If you've got the money and the time, get thee to Atlanta NOW. Today thru Sunday, arguably the best four circus companies that tour the states are ALL in town. I’m talking Cirque du Soleil’s Kooza, highly recommended; Big Apple's Play On! , Ringling’s Over the Top and UniverSoul's Jabulani. In what other city on the planet can one see such an abundance of top-drawer sawdust talent in the space of a few days? I’m envious, Atlanta! Thank you, Don Covington, for linking the story my way ...
Ringling’s latest opus, Zing, Zang Zoom, looks visually dazzling on a You Tube teaser; check it out over at Sawdust Nights, whose Logan Jacot, missing in action, is back in action and posting aplenty. He hosts solid news items and fabulous videos ... Where oh Where are there reviews for Zing? I’ve searched the web and find none. One lone comment jumped out at me from the website Yelp! — a woman who was amply entertained but also left madly aghast by the concession prices: “BEWARE! Cotton candy for 12.00 What!!!!! Lemon aid $9.00 are your freakin’ kidding me, what are they thinking? For sure people would be willing to spend their hard earned money in events like this if prices were reasonable. $12.00 for cotton candy is ridiculous!!!!! That’s $36.00 if you have 3 kids.”
Moral of story? Don’t have more than one kid, either that or go to work for Kenneth Feld and you might get a special employee discount. Or maybe you could advance to cotton candy producer and have all you want, free ...
End ringers: PR man Jerry Digney , whose previous clients include Irvin Feld and Cliff Vargas, in agreement with my high acclaim for those captivating Flying Espanas: "... a fantastic act and they were amazing showman. A beautiful act." Jerry: I checked my old Vargas programs, and they did, indeed, fly high for Vargas in 1985, divided up into two troupes for the end rings while the Rodogels commanded the center ring, likely as I recall because they threw the triple. Not so, as I recall, the otherwise showmanly Ramon Espana... Another Digney delight: the photo I posted of John Ringling North, 1949, with phone in the back seat of his private limousine. “I loved the shot ... they had car phones then?” Evidently so. Digney remembers running into North the Original at Monte Carlo, there to judge for the Prince, and being chauffeured about, same royal style, in a Mercedes ...
Out of the Past: From the Bandwagon’s reprint of the New York Clipper’s man on the lot traveling with Ringling-Barnum, 1925: Merle Evans, ever aware of pop trends, would try out new tunes on ex-side show manager and ringmaster, Lou Graham. The Maestro in Springfield played a pair for possible inclusion in the score. “One got the quick approval of the announcer” The other, a waltz titled “Forget Me Darling,” did not fare as well. “Graham made a grimace of dislike and observed crisply, ‘Good advice to take.”
... My heart goes out to the Aussies in the wake of the horrific fires. From Barry Nixon, “Personally, I am okay, but thousands in my district affected. Death toll will reach 300, homes lost now greater than 2,000 ...” Nixon tells me of Aussie circuses, along with stage companies and sports teams, staging benefit shows. “Aussie spirit is good!”
Now, that’s a high hopeful note to end on ....
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