OUT OF THE PAST: Blundering Big Tops: Ringling Ditches Portland-Seattle ... Big Apple Pitches Pony Rides .... Fly-Shy Circus Vargas Dishes Half a Show ... And the Elephants Apply for Assisted Living ... Who Said the Circus Was Alive and Well?

 

Something happened at the Big Apple Circus that nearly took my breath away.  No, not an act of art, but an act of commerce. Commerce of the kind you normally do not associate with “New York’s own.”

Well, now, New York’s own sells pony rides!  Yes, they are that flat out desperate, it appears, this being another of their recent Make-or-Break Seasons.   Another round of bailout money from Wall Street Greed may yet come to another rescue.

I once wrote a book called Fall of the Big Top and one fan of good intent, likely speaking for many others, was Don Covington, himself then company manager for the Big Apple Circus.  Don e-mailed me his pleasure over many memories my book brought back. But he also wanted to make clear being understandably at odds with my misleading subtitle: The Vanishing American Circus.  Wrote Don, “American circus has not vanished, it is vital and evolving.”

Don may have been right, then. Now, the word devolving seems apt. In fact, the subtitle should have read The Vanishing Great American Three Ring Circus.   That’s what I was really thinking.  And so the blame lies with me for ticking off anybody else out there who felt the blunt edge of overstatement.  And still ... Now, if you will pardon my incredible disrespect, I am wondering if in fact the American circus is in any form, old, new, in rehab or on parole, not slowly vanishing?

In peak Big Apple years.  Marty and Jake LaSalle, 2008, just plain terrific.

The stomach-turning news of the pony ride felt like the last nail in a coffin.  Pray it ain’t so.  Reaching beyond White Tops and Circus Report for a sliver of reality, I found but one review on Trip Adviser.  Be warned, the following content may not be suitable for circus fans of any age:

 “Its expensive, the acts are dated and boring, both me and our 10 year old fell asleep. Everything is overpriced and the stupid pony rides a big ripoff. Ok if you're 5 and never seen a circus before.”

Fair, balanced, and boring: I must say, from the photos I’ve seen of the new show, it looks quite promising.  Reviews?  Count on the New York papers to usually give New York's own circus a valentine pass.  

.

What next under the Big Apple tent?   Mass audience participation?   They could sell seats in the ring itself, making it easier for audience members (or shills) to already be in place when a clown comes calling.   A one hour Shrine-like intermission for peanut peddling?  (Hey, I might go for some cashews.)  The passing of a ringmaster’s hat?

The audience getting into the act is what's packing our tents these days, right?  Hey, you won't see that at Monte Carlo!

Around other beleaguered rings, more reason to rue the same.  Take Ringling, dumping Pacific Northwest dates, Seattle and Portland not deemed profitable enough to justify rail bills into the region. Locals up there none to thrilled.  Where instead will the trains now be routed:     Berkeley?  The Bermuda Triangle?

Feldishly fading: The Gold unit is history. So, of course, soon the pachyderms, destined for medicare and Assisted Living. 

Meet forced Floria retiree Mabel, being fitted for glasses under JumboCare.

Half a Vargas:   If you go, be prepared for a great first half (to be kind, I am overlooking a lame story line too cliche to credit): a sure hand in the gifted direction to cheer; excellent taped music; inventive staging around two jugglers working simultaneously; a clown, Alex Acero, who is very funny when he is being a clown (see my write-up about him a few posts down).  There is the commanding Patrick Marinelli, an illusionist and fabrics flyer of swaggering star power; terrific trampoline and wall bouncing exploits.   There's a lovely (rather than mandatory) aerial ballet featuring the winning Cathy Poema on a compelling lyra workout, and without wires.  So, into the break, the artfully exciting first half delivers big.  And this even without a double wheel and Marinelli on straps -- two turns advertised but not seen the day in Hayward when I went.  I felt so good, that I prayed the feeling would carry over into the last half.   A solid 3-star show, minimum, in the making.

Now, if you go and feel as elated as I did at the half way mark and wish to hold that feeling on your way out, then on your way out should be at intermission. Stop there.  Run, do not walk, but LEAVE.   What will you be missing?  Other than the classy Poema family on risely, whose once cute little boy now struggles to redefine his persona (a diet would help) nothing else is notable. Nothing.   Never have I seen so many “flyers” doing so little on the flying trapeze.  With only one hundred plus in the tent the day I went, guess they weren’t in the mood.  Never are when I’m there.  Maybe if they performed no matter the house size, more people would show up.  I counted two motorcycles in the big globe. Whoopee.   Dull.  Empty.  Done.

Vargas feels like a circus not wanting to be a circus.  Lots of Cirque du Soleil posturing this year. End point offers vacuously irrelevant ensemble dancing.   Such a let down after the stellar first half.   Good golly, Molly,  would it break payroll or cause PETA to riot if a dog act was allowed into the ring.  Just a dog act?

All these depressing developments are pushing my pen into Big Think mode.  Gotta warm up another cup of Gen Mai Chi tea.  There’s a thread I’m threading through all of this — a reason why, no matter what they do, the public may still stay away in large numbers.  And here it is:

Enter the ambivalent circus audience

Come back someday, and I might run with it.

Bye!

First posted November 10, 2015

Ah, What Unmitigated Joy It Was, When Circus Ruled the Hearts of America! ... Here's John Ringling North's 1951 Opus at Madison Square Garden, Opening Night Galla for the Heart Fund ... AI Botches Big Top History! ...

Updated below, 3.20.25

Movie Star to Circus Star!  Is that you, Celeste?

Thank you, Shutter Stock!

Yeah, Jimmy, high nose it!  I can feel your joy. That's the greatest Greatest Show up, down, and all around!.

I'll take greatness in grainy any day over schlock in pixels. 

How I would love to have attended one of those Opening Night Galas at Madison Square Garden, when the arena could be drenched in famous faces.

 

 

Do you see any faces wreaking of issues?  Looks to me like a totally embracing crowd

 

There Goes Otto, back into the audience that he can't stay away from!

 

Weary Willie, what are you thinking?  To clown or not to clown?

Serendipity tossed these dazzling mages my way.  The year is 1951.  We're at the circus, opening night at Madison Square Garden ---  a benefit performance for the Heart Fund.  Do I see celebrities riding the floats?  Is that Celeste Holm on the elephants trunk? (Marilyn Monroe rode one in 1955)  My favorite is of Jimmy Durante lapping it all up on the sidelines.

This was the show being filmed by Cecil B. DeMille for scenes in his his epic film The Greatest Show on Earth.  The cameras rolled in Sarasota and would be rolling once again when the show hit the canvas road in Philadelphia.

********* updated:

PS I wanted to sign off by quoting some lines from "Come to the Circus" from the GSOE, so I googled in vain for the lyrics, and got this from the latest advance in digital domination:

AI Overview
Learn more
The song "Come to the Circus" from the movie The Greatest Show on Earth doesn't have a specific song title or lyrics. It's a musical piece used in the movie's soundtrack, and it's part of the musical score, not a song with specific lyrics.  

Artificial Idiocy anyone?

From AI to DC: 

Came an e-mail from a friend to this blog, not the first time he has offered valuable corrections or missing facts needed.  DC for Don Covington, referring me to  a record I already have and was only listening to a few weeks ago! Okay, maybe I preferred pushing how impossible it was googling up the lyrics (never had trouble finding any song before) over re-listening to Harold Ronk's highly entertaining A Seat at the Circus with "Mr. Singing Ringmaster."  A record I highly recommend to all.  So I put the record back on my turntable.  Ronk opens the show on a high note:

Come to the circus!  See  the circus!  If we're not very careful life can overwork us!  So take today, and make it gay, for there are too many tears along the  way ...

One for DC. None for AI.

Thank you, Don.

Legendary Breakthrough at the Circus--- Dancing At Last Holds Its Own

How could it be?  How could a group of dancers ever hold their own against, if not exceed the talents of the best circus acts on the bill?

Mine eyes have seen a revelation. for the first time, four-star choreography in the ring.  

If you live long enough, you may be surprised in ways you could never have expected.  Over the years, I have seen many kinds of dancing in league with clowns and elephants. Some was good enough as filler between acts and prop changes. Some fairly pedestrian. Some, well, at least lively.  But not of a caliber you would expect to find in a professional venue centered in dance and ballet.

Until now. I'm almost afraid to re-watch the You Tube on which I discovered this, for fear I might have over-reacted. But let me leave that for now and ride the waves of something that deserves top drawer respect

These nimble dames are jazzy.  They're funky.  I see saucy shades of Fosse.

The acts between the footwork? Mostly good enough. Three stand outs include a cradle casting duo and a lovely low-wire ballerina who performs both softly and intrepidly well, and on her toes. But here is where the dancers, flapping large wings, messed up my sight lines.  I strained to see the star, and wanted to scream, off with their wings!

Weakest of all, ringmaster overkill. Best of all, wrapping the show with a smartly placed powerhouse of tumblers forming pyramids and individually taking turns thundering around the ring trough somersaults and flip flops. I could feel a hurricane of horses sweeping me away.

Okay, name of the circus?  Candyland 2024 from Zippos. A forty five minute show, easy to look up on You Tube.

 

Monday Morning Wake Up: Why I Will Not Read Battle for the Big Top ...

 You could never guess. 

I've known about  Lee Standiford's well received book, have skidded through a stream of consumer raves, hoping the local library would eventually order a copy.  It sounded like maybe a Big One. Not big enough for Oakland, half the town still behind masks, some on a waiting list for mask implants.

 So, I broke down and ordered a copy from Amazon. The moment it arrived, I opened it to find a form of type face insultingly small,worse yet, not clear black but half-dead grey.  And this, from a major publisher?  Great cover,  frugal interior design on life support.

The experts say that the publishing world is having a hell of a time, many books selling 0 copies, the average new tome, in a swampland of both traditional and self-publishing, selling around 300 to 500 copies.

I read many books, but I did not relish the thought of fighting my way across a grainy grey typeface terrain. Not unless the book were about John Ringling North or Rodgers & Hammerstein.

Here comes yet a bigger shock, for anybody who has a basic kindergarten knowledge of American circus history. While temporarily in possession of the orphan, I did a little checking to see how big a role Art Concello plays in the narrative.  So I looked for his name in the index.

Nothing!  

Heck, he was only to John Ringling North what James. A. Bailey had kind of been to P. To Barnum.  A big player.

I'll leave it at that, other to note that the book seems to cover a wider ground than what the title promises.

Cirque du Desperate? Show Now Touts Story Line and Paper Animals, Leaves Critics in a Muddle ...

Oh, those glorious days gone by when Cirque du  Soleil  need only post its name in suave newspaper ads, and the world would storm the phones to secure the priciest tickets.

And..........................now ......ECHO.  You may clip a discount coupon from your local newspaper, if you still have one and are a subscriber. This oddly and  odorouslly unfaltering discovery I came upon  by accident, in the Sunday edition of our local rag. Notice how the Montreal monster is not pushing the predictable slate of familiar acts, but, instead, a story line that reaches in many directions and features "our main female heroine, Future."  Music by /Wagner?

The amateur-looking ad, if you can read it, promises "a tale of relations and evolution's ... combining poetry, stagecraft, daring acrobatics, and technology... exploring the delicate balance between people. animals, and the world we share."  And only one word about circus -- acrobatics.

Having examined a couple of reviews, a recurring theme bleeds distress over a hodgepodge of action. Both give high marks to some of the acts, and yet differ over story elements, one terming them "compelling" despite dolling out only two stars. Both end up in a  muddle of disappointment, unable to sing Cirque's praises. Here are excerpts from the notices:

Joshua Chong in a 2-star Toronto Star review: "Echo feels like a dull whimper, quite literally confined to a box [and ]is far from the glorious comeback that Cirque du Soleil intended. Despite some stunning individual routines and a compelling story line, Echo is torn by competing artistic visions that prevent the show, [which] never comes together as a thrilling whole."   

Aisling Murphy in  Intermission:  "An echo of circuses past. Two creative visions come to a head in ECHO, and they don’t gel particularly well. On one hand, you have the ultra-sleek box and the treasures inside; on the other, you have a mysterious world of paper animals infiltrated by a blue little girl and her blue dog. Most Cirque du Soleil shows tend to wield a thin story, but ECHO is close to non-existent beyond the initial offer of a girl and her pet on an odyssey of some sort."

The show seems to be doing better with consumer reviews, but here we might be traipsing through a minefield of shilling. Luckily for me and this post, I came upon a 34 minute You Tube sampler ...

"The Best of ECHO" from Cirque du Soleil 

So I had a chance to see for myself what they are up to, that is, with respect only to acts, for there is no trace of the story telling pushed in the grim, grainy newspaper graphic above    The acrobatic action, house acts I suppose, is more roughly athletic than finished.  Iron jaw and hair hang, webs and risley and casting,  with teeter boarders getting the longest workout, refreshing to a point of redundancy.  They are stressing large ensembles, though by far the biggest  hit of the clips shown were two clown-like fellows competing to build the tallest stack of cardboard boxes.  A four-star  hoot.  A great build that goes a bit weak when the stack falls but does not come apart.

If that's the best of ECHO, what is the rest of ECHO?  I have to assume Shakespeare over sawdust. 

Here is what stuck me the most about this leaden opus.  It is cold. It is dark, literally dark. It is abstract and alienating.  Most of the cast have painted faces or wear masks.  I can well understand why the two media reviewers filed acute reservations . One of the Yelper raves talked up never having felt so satisfyingly engulfed in the  atmosphere. It is heavy, yes, I can agree, except that, unlike him, I wanted out.  This was not the feeling I recently got when I  viewed parts of other CDS shows in a one hour You Tube sampler. It seems that their reigning esthetic of the moment is to feature many people doing similar things, rather then giving focus to well honed world class acts.  The enchanting sampler left me open to taking in another Cirque show.  After watching ECHO, that desire is gone.  In fact, I would sooner go to Ringling than to Cirque.

About that embarrassing ad.  What next?  Cirque du phone room calling? 

MORNING WAKE UP, CIRCUS VERSUS THEATER: "Love, sorrow, fear, triumph or revenge cannot be interpreted by purely acrobatic movements." -- Antony Hippisley Coxe, A Seat at the Circus

Further ...

 "After his first wild leap, the acrobat forgot the cause, and, impressed by its effect, became more interested  in evolving physical variations than in trying to express different feelings by similar movements."

And the Winners Are! ...

GOLD  Turkmenistan’s Djiguite riders, China’s National Acrobatic Troupe, and the gravity-defying Flying Caballeros.

SILVER The Scandinavian Boards and the Martini Family’s enchanting exotic animals brought awe to the ring. Pastelito and Junior also earned this distinction, proving their comedic brilliance to be world-class.

BRONZE The Triple Breath High Wire trio, with their serene mastery of the tightrope, joined Duo Acero and Wolfgang Lauenburger in this category.

The Rise and Fall of North and Royal on Kelly Miller

When I think of the circus they ran together. I think of a happier time in my circus-going  days. Three reasons made the show special:

It was  owned and produced  by the House of Ringling , in the figure of  John Ringling North II. During its better, early to middle years, the acts ranged from moderately pleasing to outstanding. Show was very attractively costumed, and well ringmastered by the strong, clean, concise intros from John Moss.  Musical scores were mostly good.  Occasional Imports from abroad  –  top of the pack, a ball bouncing ladder juggler from Etheopia, Abrham Gebre,  added gold to the mix.

Another Big Plus: During those days, we were luckily given a rare insider view by  blogger Steve Copeland, who with his partner Ryan Combs, zealously infused the programs with inventive clowning. Steve’s hopelessly honest postings (actual crowd sizes and audience response, etc.) were daily must-reads.  Was he revealing too much?  The House of Ringling said, no, this is a free country, let him blog.

Don Covington photo / Bandwagon

In the middle of all this stood the imperially tall James Royal, above, general manager. America born, Jim was stricken by the bug at the age of 12, blame it on Polack at Medina Shrine in Chicago.  And seduced by Henry Ringling North’s great book, Circus Kings.

A rarity it seems, Royal would spend his years under tops big and small on both sides of the big Pond. He worked for and with some of the UK’s top circus lords, in various configurations, co-owner to marketing man. Over here, he had started out the Hoxie show, transferred to  Kelly Miller, and then ringmastered for the five rings of Carson & Barnes. From there to production unit manager for Big Apple Circus. 

Just in time to be ready for a call from John Ringling North II, wanting to buy Kelly Miller Circus, up for sale, and asking Jim to become a virtual partner. The two had been friends for twenty years.  Royal was then as best employed as he would ever be, Big Apple Circus giving him a year around salary and benefits. It gave him grave pause—give up all that?  But when the House of Ringling calls, who can say no?  

The following is largely drawn from Lane Talburt’s excellent  two-part piece in Bandwagon.  In the article,  Talburt writes that during Jim’s last two years with Kelly Miller,  “fissures were developing between the owner and his general manager.” Royal specified “disagreements about routing and front end of the show.” He left the show at the end of the 2015 tour. The two have not spoken since.  

The exquisitely agile Mongolian Twins

Naturally, this revelation caught my attention, without which, this post might not be. Not spoken in ten years?  Thus was I stirred to  email Jim, asking him if he could elaborate on the issues separating them.  He declined to comment, except to correct the record, that, in fact, he had spoken briefly with John on the KM lot in Hugo at the opening of the 2018 season, and that, moreover “Ours was never an acrimonious relationship.”

Okay, to the ever-touchy subject of attendance,  rarely raised in circus circles unless conducting a formal interview while a lie detector test is running. I can only speculate, based on photos of people in the seats over time, that at some point, business began taking a rather ominous dive. This may have had something to do with an arguably diminishing quality of the later shows. I have the DVDs for all them from 2011 forward,  thanks to John for sending me one each year, along with a bag of, what? Yes, Peterson Peanuts! A humorous reference to my complaining about peanut pitches being crassly inserted between acts, rather than confined to intermission.

Of the first three shows, I saw one in person, in Brewster, New Jersey,  and  was left reasonably impressed. So Let’s argue that 2012 was the best show they put out.  Here in my view are indisputable highlights, acts I would very much welcome seeing again.

RYAN HOLDER TIGERS - Masterfully accomplished and  presented in a steady stream of maneuvers. A rarity.

FRIDMAN TORALES    Rolla bolla -- riveting

PIRATES OF THE KELLYBEAN Involving several acts, this work was  John's most enchanting production. 

CAROLYN RICE DOGS --  Flat out sensational. Damn, I haven't been this swept away since the Sephenson's dogs!

JUGGLER RAUL OLIVERAS -- Clubs, hoops, balls and hats in dazzling perfection.

ARMANDO  LOYAL ELEPHANTS -- Delightfully charming ... and, dare I say, cute?

STEVE AND RYAN CLOWNING, For creativity and dedication. My eyes brightened whenever they appeared, wondering what might come next.  And they didn't drag in the audience for hula hoops and pin the donkey.

MUSIC The two piece band of Marshall Eckelman and Michael Haerber was a marvel of sound and  contrast, delivering one of the best big top scores I’ve  heard in many years.  Bravo!

FINALE --  We are in darkness, illuminated objects are flying all around, when suddenly the lights come up and there stands the entire cast!  Bow wow showmanship of the highest order.

Okay, back to reality. After John Moss and Steve and Ryan left, what you got was a weakening product slowly slipping away.  

As recalled by Jim, the show had a "disappointing" 2016 season, and 2017 was "even worse." He lays the blame on "the lack of a good front end operation."  North closed the show at the end  2017, and in 2018, granted James Judkins the right to use the tile. Judkins recruited  Royal to the campaign.  Jim was now spreading his skills between a scaled down version of Kelly Miller and his regular position with Culpepper and Merriweather  The two hung in there for two hard years.  Business for 2018,  in Jim's words, was OK, but 2019  "wasn't good.”

Looking back on his days with John II, Jim shared this: “He is a gentleman and a very kind person ... When he was on the show, he would be in the tent watching the show at nearly every performance, and I do mean watching it. (that's him in the hat, below). This was something that the artists on the show appreciate ... He invited ideas from others for possible use in future shows. He defiantly has the ‘Ringling touch.'”
 

“John and I worked to make sure that everyone with Kelly Miller felt that what they did for the show was valued."  Which brings to mind an Al Ringling quote on the subject,  which I am paraphrasing, to wit, that nothing can so dispirit  a circus performer as a lack of appreciation.  Al had heart.  I think John II would have loved talking about the nuts and bolts of circus performance art with his great uncle Al Ringling, for whom the show itself was his greatest passion.

Most things in life come to an end.  Johnny the Sequel loved the  elephants, and, without them. hadn’t the will to go on.

Cry, Jumbo, Cry.

The Festival Begins Today

And I wish I could be there. I can feel a kind of rare excitement.  Even if all of the judging may not always make sense, this is still the biggest circus event in the world.

       SEASONAL CHEERS TO PRINCESS STEPHANIE!!!

It's incomprehensible and tears come to my eyes

Whole neighborhoods in L.A. razed.  One after another house, gone.  Most painfully, family mementos and scrapbooks lost.

My heart goes out to them all.