DID YOU KNOW?.... A Tragic Loss, Ryan Easley, 37, Fatally Attacked by Tiger in September

A total shocking surprise to me, this happened only two months ago.  

From TMZ 

"An associate of "Tiger King" star Joe Exotic was attacked by a tiger during a show in Oklahoma earlier this year ... and now TMZ has learned the official cause of death.

According to the Tulsa Medical Examiner, Ryan Easley died from blunt force, sharp force, and crushing injuries ... due to tiger mauling."

A tragedy I will long rue, having admired Ryan's work at Kelly-Miller Circus.

HERE'S ONE FOR THE DOGS: They're "Stealing the Show" at Big Apple Circus, Reports The New York Times ... Hey, Ringling! Here's How to Make a Miraculous Trans-Canine Return

Ah,  how I love a good old fashioned real circus. Legit circus. True circus. Circus Circus!

As I have  written here, show me a dog and and I'll call you a  circus.  Well, Big Apple, YOU ARE CIRCUS. May the timid tenters out there, and they know who they are, follow suit and let some of our beloved animals back in.  

Feld of Felds, have you the guts to lead the way? Where is your courage?  Man Up, Circus Up! and let the circus back in the circus.  "Bailey" your bot is a pitiful symbol of self-evisceration.  A sad far cry from robust showmanship the world expected of Ringling .Is this how you want to be remembered?  Here is how to make Bailey the key to a true comeback.

I have the perfect story line, Disney be damned: Bailey accidentally spots some real circus mutts somewhere and is so excited, he longs to be like them.  Barks for his freedom from metal, for a trans-canine makeover.  Lights go dark, drum rolls, crashing symbols, and a great circus parade invades the arena.  Bailey is  leading it!  The excitement is so great, that he is inspired to do more things, more and more and then struggles, apparently up against mechanical restraint. Is he still really?  Miracle of miracles, lights down and up in blazing glory.  Bailey is now a REAL DOG.  

Crowds go wild!  The Gods of Circus sing Hallelujah!  And in parade the five Ringling brothers, John Ringling North and Irvin  Feld. 

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

SUNDAY MORNING REPLAY: Send Back the Dogs, Please! Zoppe’s Latest Charmer is a Mixed Bag

Updated, 7.6.25:  ZOPPE RESPONDS! see comments below.

Circus Review
Zoppe Family Circuses
At Redwood City, CA
November 23, 2024
Tickets: $12 to $33.

Not so easy, in fact a rather challenging confection to review.   Program starts out with barely a whimper (more on this later), clowning lingers on in spots, and the quality of action ranges from spectacular to sketchy. But tell that to the dozens of gleeful children who lapped up the performance.  In fact, if I were a parent, I would want Zoppe to be the first circus my child sees. Giovanni and  his sons have a way of connecting with kids. His missing hat routine, a crowning example, had the moppets practically flying out of  their seats screaming with pointed fingers to get his eyes on the hat.

 

In another clever bit, the two Zoppe boys – Julien, 15, and Ilario, all of three (yes, three),  find a big balloon and have fun bouncing it back and forth — until the uppity ringmaster, unable to wrest it away, reaches up to pop it. They are ordered out of the tent, only to reappear moments later, chasing after another balloon, and this bit goes on and on for, oh, maybe another hundred balloons — the last one releasing a spray of water onto our ringmaster’s head. Great pay off! Grade A clowning.

During the opening ensemble splash, little Ilario on his own runs up to a spot on the ring carpet, as if following script, and lowers himself into a head stand, joined by his father and brother doing the same.  Priceless.         

Although show is on the short side – with a concession intermission apparently consuming  as much time as is needed  –  there is sufficient talent here to impress dads and moms.. In the top tier category,  Brayan Portugal delivers stellar head stands on the  single trapeze in motion.                                                                   

German Ramos's  control walking up the ladder and down the other side is extraordinary.

Also top tier in my eyes are a troupe of rambunctiously ambitious Ethiopian performers from one of the poorest countries on earth, named Zom Habesha.  They light up the show with juggling gusto.  I only wish their act had been longer.  They also deliver a compelling risley display, giving it more the feel and thrust of teeterboard. It is as roughly executed in spots as it is brilliantly creative in others, as shown in the photo below.

And I am waiting for the dogs to appear.  Last year, they were the highlight of the show, as they tend to be on most circuses these days.

There’s gaucho dancing from the Sanchez Family, contortion by two Ethiopian girls, Beki and B, and a cloud swing from Chiara Zoppe, attached to a lifeline.  The Daring Horseman, Caleb Caracini Asch, rides masterfully well, joined by Audrey Prince for some nice duo work.  She returns in another bit, standing alone on the horse while attached to a mechanic. Seems pointless. Recorded music throughout the program is generally relevant and appealing.

A great discovery for me was ringmaster Patrick McGuire, so refreshingly different.  In fact, perhaps the most original new kind of a ringmaster I have seen in ages.  He issues few announcements, but  expresses himself in magical gestures, moving in and out of the proceedings without ever hovering.   And he surprises with a skill for juggling clubs by  running up to reach Caleb on his sauntering steed, the two then cross-jiggling. Terrifically stylish.

While still waiting for the dogs to appear, let me take the time to review the very first act on the show. Why it is even there can only be understood by knowing that the clown and the owner are the same person.  Guess who gets his way?  So we are  feted by the spectacle of Giavanni hauling out his trunk into the ring and proceeding to take his sweet time making up his face. The weakest opening I’ve ever endured at a circus.

What, the show is ending?  No dogs?  ARE YOU KIDDING, ZOPPE?  This would be like a kid at Ringling years ago waiting for the elephants to appear and being criminally stood up. No, Zoppe, No! It leaves a gaping  hole in the performance.  Unconstitutional!  Unzoppetutional!  On my way out, I stopped to tell McGuire how much I missed the dogs.  He said, “Giovanni could not find a dog act.” I don’t believe that.

This company remains true to its most consistent theme — FAMILY. And at finale, they all stand, hand to hand, perfectly still across the ring, without even a hint of  milking for applause. A  pause, and then the crowd erupts into cheers.  You could feel their joy.  Heck,  you could feel the love.

I’m praying for the return of a dog act next year.  If one isn’t there, neither will I.

3 stars 

                   Once upon a Zoppe season, not that long ago.

END RINGERS:  A rich history:  The Riding Zoppes with Cucciolo were brought to America in 1948 by John Ringling North, and they appeared in DeMille's The Greatest Show on Earth ...  Jeanette Prince responded to my request for names. This is the only circus I know of that does not at least post pictures of its acts on their website. It suggests that acts are frequently coming and going during the season.  To his credit, Giovanni each year offers a fairly fresh slate of acts.  And from other lands, the show stays that much fresher ... Oh by gosh, by golly!  Yes, I was right. I am professionally related to the Zoppes.  Look what I found searching through  my papers.  Drum rolls, please!  From a press release I wrote for Sid Kellner when he hired me as press agent for his 1969 James Bros. Circus tour, headlined Circus Kids Uphold the Great Tradition of Their Parents:

"Animal trainer Alberto Zoppe's two delightful children, Caralynn, 5, and Giovanni, 3, both assist their father in his whimsical dog, poodle, and horse act.  When the ringmaster announces their entrance, Caralynn and Giovanni perk up enthusiastically and bounce into the center ring with great glee, like two tots entering an enchanted picnic area. Circus kids never have time to learn what stage fright is."

And all the years later, there's another little Zoppe following the same family muse ... (My year on the show is profiled, by the way, in my book Keep That Day Job! -- if you'll allow me the shameless plug,)

first published 11.19.2024 

Back on the Ringling Watch: Show Packs Barclays Center, Says One in the Know -- Average Rating on on Yelp, Updated: 1-1/2 Stars ...

UPDATE:  Don Covington sent me the New York Times article on the new Ringling.  Turns out, it was not a review, but a feature about how the new show came to be.  Why the Times will not review is very puzzling.  Thank you, Don!

++++++++++++

Fastly trying to catch up, having heard the show "strawed 'em" over a three day stand in Barclays, once again I set out on the review trails to see what I could find. About the same as before.   Show did pull, at last, what appears to be a real newspaper review, from the Orlando Sentinel, and a good one, from what I could see before being blocked by the "sign up" gate.   And I find a review on March 2 in the New York Times, but I can't read it, nor is there mention of it on the Ringling website.

Here, totally copied and pasted,  is a string of reviews on Yelp. Some I may have already posted.

Start Yelping, America!

Not just missing the Animals and the Clowns but the voice of the Ringmaster ???? Couldn’t see the screens and lights blocked many views! Not four our 3.1/2 yr old grandson…. He was asking where’s the clowns and elephants??? Why not include some animatronics ? Just sad and expensive

2.0 star rating Anonymous from Houston, Texas

A LOT SMALLER CIRCUS THAN I FIGURED

I was thinking Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus was the circus of all circuses. I was wrong. Arabia Shrine Circus was much bigger, had more and just seemed overall better, and it's a quarter of the price. I won't go to another Ringling Bros again.

1.0 star rating Merlotsmom from Bossier city La

NOT A CIRCUS AT ALL

All we saw was acrobats swinging back and forth, the worst CLOWN show ever, and a fake robot dog. I wish I had my money back. The tickets were not worth the price we paid and the show was a pathetic two ring mess. Our Shriners circus is way better!

1.0 star rating Jere from Chicago, Illinois

THE WORST SHOW ON EARTH

False advertisement. Not a circus at all, more musical than anything. Total disgrace, all it was were acrobatics and dancers with lil talent. Clowns was horrible no tricks or shocking entertainment. The host(main speaker) was lip singing, sounded like it was pre recorded. No motorcycles or animals like lions tigers n elephants but they had a fake robo dog which was TRASH!!Food horrible. NEVER!! Gotta do better. Do yo homework on universal sol circus

1.0 star rating Debbie from Kansas City

DISAPPOINTING

The circus was a complete disappointment. Not one animal (not even a dog) and no clowns. Kids were restless with singing and drums. Will not be going again.

1.0 star rating Denis from jacksonville florida

DISAPPOINTING

I wouldn't go again. It is not circus anymore and the show is nothing special...acrobat shows that you saw hundred times already, cheesy Disney like singing of song....it was boring and not worth the money.


Photo of Andrea W.
Andrea W.
FL, FL
0
8
Jan 7, 2024

Just not the same. Plus $35 for cotton candy $14 for crushed flavored ice in a cup !!! Hello !!
The ringmaster at Amalie Arena was mediocre and none of the clowns could get the crowd 'going'
I am sad our grandsons will really not know 'the circus' with its wonderful smells sights and acts! But happy our grown daughters (41/39/26/33) all did. Year after year after year. And so on !
Times they are changing -for sure!!
Photo of Melba P.
Melba P.
Chicago, IL
0
8
1
Nov 7, 2023

BORING!! Bring back the animals!

This was a subpar Disney performance at best.

I did enjoy the acrobats and highwire performances, though.
Photo of Mark I.
Mark I.
FL, FL
0
2
Jan 27, 2024

It's really not a circus. No animals, no clowns, just an acrobatic show. My kid was very bored. Plus a popcorn and cotton candy cost $34. Complete disappointment. Do not waste your money and time.
Photo of Cindy I.
Cindy I.
CO, CO
0
1
Nov 5, 2023

Lamest show on earth!! No clowns and no animals made no fun for the kids! The "new approach to the circus" was not good enough to have the Ringling Brothers legacy! Don't waste your money on this, but go to a rodeo instead for great entertainment with animals and clowns and authentic danger!
Photo of Mike O.
Mike O.
Belle Isle, FL
0
2
Jan 14, 2024

After reading the first review of this, I was actually expecting to see a circus. Let's make it clear, Bello Nock, elephants, trained animals of any kind, or any talent worth paying to see was missing from the performance. Exception: 3 girls doing impressive contortions and balancing. This must be an old review or a very fake review that is listed as the first review. Here's what the show was not. It is not a circus. It is definitely not the greatest show on earth. And you don't have to be someone who has been to an actual circus back in the Glory Days when you had animals, talent, clowns, exciting acts to watch. Nothing here was equal to your standard street performer that you would see down at the Key West sunsetfest every night, or during Mardi Gras in New orleans. There was a lot of stuff going on but nothing exceptional, no animals, people clowning around but they weren't dressed up as clowns, and a sorry b team or even c team Tina Turner like I guess you would call ringleader. Definitely not a circus. Quite the disappointment.
Photo of Robert H.
Robert H.
Excelsior Springs, MO
0
1
Nov 12, 2023

Save your money.. I bought the tickets so my wife and I could take my 3 year old grandson after he had his second open heart surgery. The show lacked a lot. There was a lot going on all the time but not very entertaining. The sound system sucked, the acts were at times boring and pretty uneventful. We left shortly after intermission. Wished I could have that $200 back again..
Photo of Maggie C.
Maggie C.
Collinsville, IL
0
3
Dec 17, 2023

this was a very disappointing show. there were no clowns, animals, and very little actual circus performances. it was about 80% just singing and very bad dancing. I'm sorry, but singing and dancing is not a circus. it's a show I would not recommend or ever go to again.
Photo of Michael S.
Michael S.

END OF STREAM, back to me.

What were they to expect?  Hasn't the circus that dare not speak its name -- removed its name?  It's a show, stupid!

From the photos/videos I have seen, biz looks very good ... 

Most interesting/telling Yelp comment to me is this: "the show is nothing special" 

2023, Looking Back: The Year That Was & Wasn’t

 “GREATEST SHOW” RETURN FAILS TO CAPTURE HEADLINES

     PERHAPS THE BIGGEST IGNORED EVENT event ever in American circus history was the so-called “comeback” of Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey.  Not a single legit notice in a newspaper that I can find. Some will send me “reviews” that turn out to be feature stories in which show people self-review their own work  It sill feels like  media in this country giving up on circus as passe after Ringling folded  in 2017. 

HOW CAN YOU RETURN WHEN IT’S  NOT YOU?

 
      RINGLING BEING ALL HUMAN may fail to be seen as a comeback, but a make over so radical as to not count as a comeback, defined in my dictionary from Webster, “a return to a former position or condition”  Show is not helped any by “circus” out of the title, by going without  rings or ringmaster, animals or clowns — even a live band.  All of which may strike a hurried reporter taking a fleeting glance as inconsequential.  Which is not to imply they are failing to attract crowds. For all I know, they may be.

MY BIGGEST BLOGGING BLUNDER

     MORE THAN ONCE, I PREDICTED that Ringling would be “Circus du soleil on steroids” If those who have seen it up close and in full are to be believed, how dead wrong was I.

RINGMASTERS  NEED NOT APPLY?

     AS I TOUR OUR REAL OR YOU TUBED SHOWS, seems that suddenly the man in red is MIA.  Truth be told, he was never as fixed a figure as some might argue.  Some times, he was a voice that announced just a few of acts; other times, as in Zoppe Now, a pleasing silent figure in red on the edge of the ring,  but as comforting to see as a caring dad watching all. Ringmasters can still add a very human touch, but they need not be overbearing.  Al Ringling called for “elusive, yet vital.”  Ah, that fits Zoppe’s man.

GOTTA DANCE, LIKE IT OR NOT!

     DANCE HAS SOMETIMES PLAYED a subsidiary role in circus shows. Ringling’s production numbers used dancers to embellish action. You’ll see this at Vargas and U.K. shows, where a line of girls fill in briefly between turns..  But rarely if ever has dance been made an act itself, as it is in recurring appearances on the Big Apple’s  Roncalli Theater-circus.   Which begs the question, Why?  Were it closer to acrobatic dance, such as  Gene Kelly in flying whirls, and could thrill audiences, then let them dance!

HOLD YOUR FAKE HORSES!  HERE COME THE FAKE PIGS? 

     OUR FURY FRIENDS, robots or costumed performers, are showing up everywhere  — what, to tease kids and kiddie adults into missing them?  To signal ownership’s true heart?  To amuse Americans back into support mode?  Costumed Polar Bears at Big Apple of all places!  Heck, dogs and horses, even pigs, have not been for the most part banned.  They are NOT exotics.  They are DOMESTICS, and adults raising kids are coming to see the learning value of the magical interaction between man and non-man.

ZIPPY ZOPPE CAN DO

        ZOPPE FAMILY CIRCUS HAS DOGS and horses and they are playing long dates in the blue state of insanity (CA), and nobody seems to be picketing them. When they play 60 shows in Redwood city, and in the parking lot of the public library,  we are talking a circus performing for the progressive left and Silicon Valley.  How could this possibly be? Ask a parent.

VARGAS RISING  

    NOW THAT I OWN A CAR AGAIN (a Lyft), I am happy to see a Vargas tent more than half full, heck, thriving!  Something I have almost never seen in recent years.  Something that tells me they and the public are connecting.  And yes, not even a fake animal in sight.

 DIMINISHING THRILLS?

      THE OMINOUS RISE IN LIFELINES, if this is indeed a trend, will only further dilute the primal appeal of circus.   There are still plenty of risk takers out there to remind audiences of what sets circus apart.  Surely, this is why so many shows owners still carry the double wheel and motorcycle globe.  

THE CHANGING FACE OF CLOWNS

    I'VE A GENERAL IMPRESSION of they're finding renewed acceptance with funny faces more sketchy than thickly made up. It seems to be making a big welcome difference.   Grin, Clown, Grin!  

SHRINERS, RESTART YOUR GOLDEN AGE!

  THEY CAN EASILY get away with domestics. And a few are still getting away with wild, elephants included. These men of good will towards ailing children are fixtures in the community, the best possible link to a circus wishing to keep the animals 

MEMO TO MONTE CARLO & PRINCESS STEPHANIE:

     TOUGHEN UP, LET GO and Bring in Outside Judges, Mandate Gold Clowns only for mechanic-free acts. All of the others can  still qualify for silver, bronze, and tin foil.

YESTERDAY NEVER DIES

     YOU CAN KICK THE SOUL OUT OF CIRCUS, but you can’t kick it out of a kid who loves amusing animals and funny faces making mischief.

GOOD LUCK, 2024!!!

Surprise! Animal Rights Activist Learns to “Like ” New Non-Circus Ringling --- All Except for a Ghostly Robotic Nightmare ...

"I never thought I would say this, but I like the circus."

Thus proclaims our guide to the proper attitudes suitable for  taking in a new kind of Greatest Show on Earth.  She  is Ashley Webster Babcock of Maine, known for her work that focuses on the relationship between humans, animals, and environments. Her credentials make her the ideal reviewer for what  the Felds are now up to.

But the heavenly relief I imagine  her feeling in an animal-free show was jolted by a totally unexpected invader from the older, more vulgar world now under lock down —  when a robotic dog invaded the tent, causing our charmed  critic to cringe like a petrified senior snow flake. 

"Children and adults of all ages definitely will have nightmares tonight about Bailey the robot dog, who dons a pink mohawk and matching pom-pom poodle tail and a face that resembles that of the Teletubbies’ vacuum cleaner. Bailey and slapsticker Nick Nack hold a dance-off, the winner of which is unclear”

Perhaps a little pre-performance counseling for those entering  with residual anxieties from past encounters in real circus lands?  

She was there in a crowd of 4,000 on opening day down in Louisiana, and now reviews the show in the latest issue of Esquire.

 A sampling of her notice: "A ten-person dance troupe performs a fusion folk dance, and three people stacked atop one another skip rope. There are lots of interesting haircuts."

Her long essay, which covers Ringling history in modern times, feels like a straining intellectual struggle to justify a new kind of acrobatic show that dares not speak its previous name. (The C word)  In a nation called America, were far-left revolutionaries are redefining realities as deeply rooted in science as gender, to the point of practically outlawing pronouns, will “ circus.” too, become such a scorned  word?

Babcock looks back with collegial ambivalence, and now is relieved to look forward to what she and her kind are ready to accept.  Happy to quote PETA attorney Brittany Peet, who granted: “I think I’m going to take my nephews to the circus. I never would have thought that would be something I was saying.”

Will this new GSOE flood the gates with members of the above clique?  I wouldn't bet on it.   But the  Felds already have their audience base of Disney on Ice patrons to play to. Could be an easy win-win for both.

This is, yes, one hell of a chapter in American circus history — if you happen to believe that “circus” has a distinctive meaning all its own.  Trust me: children still LOVE performing animals.  And trust me, children still LOVE the clowns. And so do adults.  

When John Ringling North sold the show to the Felds in 1967, he made known his belief in “their concern and dedication to maintain the concept, traditions and artistic standards inherent in the world-famous title The Greatest Show on Earth."
 
The word inherent, as defined: Existing in something as a permanent, essential, or characteristic attribute.

What would Irvin Feld think of all this?   I remember him in old program magazines gong  on about the family feeling a pride in being “stewards of the circus.”

For me, the issue is not how good the show is or how well it may fare.  A far greater issue is with the Ringling name and legacy, and how the Felds are reducing it in scope to a vapid shadow of what it once was, when under other less rattled or regulated  big tops around the world,  grateful family crowds are still waiting to take in what we call CIRCUS.

 Kenneth Feld's conscience?

Brit Big Tops Draw Long Lines ... Shrine Circuses Stay True ... Big Apple Circus Wins Another Tmes’ Valentine Review .... Ringling’s Spectacular Roll- Out Spectacularly Ignored ... Fake Animal Acts on the Rise ...

Let me whistle this one in by raising a few heart-warming photos on my midway, sent our way by my UK connection, Sir Douglas of McPherson, in reply to my asking him about the scene over there in 2023.  Take a look.  

Big Kid Circus, at their last stop for the season, last month in Glasgow

Zippos circus last summer

     HOW DO YOU FEEL seeing long lines at a circus? It always excites me, especially when I am in one,  to the point of a mild panic: Will I get in before the tent sells out?? Only once did this trauma test my well being, on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood where Circus Vargas had wisely raised its tent. I did get in, and enjoyed the pristine novelty of watching the show with a full house.

     AND ONLY TWICE was I actually turned away at the ticket counters, by the Moscow Circus in Oakland in 1967, and Vargas, circa 1986, then tenting over the parking lot of the Hollywood Bowl. About 10 minutes before showtime,  I  hurled myself off a greyhound bus on Highland, returning from the Bay Area, and raced across the street, up a ticket vacant window. “Sorry, sold out”

    BIG APPLE CIRCUS'S STRUGGLE to go beyond Lincoln Center continues, and suggests the show is not making sufficient profits anymore to hit the road. Current opus features Germany’s Circus Theater Roncalli, some of its acts in video teases quite impressive. Long lines do not seem to be forming.  They threw out 50% off tickets over the black Friday weekend and are pushing other discounts.  Inexplicably, they have failed to draw major reviews outside of their number one fan, The New York Times, which has become The White Tops of Gotham circus reviewing. 

     ANOTHER VALENTINE CRITIC'S PICK from the Times’ Alexis Soloski. She  had nice things to say about everybody. She did miss Big Apple’s dogs and cat acts, and raised a slight quibble over the second act beginning “with a puzzling routine” of four fake polar bears (costumed performers). Left discretely uncharmed was she.  Add the Roncalli  bears to new Ringling’s robotic dog, and do we have a trend smacking of spineless showmanship?  This merits an academic study. PETA PhDs could have a field day.  

     GREATEST COMEBACK FIZZLE ON EARTH? Never did I imagine: The most spectacular thing about the return of the circus that dare not speak its name, is how spectacularly ignored it has been by big media and newspapers. On national TV, have YOU ever seen even a mention of it: They may be doing boffo biz, for all I know.. Today I thought I spotted a review in the Chicago Tribune, only to find a feature story that felt like a hand out, talking up the show’s return, with Kenneth Feld being quoted. Where is Chris Jones, who regularly reviews circus for the Tribune? I would love to read his take on the show.. 

     SHRINE CIRCUS RENAISSANCE?   The temples that still produce real circus shows are forcing the public to re-think its ambivalence about real circus, forcing them to make their feedings known, to wit this, from one of only three Yelp reviews, all negative,  dated Nov. 16, from Cindy I. in Co, Co:

  "All we saw was acrobats swinging back and forth, the worst CLOWN show ever, and a fake robot dog. I wish I had my money back. The tickets were not worth the price we paid and the show was a pathetic two ring mess. Our Shriners circus is way better!"

     YES, YOU STILL DO have the Shrine Circus, those of you lucky enough to be near one.  I tip my hat to the fearless men in red  who have stayed the course.  In their favor, they have strong ties to the community and enjoy the respect of all for their children’s hospitals.  If anybody knows what can delight a child, surely it would be a Shriner.

I have more of that thread in mind.  But for now, I am turning off my Intel brain implant to take a fake break.

Big pig after my heart, at Hamid Shrine Circus.

Boob Tube to You Tube ... Lost in a Billion Bytes, the Circus from Astley to Zippos ...

Blame this post on Comcast offering me a better price if I would only upgrade.  New cable box and modem (do they still make those?) and I fell into a dizzy smorgasbord of infinite video footage fit for big screen TV. And am still falling. So Easy (and tempting) to get lost, looking for this but caught by  that over there that shamelessly plays to my non-circus interests (what else do they know about me?).

But out of nowhere, too, can pop surprising delights, like Big Top Circus from 1954, a weekly “kiddie” circus, cheerfully ring-mastered by Jack Sterling. It  looks more like a circus for all ages, free of the pretentious ballet- and narrative-driven drivel that’s draining the life out of our big tops.  Take Mel Hall's three Cycling Wiz Kids, from around 5 to 10 in ages, who score big and breezy on unicycles.  The littleest one, a boy,  falls and gets back up and tries and tries again, four times, and achieves the trick before our astonished eyes. And, are you kidding me, world? – a man dancing with a bear, smooth as two aging adults over a waxy floor? 

Sunday School Barnum?   In You Tube land you learn the damndest things, such as this whopper: Not only did Barnum & Bailey invent the three ring circus, which they kind of did, but they cleaned out all grifting on their midway, thus earning themselves she honorable put down among competitors of  “Sunday school boys.” Are you laughing?  Ringling brothers: SUE.  Historical fictions leak through even on loftier PBS-certified documentaries, such as The Circus, in which it is claimed that TV killed it in the 1950s.  So, have I been been hallucinating for the last fifty years?

A sharper image through fewer pixels: Looking back at the bear and  man dancing together, and the little ones riding their one wheelers,  you can feel what it was like to be fully and perfectly pleased by a circus act plain and simple, before the invasion of Cirque du Precious.

Countdown to Ringling Redo, beginning TODAY. And how might production embellishments  be used —  or abused —  by the Felds when they launch their sanitized version of the new Greatest Show on Earth?.  This is finally happening within hours, down in Boissier City, LA. Juliet Feld in a promo, chirps up how the audience will be more intimately involved by being seated closer to the action and connected digitally to closeups of performers.  Yawn. Didn’t they already try this in their last edition, the one that went out of this world and ended up in the graveyard? The year 2017.   Have they learned nothing?  Like really,  who wants to see a Broadway show from premium seating in the wings?   I am reminded of Al Ringling’s definition of ringmaster decorum, which might as well count for circus itself -- “elusive yet vital.”  In my book, a million less pixels will do.

So, back to earth and across the big pond, let us go zip zip zipping up and over to Zippos Circus.

Revered ringmaster and incomparable bird trainer, Norman Barrett

Hilariously original from diminutive dynamo Paulo Dos Santos of Brazia : How a balloon can be contorted into so many amusing sizes and connections to the human body.this one nearly brought down the tent. ZIPPOTASTIC.

There’s a clean effervescent flow and glow to this straight ahead big top. For my taste, the three most memorable moments are: (1) a most engagingly clever juggler who keeps tennis rackets and luggage in motion (2) that HUGE  balloon you see being ingeniously worked by Paulo Dos Santos, and   (3) The Temujin Troupe from the Mongolian Steppes.  At their best, these eight agile acrobats execute voltige and casting in a continuous stream, lending the feel of a novelized flying return act, which I could have watched  over and over again, But NO, Wait, Hold on —  STOP, correction!  Blame it on You Tubery!  Why did I say so little about them on my notes and yet now give them the center ring status here? Why? Here’s the reason why.

How you Tube scrambles reality into billions of bits, some getting mixed up with others, leaving us with fractured impressions of what really happened . Turns out, the Zippos performance I watched on You Tube contained a version of their act very different from another one I subsequently watched, from off the show's website.  Apparently, on their way to Zippos the multi-gifted Tumujins were re-programed down to a more static series of human pyramids, each followed by a drawn out reach for more applause. Gone were the streaming acrobatics.

Something I haven’t seen before: These five words usually come to mind when discovering that rare novelty at the circus that I live for, and I think of the man who first spoke them to me when I asked him what he looked for in scouting acts: John Ringling North.   Another discovery I made was scrambled my way by You Tube, ever ready to sustain my primary focus at the moment  —  a clip of ringmaster Norman Barrett, who has previously blown the whistle for Zippos,  performing the most astonishing bird act. Now, I am in awe of the man’s talents. In his youth, I am told by Douglas McPherson, he rode horses roman style.  “He stood on two galloping horses while a third ran in the opposite direction between his legs!”

"When you’re smiling, when you’re smiling ... the whole world smiles with you,” sings Sir Norman while gingerly coaching a dozen or so trained birds who fly back and forth between two little turning carousels.  How did he ever get them to .. How?. These are the moments when circus proves its true genius.        

You Tube excels when rolling out footage unmolested by expert voices telling us what we should think.  You don’t go to a circus to think as much as to feel — to gasp and awe and laugh and thrill and scream with joy.  Or to smile over  the simple yet wondrous charm of a bear dancing with a man.
 

 

American Circus Roll Call, Spring 2023: Most Big Tops Defy PETA ... Don’t Count the Animals Out Just Yet ... Jumbo, Stand By!

                                      Zerbini Family Circus

How cheered am I to find that most of our commercial big tops still carry animals acts. 

As for the bigger question, are they all still out there? I was almost too afraid to look.  I have suffered about as many shut downs as any decent circus fan can handle in a single lifetime. But another spring is here, and so, too, must I go looking for the vital signs of arrows or posters, keeping my fingers crossed.  Pray that our trouping wounded are met with resurging crowds seeking relief from the harmful insanity of woke culture. 

 First of all: What IS circus?

My designation of circus by category honors the genius of circus founder, Philip Astley, and the fearless full-circus defender in our own time, Princess Stephanie and her Monte Carlo Circus Festivals.  Categories reflect three degrees of circus, from Legit, or simply Circus —   which include the three staples, and you know what they are — to Acro Circus (all human) and, finally, Fringe Circus,  itself as much ballet or theatre as circus (think Five Fingers, Circus OZ) . More about this at the end.

Drum rolls!  When I call your name, please answer  “Here!”

CIRCUSES

 ZERBINI FAMILY CIRCUS?

Here, now and forever!

“A real circus under the big top.” Upcoming dates take the show into Arkansas.  They zig zag all over the country.  In my view, they combine the best of legit circus with a small endearing family show. How I wanted to see them last year, but not under a basic tent in 90+ degree weather. Zerbini, come back!

 ROYAL HANNEFORD CIRCUS?

Here!

The show’s routing is taking it from Florida, up through North Carolina and into New York state. From what I know, more of their cold dates than their Shrine-sponsored ones feature a wide mix of animals. Photos promise a captivating show.  

 CULPEPPER AND MERIWEATHER CIRCUS?

Here!

Show will tour for 32 weeks through 200 towns in 17 states. Their website gives off a lovely spirit of tradition., “We specialize in affordable, family friendly entertainment....   An action packed 90 minute show.” Which, I believe,  is how more shows should operate.

 UNIVERSOUL CIRCUS?

Ya all here!  Funky on in, guy!  Hey, we black owned ---- and (shhhhh!) we do have animals.

They’re jiving all the way out here through freaky California, now in Los Angeles, with the party hopping up to iffy Hilltop Mall in Richmond, starting May 8 through June.

Indeed, they do have animals, which they apparently exclude from advance ad copy.  This can take fussier patrons aback, causing walk outs. Heated debate on Yelp goes from the predictable rants against to some blasting good retorts for.

 

 

BIG APPLE CIRCUS?

Hello! Anybody  there?  ... I see your website, but nothing about Lincoln Center or a return?

Going, going! ...Nik.??  Knock knock! Not a single phone number to call?  

A first in circus history? Have you ever seen the name of a circus directly followed by  “staring” and the name of a single performer?  Never have I seen it.  How desperate is Nik to reclaim the easy fame he enjoyed while crossing wires over the Falls and Times Square? This kind of ego does not generally  make for a successful show owner.

 ACRO CIRCUSES

CIRCUS VARGAS?

Bonjour California!  We are here!

They are making the spring segment of their  tour through So Cal, with dates listed  through the end of May.   Photos promise plenty of class and compelling action in and over the ring, set to a theme, “Bonjour Paris” They are only a few dogs short of going legit.

RINGLING BROS. AND BARNUM & BAILEY CIRCUS?

The Greatest Show on Earth is back on the road!

Show has lined up a season of indoor bookings for its “reborn Ringling,” which may come off sounding like gender reassignment... into what, trans Cirque du Soleil?  I fear too seriously concentrated a non-stop stream of intense acro action --- without the levity of clowns, the charm of animals, may wear down patrons. But. were the Felds to pack their stack in a single force without intermission ... no no, of course not, the concessions, stupid!

VENARDOS CIRCUS?

Here! Yes, all in!  Look at my new mechanical big top!

“The Little Big Top That Could” is westward leaning, into Colorado and Washington. And the guy who runs it, Ken Venardos,  is touching my heart with his boy-like zeal, like a kid with a new toy.  Here he is at the controls of his mechanical big top, watching the two "masts," as he calls them, lifting themselves into the air for the very first time.  And I recall John Ringling North, at the end of the line with his own  big top in Pittsburgh, 1956, issuing a release predicting the circus of the future would be “a completely mechanically controlled operation.” Maybe here, at last, what North had vaguely in mind is finally rising? 

This kid may also be clever at marketing outlandish ticket prices:  At  his one-truck circus, adults pay $27.95 to get through the door, kids $16.95. And that for, I am guessing, only a modestly talented show?  Contrast this to Family Zerbini, charging adults $10, children $5. But ringmaster Ken has  has only 300 seats to fill, and it’s easier to fill ‘em and ballyhoo sellouts — and a run at the ticket windows. Here at the controls, he comes off far more likable than did his ringmastering for other shows (what little I saw of it). “So exciting, one little flag! Look at that American Dream, yeah, make it happen!”  Yeah, and I am rooting for Mr. little big top that could (that is, if I can sidewall it into his Diners Club tent).  

FRINGE CIRCUSES

I have none to report on at this time..  What makes it Fringe?  You’ll spot touches of it on almost any show, but none of these, to my knowledge, go anywhere near all the way.  It is more an attitude. A yearning to be more than mere circus.  To be seen as a well educated, superior artist who does more than stunts or death-defying tricks. And it extends into erotica. Circus acts, thus,  may be subjected to story telling, such as to be interrupted at intervals to advance “character arcs”or abstract posturing.  Think Leitzel being run through the act-reforming mills of Montreal.  Or Ethel Merman being taught to suppress her natural voice. 

Beware of the word “dramaturg,”a theater term for a person guiding script development.  This is the current mark of superiority among "new circus"snobs -- and the kiss of death under any legit big top.  

Any of these forms of circus, of course, can be terrific shows on their own terms, especially for those who favor their makeup.

Submitted for your yawning consideration.  I'm putting my faith in the common sense of Americans.

MY LAST FULL-RINGLING CIRCUS REVIEW: Heavy Scripting at the Circus: Ringling's Tediously Overwrought Out of This World Loses Heart in Space ... Animal Stars Save the Trip

3.25.22: Three of the show's very best acts, in my opinion and, as I recall, audience reactions, featured old tent show stars that will no longer be anywhere when the "reborn Ringling"  hits the arenas later this year.

Circus Review:
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey
Out of This World
Oakland, August 20

Having just seen the new edition of Ringling Bros. Circus, Out of This World, I am filled with a disorienting mixture of exasperation and exhilaration, and, mostly a sadness for something so ambitious that left me so wanting.  Or feeling so cold.  Even the mere sight of ice makes me feel that way.

You can’t blame the Felds for trying.  They are up against an increasingly jaded ticket buyer.

What they give us here is a tediously complicated sight and special effects show adding up, in its weaker frames, to much ado about nothing. If you want flash and lots of ensemble action on skates, you’ve got plenty of that.  If you want substance and clarity, don’t expect much here.  Perhaps this one was tailor made for the Disney on Ice moppets. 

Out of This World strains to tell a story, much of it ill staged off to one side, that may have more potential in cinema.  Since I did not buy the program, and could not understand all the announcements about it over a variable sound system, I will defer to a description of it on the website: “A heroic quest of good versus evil.” And how does that grab you?  Opening segments  run very slow. 

             Encore for Big Cage Masterpiece from Alexander Lacey

 Send in the pigs!  How absolutely ironic, given the Felds stated need to compensate for the absence of elephants by breaking ground in new directions, that their first outing, post pachyderms, should realize its greatest appeal over the audience in old directions -- through its animal stars.  Through two acts, in particular:  The magnificent  tiger and lion display of Alexander Lacey, and the Cossack-style horse riders.  Yet another winning animal turn, no plot necessary,  has Lacey working a mixed group in the one fixed ring, including goats and a jumping kangaroo, while dogs and pigs nearby delight the crowd.  Ringling's website does not mention any of the acts by name.

Entering the arena, you are immediately placed in a very definite atmosphere that conveys the imagery of space travel.  Opening music, pre-recorded, is very strong.  When the band takes over and the animal acts hold court, the disconnect between the older fashioned circus and the rest of this overwrought hodgepodge is remarkable to behold: Circus, straight up, is far and away the more compelling force at work here.

I counted three standout routines: Lacey's cage display, the Cossack horse riders, and  probably the best flying return act I've seen in years. The Tunziani Troupe. Multiple riggings with flyers working side by side, offering a wealth of twisting and turning, deliver the real thing.  A thrilling climax has two triples executed simultaneously, the flyers moving perfectly in sync, AND in opposite directions, and both landing.  Who could ever ask for anything more?

It is revealing to feel so calmly anchored by the Lacy cage act, the flyers, and the horse riders.  This  same feeling of steady and compelling focus, however,  is hard to come by when heavy-handed ringmaster Iverson and others are hard at work trying to push a frivolous and plodding tale.

During the Cossack campaign, which lifts the show to a rousing end-point, I thought of  the English equestrian Philip Astley, who invented the circus over two centuries ago.    Here, his vision came brilliantly through: Power, speed, courage, agility, grace and gusto, and all in a ring.  CIRCUS, my friend.

For me, this was the true story line.  Compared to trying to make a circus into a lame play, the broad  strokes of the best performances were  far and away what moved the crowd.  I was there to hear it and to share it.  And when audiences leave this show,  the memory of those acts will give them greater pause to question the validity of everything else in the coldly alien Out of This World.

Despite the high points, frankly, it was something of a pain to sit through to the end, but I did.

Ringling, come back to earth!

Overall rating:  (out of four stars max)  2 stars 

Originally posted 8.20.2016

Preface update, 5/16,17: First posted last August, this will have been my last Ringling review. How sad and sorry I am that it will be the last Ringling circus seen by the public. Whatever its merits in experimentation, it is arguably the most un-Ringling performance of them all.  How I had wished the public could have seen the more traditional Circus Xtreme. What will I remember the most about Out of This World?  Not the cold ice.  Not the plodding space ventures.  I will happily recall  the absolute delight that a pig sliding down a slide gave the audience. Then we were as one. Joyfully amused. Fully connected to “the ageless delight.” But there are other high points to, well worth remembering ... Au Revoir, Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey,  the Big Show, the Big One, Big Bertha, the once great Greatest Show on Earth!