Sadly, it might be the last days of 'The Greatest Show on Earth' (do try to to take your kids & grandkids to catch one of their last shows), in May 17, but there's still is Cirque du Soleil.
Tamara Lush - Associated Press - MSN News - Sarasota, Florida - 15 Jan 17
"Goodbye to death-defying feats — daring young men (and women) on the flying trapeze, whip-wielding lion tamers, human cannonballs. Goodbye to the scent of peanuts and popcorn, the thrill of three rings, the jaunty bum-bum-dadadada of circus music.
Send out the clowns.
The Big Top is coming down — for good.
On Saturday, officials of the company that owns the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus announced that it will close in May 17, ending a 146-year run that dates back to a time before automobiles or airplanes or movies, when Ulysses S. Grant was president and minstrel shows were popular entertainment.
What killed the circus? There are many suspects: increased railroad costs. Costly court battles with animal rights activists [lions, tigers and bears] that led to an end to elephant acts — and the fact that some people didn't want to see a show without elephants.
But mostly, in an era of Pokemon Go, online role playing games and YouTube celebrities, the "Greatest Show on Earth" doesn't seem so great.
"It's been through world wars, and it's been through every kind of economic cycle and it's been through a lot of change," said Kenneth Feld, chairman and CEO of Feld Entertainment, owner of the Ringling Bros. "In the past decade there's been more change in the world than in the 50 or 75 years prior to that. And I think it isn't relevant to people in the same way."
For a long time, the circus was more than relevant — it was the stuff that dreams were made of.
The first circuses were created in Europe; the American twist would be canvas tents that allowed mobile troupes to go to the far-flung audiences of the 19th century.
Phineas Taylor Barnum's traveling menagerie was wildly popular, while the five Ringling brothers performed juggling acts and skits in Wisconsin. Eventually, Barnum, the Ringlings and another performance-minded businessman named James Bailey pooled their resources and knowledge.
Some of the early performances were merely zoos on wheels and a few human oddities, but over time, the acts became truly spectacular — attractions like Jumbo, touted as the world's largest elephant.
Sprawling companies traveled around America by train, wowing audiences with the sheer scale of entertainment and exotic animals. Deborah Walk, assistant director of legacy and circus at The Ringling — circus impresario John Ringling's mansion, art and circus collection in Sarasota — said that the circus' impact on small town America is often overlooked.
"That wonderful show that you can see in Madison Square Garden crisscrossed the country and ended up in San Francisco. And every place in between saw the same thing," she said.
"In the 1880s, especially, here you had this huge colossal canvas city that tracked across the country. It brought the wonders of the world to your door. You didn't have to go to Africa or Asia to see the animals."
The circus also heralded societal changes, she said. Women became performers around the turn of the 20th century (although there would be no African-American ringmaster until 1999 or a female ringmaster until 2016).
When the circus came to town, kids dreamed of running away to join it and its ever-changing roster of stars: the sad-faced clown, Emmitt Kelly; the daredevil trapeze act, the Flying Wallendas; Gunther Gabel-Williams, blond-maned and fearless in the ring with the big cats.
Read More: The final days of the circus
"It is the only spectacle I know, that, while you watch it, gives the quality of a truly happy dream". Ernest Hemingway
Last edited:
... 
But, I wasn't concerned with the clowns or thought that the animals were scary or anything like that. It was just too overwhelming for me. All of the noises and darkness and shadows, the perceived chaos and electric atmosphere... I guess these things weren't my cup of tea when I was a child. I also went to the circus at the Breslin once in-character as part of a theatre exercise when I was in high school. I was concentrating more on staying in-character and cozying-up with a couple of the female cast members than I was the actual circus though.
