed his nose every time he entered a stuffy auditorium that he found unwelcome; it was the childish playwriting and barnstorm acting that was driving out the intelligent theatergoer and the production of less commercial plays.
2006, Ethan Wolff, Frommer's Irreverent Guide to Manhattan, page 242

Smaller bands play the clubs ..., while the more established acts barnstorm through New York's surfeit of midsize halls.

The word barnstorm or barnstorming may refer to:

Barnstorming, a stunt piloting act performed in the 1920s
Barnstorming (video game), released on the Atari 2600 in 1982
Barnstorm (album), a rock album by Joe Walsh and Barnstorm
Barnstorm (group), a rock band from 1972-74 featuring Joe Walsh
Barnstorm (athletics), a team that travels from town to town performing in front of crowds
Barnstormers, a band led by Attila the Stockbroker.

act, act as foil, appear, come out, control, copilot, drive, emote, emotionalize, fly, get top billing, manipulate, mime, pantomime, patter, peel off, perform, pilot, play, play the lead, playact, register, sketch, solo, star, steal the show, stooge, tread the boards, troupe, upstage