SUNDAY LOOK BACK: John Ringling North and the Prince: How a Great Circus Festival Was (or might have been) Born ... And the Record Setting Unicycle Act It Shockingly Snubbed ... It’s All on the Inside!

 

Aboard his private car the Jomar, John Ringling North, second from left, and Henry, far right, entertain Bette Davis during a Los Angeles date in the 1940s.

Deep into the January night of '56, before flying out to Hollywood the next morning to announce his engagement to Grace Kelly, Prince Rainier was pumping drums in the kingdom of Sarasota, jamming  with his saxophone-playing friend, John Ringling North at the M’Toto room in the John Ringling Hotel. The world that night may have seemed a perfect place for both.

 

North, the visionary dreamer in his youth

His brainstorm, Ballet of the Elephants, 1942, was choreographed by George Balanchine, scored by Igor Stravinsky

At the time of their jam session, the young prince was 32 and North's celebrity was at its highest peak.  He had played himself in a cameo in DeMille's 1952 blockbuster The Greatest Show on Earth.  His mug appeared in newspaper and magazine ads, and his legendary talent-scouting travels through Europe each summer were dramatized as a secondary plot in the new film, Trapeze, about to be released on May 30.

Six weeks later, the magical aura of it all came crashing down in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  Faced with a  nasty and prolonged labor strike, and the ultimate surrender to the crippling economics of moving so giant an organization over rails, North struck the big top for good, and moved the show into tentless venues. For this, he was reviled by the fans, myself included, as something akin to the man who killed Santa Claus.

Ringling to Rainer

 

By the time the prince and Princess Grace were raising a family of three children — Caroline, Albert and Stephanie --- John’s new all-indoor version of Ringling was winning back big profitable crowds, partly by his importing the best performers he could get from eastern Soviet-block countries (keep this in mind too). North sold the show to the Felds in 1967.  And seven years later, Prince Rainier created the International Circus Festival in Monte Carlo, which soon became the most respected of all such tournaments.  North, now a nearly forgotten figure, served on the jury now and then, was introduced to audiences and modestly nodded in return.  And that was it.

\

 Princess Grace and Prince Rainier, in the judges box

Princess Stephanie, the youngest of the three children, grew up under the spell of her father's glamorous festivals, and it seems likely that this is where she became romantically involved, one after another, with two of its competitors. She first fell for married elephant trainer Franco Knie, into whose caravan she and three children from previous relationships moved. Two years later, she married Portuguese acrobat Adans Lopez Peres, then performing in Knie's circus. The marriage was also short-lived, but the circus had claimed Stephanie's wild bohemian spirit.  

After Prince Rainier passed away in 2005,  Stephanie assumed directorship of the festivals. She became not just an honored and steady figure of support for circus everywhere,  but arguably the circus world’s most fearless talent scout. Today, she and her associates comb the globe for the best acts out there, who appear at the festival only by invitation.  And today, politics evidently does not affect their scores, as witness the list below.

My biggest complaint (or regret) with the festival is that it does not enjoy world wide coverage, nor am I aware of any efforts out of Monte Carlo to seek such. Circus art is the only major entertainment not honored, at least annually on a televised awards show here in the states.  The movies and Broadway.  Pop music. Television.  Even ballroom dancing and dog shows are televised. The circus?  The prospects were not helped any by Irvin  Feld taking  out a one-ring tent show featuring acts from Monte Carlo. It did not last a season.

Okay, the following list shows the number of Gold Clowns awarded by country.  I would love to see a list for Silver Clowns.

 * 21. All countries of Europe together

14 former USSR countries all together
14 China
10   Russia
10 North Korea
7 Italy
6 USSR
 5 USA, shared with Mexico, Columbia, Argentina, Italy, Algeria
4 USA alone (Bale, Nock, Gatto, Carl)
4 Switzerland
3 France
2 Canada
2 Spain
2 Ukraine
2 England
2 Germany
2  Hungary
1 Portugal
1 Bulgaria   
1 Romania  

Circus Therapy in America.

The U.S., I have long observed, is not a primary source of world-class action.  Don’t look for a dramatic turnaround anytime soon. If anything, the situation will only grow worse, no matter how many new “circus schools” on campuses emerge, given the woke choke that has them in a vice.  Forget about gymnastic power and skill. Look for more slow-moving narrative, including "character arc," equity equilibristics pushing gender-bending contortion and self-annihilation on the static trapeze. Real circus has no time for such gilded nonsense.  Have I lost you yet?  Now, let’s get our hopes high again.

They're Back! 

 

 

      Fanfare for the Colossally Snubbed 

Unicyclist wonder Wesley Williams, who competed this past January at Monte Carlo, beyond setting a world record riding the highest bike, must have been left thunderstruck for failing to earn even a bronze clown. I have seen Wesley’s act on You Tube, and was engaged by his feats and winning personality.  Since not awarded by the jury, he became qualified for special recognition by any of the sponsors, and two of them so honored him.  What he accomplished in my view is equal to a quad.   And, yes , I wasn't there to see it myself, so whom am I to?  ...

Let’s see if Kenneth Feld books him for the return of a reformed Ringling.  Of course, Wesley might say no. Or Feld might fear that so perilous an act could upset the snowflakes and ballet larks he may be being hoping to attract to his no-animals circus. 

The festival will endure as long as Stephanie endures.  And however controversial her screening procedures or judging criteria  may be, of this I am sure: Were he alive today, John Ringling North could well understand and appreciate the attention she gives to such far off places as North Korea.   The “ageless delight,” as Ernest Hemingway once called it, lives on in the darkest corners of the world.  And those  daring mortals who excel despite all hardships deserve our warmest accolades and support.

first posted 6.12.23

2025 - YEAR OF THE DOG? Random Reflections on a Mediocre Circus Season --- Good, Bad, and Maybe

 Wat exactly should I be reporting on?

“Circus,” as defined by Webster’s 10th: 

An arena often covered with a tent and used for avariety shows including feats of physical skill, wild animal acts and performances by clowns. 

 I wonder if the new 12th edition has been revised to read: 

A word used by a wide variety of traveling acrobatic troupes that sometimes include animals and/or clowns.

Would this not be as accurate as was the older definition? 

We are adrift in a sea of circus show variations, which makes watching and reviewing them a challenge. I see no clear unifying thread relative to the season now ending, so I will asterisk away, first taking the time to thank Don Covington and Alex Smith, on this side of the pond, Douglas McPherson on the other, for helpfully sending me numerous news and feature items through the year. Okay, in no particular order .

* WHO OWNS BIG APPLE CIRCUS? Never in my days of circus going have  I not known the name(s) of those who owned every show I followed or read about.  Paul Binder's gift to New Yorkers seems to have devolved into a tangle of owners and venture capitalists, once if not still Sarasota based,  known as Compass Partners. If only one of them had a compass pointing to successful full season operation.

* A KING DISPOSED? Another dysfunctionally out-of-order curiosity  is the Wisconsin Historical Society, now owner of Circus World Museum. They let CEO Scott O'Donnell, above, go, and then to replace him,  hired and, a few months later, fired Julie Parkinson.  When I spoke with Scott, he lent the impression of a conflict with his new overlords at the State Historical Society over future directions and goals for the museum. Why Oh Why?

* BLOOD OVER HUGO; Two tragic deaths in a single season. Traci Byrd allegedly shot dead by her boyfriend, Armando Caceras, he reportedly the prime suspect.  Worse yet, tiger trainer Ryan Easley, only 37, mauled to death by one of his tigers in September. My deepest sympathies to Ryan’s family and to the folks  of Hugo.   

                              
* BAFFLING ZOPPE NO-SHOW.  Little Ilario Zoppe, heretofore a gifted clown, this year not making an appearance until the very end of a so-so show, and not in greasepaint. He’s being trained in hand and foot balancing.  Why oh Why? I waited to see both him and his brother, Julien, and was stood up. Their absence left a hole in  a thin program. Makes no sense whatsoever. 

               
* L0SS OF A WONDERFUL BIG TOP BOSS,  Johnny Pugh,  February 17.   I never met the man, but was lucky to interview him by phone. Talk about warm and caring.  A  swell down-to-earth guy — heck, the nicest guy who ever ran a circus? Born in the Kennington district of London to showman John "Digger" Pugh, John came to the states as an acrobat,  and  would help save the Beatty-Cole show.  He also served as a judge for Prince Rainier's Monte Carlo Circus Festival.  What a pleasure it is to watch YouTubes of Beatty-Cole in the 1980s, during that last great American circus decade.  Even through the gauze of crowds streaming down the track during  the first displays, action in and over the rings keeps  us completely satisfied.  Circus straight ahead. It always starts with and comes from the person at the top.

* FINDING BIG STARS UNDER LITTLE TENTS.  Rarely am I not wowed by one or two.  Happened this past year when You Tube rolled Flip Circus my way, a name new to me.  Two standouts:   A fellow scaling and body-contorting up and down a Chinese pole, so refreshingly novel an attack. And on the same bill, two dashing jugglers working a brilliantly inventive routine — even with too many flubs. I wold gladly pay to see them again.  
 

MAYHEM IN GLOBES OF DEATH, from Rome to America. I’d never known of a single accident over here. But, as scrupulously researched by Douglas McPherson, turns out it can and has happened to motorcycling daredevils madly circling each other. A few riders over time have not come out alive. At least one this past year, in Italy, and four non-fatal crashes in the UK.  Broken bones and dead bodies sustain in the public's mind the element of risk at the circus. And their popularity tells us that the crowds still want risk.

* ONLY IN SAN FRANCISCO   Circus Bella, a free summer show at Bay Area parks featuring local talent, turns into Club Bella in December under a 300 seat designer tent, as suave as what might pass for cinema in space.  How I’d love to experience it, but not at prices ranging from fifty to eighty bucks. I’ll wait for grass. Sadly, the show's exceptionally talented composer and musical director Rob Reich, 47, passed away earlier this year.  He and his band gave the show one undeniably world class attribute. He could have been a giant -- when circuses were giants.

Out, Damn Cirque! 

 * CIRQUE DU MYSTIFY:  Funniest found quote, shuffling through old papers, this from Lyn Gardner of The Guardian, in a 2008 review of OVO:  "I know plenty of people who would quite happily pay me not to sit through a Cirque du Soleil show." (Her one-star review of the exhausting Cirque yawner, Amluna --- I gave it a grudging 2), resulted in the Montreal monster revoking her press pass.)  I myself loved the first CDS shows, but now, a survivor of too many plodding latter-period duds, I have tittle desire to face the dark existential gloom of ECHO, now emoting to the perfect town for such, San Francisco. I suffered through its tyranny on my flat screen. Maybe it's something about the human figure being turned into abstract body parts.  Maybe a primer on group suicide?

 * DANCE ON, ZIPPOS!  Never have I seen hoofers  at a circus carry on as if they were on Broadway and choreographed by the best. In this instance, favoring the contortionesque patterns  of Bob Fosse. What a revelation.  Called  Candyland 2024, from Zippos in the UK.  See for yourself on You Tube.

* DOGS R US.  And never more so than when a circus comes to town.  You can take this sprightly charmer out of the ring, but you'll never take the ring out of its heart.  Even Kenneth Fled couldn't resist himself in a wimpy cave to a robotic mutt he calls Bailey.  The lone figure of real circus was such a hit with customers that  Feld is giving Bailey more to do in New Ringling S2. (see more about this in my post below.)  If  performing dogs can win TV competitions before millions, what's to stop  even our most timidly temporizing owners from granting the audience that which it clearly adores and has few "issues" with? 

 *  DOGS STEAL THE SHOW AT BIG APPLE CIRCUS --- only act on the current bill reviewed by The New York  Times. Yes, true, confirmed and certified by cyber courier  Don Covington.  The honor goes to Olate's capering canines, who had previously won first place --- and one millions dollars ---on America's Got Talent 2019. And what, might I indiscriminately inquire, does this say for the rest?  The Times hates to review circuses in the negative.  Inexplicably, they ignored New Ringling.  

 * FANFARE AND FAREWELL   How sad was I to learn, from Maureen Brunsdale, that she is leaving her post at Illinois State University, where she oversaw their circus holdings.  Health reasons, the cause. So lucky was I when I queried her back in 2011 on taking my papers and interview tapes under he aegis.  She, unlike a number of unmovable others, said yes with a glow on her face (or so that’s how it felt.)  I can’t think of a more stable or appropriate place for my work to reside.  Colleges are not subject to disruptions and fire sales. Maureen landed the Henry Ringling North papers and the massive 250,000-items collection of Herb Ueckert.  She authored the eagerly received bio of Art Concello, In the Shadow of the Big Top, for which, The Circus Historical Society awarded her their Stuart Thayer Prize. I will forever miss her.

* ILLINOIS DAVID?  My first circus review was set into type at the Hohenadel  Print Shop in Rochelle, publisher of The White Tops. In Champaign, the University of Illinois Press published my most successful book,  Big Top Boss: John Ringling North and the Circus.  And now, my papers will reside in Normal. Bless you, Maureen, for taking them in, and may you find rewarding new subjects to write about in the next chapter of your life. 

2808 1.18.26 

Ringling by Feld Still Struggles to Click in Circus-Less Makeover ... Self Evisceration Has Its Limits ...

    READING THROUGH an article in The Boston Globe, by Matthew J. Lee, about the current plight of Ringling, there is an implicit sense of failure in the air.  A puzzling failure dogging the Greatest Show on Earth as it once more, in the barn for almost a year, tries to concoct yet another performance formula that may fill more seats. 

    CHILDREN IN PARTICULAR seem to be their greatest concern, as they focus more on teaching them circus skills through You Tube. This, they believe, will grow a bigger fan base for whatever it is they are up to.  Not much in the story about the new show, other than that a live DJ will  spin poplar music.  And that Bailey their bot mutt and a big hit, will be returning. I WONDER WHY?  Nothing better illustrates more than a fake dog, the producing timidity behind this strange self-eviscerating makeover. Is that Irvin Feld I hear screaming from his grave? 

    CONCEDED CEO JULIETTE FELD Grossman to Lee,  they face “a bit of an identify problem. We were out of the market for a number of years, and in that time a new generation of kids was born and families found new rhythms and different places to go for their entertainment experiences.When we brought  back the touring unit, we had done a lot of soul searching.”

Is the Big Show stuck in the wrong venue?

      BIGGER PICTURE:  Years ago, a circus could count on a higher percentage of American to patronize it.  In Santa Rosa when Polack came to town for two days, up to half the town may have seen it.  There still is a market, but apparently not nearly what it was

    IF I TOLD YOU that New Ringling drew six to eight thousand people per show in L.A. last summer, you might be impressed. But in the 18,000 seat Crypto arena, the optics were unflattering.  

    WHEN JOHN RINGLING NORTH ordered the circus indoors back in 1957, a far higher slice of the American landscape still favored circuses.  Not so much now.  And this may be the Feld's biggest problem – would they, could they to go back under canvas?  I doubt it.

“Something New happens roughly every three seconds.”

      A TRULY BIZARRE PROMISE from Grossman — is she out of her mind?  No, she’s taking a cue from the speed at which her Monster Truck Shows rip and tear.  Rapid Ringling, the new rage?   
  
    QUERIED ABOUT LAST YEAR'S BUSINESS,  answered Grossman “ticket sales were strong for the first  tour.” I’ve read that in some of their last dates, they were begging for customers.  Scathing Yelp Reviews were of little help.
                                        
    ABOUT ALL THE NEW CHANGES going on at the circus that no longer dares  speak its name,  writes a sympathetic Lee,   “That hopefully will lead to ticket sales for the show.”

For  “the show” — hopefully, if not the circus.

     PERSONALLY, I HAVE ALL ALONG  believed that Ringling should have led the way in showing America a true circus still, yes, without exotics but with dogs and ponies and camels and  horses, etc.  They are failing to do what other circuses around the world, such as Zoppe Family, are doing. The irony is that they may be by far the richest organization and have all the resources to do it, including valid experience in putting out one-ring tent editions. We are living through the saddest chapter in Ringling  history.

Thanks to Don Covington for the link. 

SUNDAY MORNING NOW: The Show Must Go On ... or Must it? ... Big Top Ballyhoo Shuns the Old ... Circus Reviewer Reveals Crowd Size ...

12,557 page views on 5/6 - my most popular post ever

RINGLING IN RETREAT? - One bot mutt for sale? Has appeared with the Greatest Show on Earth.

What is happening to Ringling? To Circus or not to circus? That may be the pressing question dogging Kenneth Feld for the next ten months while he  creates an  “all new’ edition.  How new? How different from the first? Does he need ten months in hiatus to figure it out?  Thriving entertainments usually have next year’s model in the works, ready to take up the parade when the current cast leaves it.

Seems severe to me. As I understand it, when a company closes down for an extended period of time, usually the reason is too re-invent itself or its product line – in order to stay in business.  Ringling closed down mid-way in the 1956 tour when John Ringling North struck the big top for good and made known his plans to move it indoors. Some fans hoped he would change his mind.  No luck. He had foreseen a more viable future ahead.

If the Felds have been reading the outcry of unhappy Ringling customers on Yelp (average 1.5 stars), they  can’t ignore the enthusiasm most Americans still evidently feel for animals and clowns. When you take away two of the three staples of circus, up goes a roar from the masses. The last to cry ‘no!” on Yelp:

Thalia H.

Norfolk, VA  Mar 22, 2025

"I've never been so humiliated in all my life I'm going to the circus in New York City at Madison Square Garden for many years as a child every year I never missed a circus there were animals and clowns I don't know what Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus is doing now with these acrobats nobody wants to see acrobats a circus is not a circus without animals and clowns it was a waste of my money I am so disappointed I don't know what in the world to do I will never attend another Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus again without the animals and clowns."

"Humiliated" That's a new one. From AI? 

I have no idea what their business has been. I only know that when Ringling played the 18,000 seat Crypto.Com Arena in Los Angeles, according to an inside source at the arena who took my call to inquire about business, they were drawing between six and eight thousand per show.  

Strategic blundering?  Even the smartest of showman can make big mistakes: When  Feld removed the elephants from the show, winning high cheer from animal rights hysterics and their fawning media acolytes, I was left dumbfounded by his not having at the same pivotal moment also removed the big cage act as well.  This gave PETA sanction to continue harassing customers outside the arenas.  Give them a dog and pony show, and they'd come off looking like fools.

And then, six years later, when Feld unveiled his comeback edition., I was left equally baffled by his wholesale elimination of clowns and animals.  Will ten months in circus rehab give him pause  to consider a more fulfilling outcome?

What to expect? At the moment, even Keneth Feld may not know.  But he has plenty of time to bring off perhaps the most spectacular comeback in show business history by reinstating the dazzling  totality of what Ringling once stood for.  It is not irrational to imagine dogs and ponies and horses and kitty cats, among other domestics, bringing back a major part of  “the greatest show.”  When I saw the last old-school edition around 2017, a pig coasting down a slide nearly stole the show . 

The circus that no longer dares speak its name needs to come back.

CIRCUS BALLYHOO --- FACE OF A BARN TO FACEBOOK

Long gone are the days when splashy 24 sheet lithos covered half the town. When was the last time you spotted circus imagery on a billboard?  Across the Big Pond, some Brit circuses are now almost exclusively  marketing on  social media, and gradually giving up on  newspaper ads pushing discount coupons. As covered by Douglas McPherson in The Stage, show owner Zippo revealed that he has  stopped running them because nobody appeared at the ticket window with one. That is, while there was a ticket window. Heck, even the red wagon is disappearing over there  as Paulos and Circus Zyair are shutting theirs down. 

But not so fast, argues Julia Kirilova of the Big Kid Circus:  “Posters still have a big impact. People still expect to see them. We are a business which depends a lot on feelings and nostalgia. Everyone knows circus and has a distinct memory of it. Our job is to find a way to make them remember that feeling, whether that is through a short video clip on TikTok or a poster.”

(I guess I was a dinosaur a few years ago, when I picked up a coupon offered in a Vargas newspaper  ad, took it with me to the show and tried getting a resistant lady at the ticket window to honor it. She nearly scowled, claiming never to have known of such a thing.  I let it go, feeling like a stool pigeon from a long lost world.)

Zippo told  McPherson that everyone buys on-line tickets on their phones as they enter the midway.  No need for cash and tickets.  And Sir Douglas rues a day walking the grounds where only yesterday, billowing tents had adorned it.  “There won’t even be a discarded leaflet or ticket stub in the grass to prove it was over here?"

Well ... maybe with luck, a loose nut from a bot mutt?

REVOLUTIONARY CIRCUS REVIEWING LISTS CROWD SIZES

Also over there in Brit land, get this:  A reviewer for the Circus Diaries blog, Charlie Holland, is listing crowd sizes.  Recent disclosures:  300 (about one third of the tent) at Zippos; 500 (half a house) at Big Kid.   That's quite refreshing, although yes, I can imagine that many fans would rather not know. But this does not surprise me. I often see those kinds of turnouts when I go to a circus.

Still, it's nice to see a reviewer taking the time to address both parts that make up a circus performance, the show itself and the audience.  A trend?   Don't bank on it.

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.

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!!!

Sunday Morning Out of the Past: Rare Kenneth Feld Sightings: Big Show Boss Spotted in Action on Coney Lot

Through a bizarre chain of flukes as preciously disclosed, fate delivered me onto the Coney Island lot of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, opening night of their summer long show under a tent, Illuscination.

Sunny evening. Early arriving, I wandered into the outdoor food and rest area, past a special VIP tent. Little did I know how close I was to the Feld of Felds. When I discovered him hobnobbing with a gaggle of upscales around a stand–up fast food table, shamelessly I fell into the reluctant mode of a virtual peeping paparazzi, albeit with camera in pocket. I moved this way and that, stealing weaselly glances from afar in an effort to view the goings of a true big top tycoon.

Mr Feld was primly attired in a rather drab suit. Conservatively groomed. We are not talking metro sexual. He struck me as stout-hearted, strong on his feet and vigorously engaged. His animated manner that of a carnie pitchman, similar, as I recall, to my one fleeting Irvin Feld sighting years ago. Bear with me here, World, if I seem to be “obsessing,” but my only aim is to journalistically bear witness. Now, at this point, there was not much I could do, so I circled the power zone like an invading mosquito of slim prospects, keeping my stalking wings as under control as possible. I wondered what my subject might say that could be discretely overheard. But I failed miserably to zoom in, as they say; That sort of observational space crashing — “Well, there he is, the man himself! A fun question, Mr. Feld? Any exciting new productions planned with ex-CIA operatives?” — does not suit my shy nature. Camera stayed in pocket.

But then something substantial happened; He turned about and walked away, alone, without lackey or Pinkerton, toward the concession tent. I was struck by how remarkably short he is. I’d only seen him once before, back in the 1970s standing quietly at the edge of the performance area at a Florida venue monitoring the spec as it circled the track. The show was then, New York bound, still a work in progress. He struck me that evening as the essence of calm.

Compared to my distant mental snapshot, I had not imagined Kenneth Feld being so short, nor so animated either. Actually, one might say that this lack of height adds an overcompensating flair to his persona. The youthfully invigorated circus king ambled with the slightly swaggering air of an innocent kid maximizing an overstepped gait to project power and confidence. His glib saunter brought to mind Charlie Chaplin's Everyman character.

Through the maze of patrons and circusy things for sale I followed sheepishly after, seeking additional insights that did not rise above the level of vapid. (I report; you deride.). He slipped into the tent, and I lost contact.

He resurfaced to lead a pre-show appearance by the Family Feld, scripted and staged for the entire house. Out strode, with a statuesque air of authority and privilege, Mr. Feld and stately daughters -- counting three if I am correct, each as I recall looming taller than her dad, a rather charming irony, and neither wearing drab. Feld's appreciative address to the crowd, great to be back at Coney, etc., was strong and steady, clear and to the point. And with that, I concluded that I was done with him.

But, as fate would have it, I was not. The Gods of petty power worshiping rituals had invaded my chronic indifference, at last.

As previously sworn to my faithful four followers, in seeking relief from my crummy $10 seat only one row off the floor (too many late arrivers blocking my view), and with the sympathetic reluctance of one young usher, I stole into a better section of empties. At intermission, I discovered Mr. Feld once more (his now familiar backside, that is), standing right there in the aisle on my row conversing with an entourage of corporate and/or religious associates. Then, once more on his own, he made his way down the steps in a carefree manner. Moments later, I noticed him sauntering happily around the ring on his way out, and holding hands with a woman whom I assumed to be his wife. Together, they lent the impression of young marital bliss.

Now, we are close to the target moment. The piece de resistance! The second half is about to begin. I notice that our subject under surveillance has returned and is now sitting on the aisle directly across from the person in the chair next to mine. (For those logistically challenged, I am sitting two seats off the aisle.)

Alright, journalism is about to ascend the heights of its sacred calling. Comes now, at last, my most revealing sighting. Are you ready for the revelation of revelations? Count this your right of passage, this bright shining insight your day and your night. Your holy grail, your wind, your sail, your morning coffee and snail. Drum rolls! Trumpets! A full hallelujah fanfare, Maestro Evans, if you please!...

I happened to glance once (and only once) to my right: Exactly this I observed: Kenneth Feld was seated, well composed in his chair, eagerly watching the show.




(photos, from the top: my original seating area; the section I crashed]

First published July 28, 2010

Circus King Delivers Sawdust, Spangles, and Mayhem

Book Review

The Killing of Lord Sanger, by Karl Shaw

Icon Books -- now available on Amazon Kindle. The book edition is due out March 4

Mourned by the multitudes in the wake of his shocking death, did Britain's Barnum really deserve their adoring accolades?  An enthralling new book by Karl Shaw, set in circus land UK during the Edwardian era, tells two interlocking stories, one of the legendary circus king, the other about the search for the  man who murdered him.The Killing of Lord George opens our eyes on what it was really like  trouping through the British Isles during an age of brawling competition between shows, when the survival of the fittest one season was no guarantee of the same for the next.

As for the morbid murder mystery, told in alternating chapters, this makes for a different kind of read which some may find off-putting -- back and forth between sawdust rings and homicide investigations. Oddly, as I returned to each, I was keener on its side of the narrative moving forward. A rare two for one.

George Sanger carried on the lavish spectacles established by circus founder, Phillip Astley, once the latter was gone.  He started out in his father’s circus as  a magician, and would became UK’s greatest showman, according to a Times of London obit quoted in  this admirably researched bio.  Sanger and his brother, John, at one time had a multitude of circus rings circling Europe.  All of which earned him high praise from The New York Times, calling him "the English Barnum."

 I knew nothing of the man himself other than his prolongation of the Astley legacy, and here his life comes suddenly spilling out, as messy as a clogged up sink faucet not unplugged in over a hundred years.  Which makes this man a difficult character to like. Brace yourself.  Among many devious attributes, Sanger was a chronic liar who may have self-anointed himself a Lord. He possessed a natural — or shrewdly staged — gift for philanthropy, so widespread as to enjoy the status of  “a national treasure, loved and respected by all,” in the words of Shaw.  It’s the darker side of Mr. Sanger that spreads gloom through the pages. 

Away from the spotlights and glitter, let’s start on the home front.  “He never let go of his hatred for his son in law,” writes Shaw, the sin being that his daughter had dared to wed a headline performer with a  “celebrated rival.”  This anger applied to other relatives along the way.

On the animal front, in a court of law today Sanger would likely have been hauled in and easily convicted of willfully ordering the killing of an old animal to serve as a prop in a cynical publicity stunt.

Savage Task Master 

Onto the shows:  The prim, compact circus lord could turn into a quality-control monster against underachieving performers. “He was sadistic if an artist failed during a performance.” reveals Shaw, to whose credit should go honors for such unfaltering attention, for it surely does nothing to gild his otherwise sunny portrait of the man's boundless humanity and good will to others.   For instance, take Sanger's treatment of a young wire walker who fell from her perch more than once. In stormy reaction, the offended boss “offered her a penknife from his pocket and said ‘here, don’t cut your throat, cut your bloody head off!’ Scores of performers came and went, and only the bravest or most loyal stayed the course. Those who fell short had their contracts terminated with a short: ‘Call yourself an actor? get off my stage!'"

Animal cruelty?  How about human cruelty?  I know how callously heartless circus owners can be, but I can’t think of one quite this sociopathic.

Perhaps The Killing of Lord George could have spent more time prose painting the man’s laudatory posters and programs, and the name dropping could had been  more elaborately fleshed out.  There is not a single image of circus, or the word itself, on the book’s cover.  It’s biggest failure, in my view,  is a glaring lack of full-page illustrations, preferably in color, that scream CIRCUS.  Grainy black and white images of news stories, diagrams and photos serve the story well, but may fail to captivate a wider audience.  

Sleuthing the sawdust shadows for tales of hardship and mayhem, Shaw cunningly compels with gripping accounts of the sudden dangers inherent in tent trouping.  It’s a miracle that none of the Sanger's were burned to death in the cinder box wagons in which they lived.   Thieves and rivals wishing to loot and defile could sneak up from every which direction.  Inglorious weather, bum crowds,  and periodic outbreaks of cholera, shuttered circus folk into shivering, food-deprived retreat.  In the worst of seasons, we read, some literally “starved to death.” Really?

The Lion Queen's Favorite

 For Anglophile history buffs in particular, the book is intricately placed in the times of Charles Dickens and Queen Victoria, both circus fans who make impressive contributions.  The Queen "had a weakness for lion taming acts.” In her diary, she wrote "one can never see too often."  She doted with delight over the wild animal displays of  Sanger’s young wife, Nellie, seen above, and this earned the show two command performances before her royal majesty.  

Sanger's obvious envy for his American rivals who competed with him on his own turf, mainly William F. Cody and Barnum & Bailey, produced a torrent of  petty unflattering scorn and ridicule, some published in his memoir. "There is nothing that American showman have ever done that Englishmen have not done first and not done better." Blatantly false.  For one thing, the failed three ring format that Sanger claimed to have first used in 1860 was far better used when Barnum & Bailey took it on the road in 1881 -- if, in fact, they had "stolen" the idea from Sanger, as he claimed. There is insufficient evidence to support the boast.  Another grandiose lie?

Another Man on Another Night

The darker side of our problematic genius comes to a grizzly end when he is murdered by an axe and razor, the most likely suspect being a young man who had shared his bedroom by night, until being ejected.  Shaw covers this in a strangely incomplete manner. Explains he, ever so politely without ever dropping the H word,  the relationship between the two “followed a predictable course.  He (Sanger)  would quickly form a very close attachment with his new favorite, shower him with presents and take him wherever he went.  In Herbert Cooper’s case at least, this intimacy included sharing a bedroom.  Then, just as quickly, George would drop him and replace him with another.”

Such was the fate of the tall and handsome, 29-year old  Cooper  “usurped in Sanger’s affections by Arthur Jackson, just as surely as Herbert himself had been a substitute for someone else. One day he was the old man's special friend,  the next he was effectively ostracized, excommunicated from the Park Farm inner sanctum.”

Notice how much fun our author seems to have over that last line, which only makes it more incredible that he would not have at least raised the subject of a homosexual union or fetish of some kind, if only to raise the issue and put it to rest. I was left fairly dumbfounded.

Shaw defers to the press, plenty interested in Sanger’s relations with Cooper.   Some  newspapers suspected revenge being the motive, had Cooper in fact been the assailant.  In the end, sketchy testimony leaves a muddled impression, although Shaw wishes us to believe otherwise. That is, that the killer was not Cooper.  The Times at the time believed he was.  Others believe it still to be a mystery.

There is much to hold your interest in this offbeat treat.  I have never dug deep enough to realize how the Brits were as drawn to the kink and gore of side shows as we were over here. Another topic that held my fascination was the  intersection between British and American circus owners over both their rivalries and the exchange and/or leasing of each other’s ideas, with vividly described cameos from likes of P.T. Barnum and William Buffalo Bill Cody. After all, we and they were in the same business when “elephants were the perpetual Victorian circus favorites.”  Which makes this book a must-read for serious scholars and lovers of circus history.

I’ll go out with a teaser.  You could  never guess how Cooper’s life came to an end.

Shaw is also the author of The First Showman: The Extraordinary Life of Philip Astley.

Memo to Masterpiece.  If you can’t see the drama in this, you don't deserve to be funded.   Over to you, ITV?   

first posted 1.9.23

re posted 1.10.25