Return of the Ringling

[robcat2075]

On the old forum there was a thread about the end of the Ringling Bros Circus which employed some trombonists.

Ringling folding, 800ish jobs gone


Today's NYT has a feature about the return of the Ringling Circus as an all-human, no animals attraction.

Ringling Circus Is Returning. Lions, Tigers and Dumbo Are Not.

LAS VEGAS — In a cavernous audition space, one by one the circus performers contorted, flipped, spun, danced and stood on their heads (at one point while on another person’s head), drawn from around the world to this circus casting call. But there was one notable absence in a room filled with would-be ringmasters, macabre clowns and more than one person capable of hanging from a hoop suspended from the ceiling.

Not a single animal act.

Five years ago the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus packed up its proverbial big top for what it said was for good, ending a 146-year run in the face of slumping sales and a growing public distaste for the lion, tiger and elephant acts once synonymous with this circus. But over the past year, in places like Las Vegas, Ethiopia and Mongolia, the circus has quietly been evaluating talent and ramping up for comeback.

On Wednesday, the company announced that it will officially return, with its first show on Sept. 28, 2023, and a tour of more than 50 cities, but without any animals...

...In Vegas, Skyler Miser stood with her mother and father, Tina and Ben, just after her audition, anxiously awaiting a callback. Her parents had been Ringling’s human cannon balls, and were devastated by the closing.

Out back on their property in Peru, Ind., is one of the decommissioned circus train cars similar to the one in which Skyler grew up on the road. Her father flashed his phone screensaver: Skyler, age 11, being shot out of a cannon for the first time. That day, the Misers learned that their daughter will likely be Ringling’s next human cannon ball in the new, animal-free show...

No mention of musicians in the article, however.

[JohnL]

Five years ago the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus packed up its proverbial big top for what it said was for good, ending a 146-year run in the face of slumping sales and a growing public distaste for the lion, tiger and elephant acts once synonymous with this circus.

The sad part was that it wasn't the presence of the elephants that finally killed of the circus, it was their absence. Attendance tanked when they took the elephants out of the show; the people who expected to see elephants in the circus stopped going and the people who didn't go to the circus when it had elephants still didn't go after they were gone. They didn't even make it a year.

This is kinda what I was hoping might eventually happen - a "new" Ringling Brothers, built from the ground up without animal acts (rather than what they had back in 2017, which was "the old circus" with the animal acts taken out). I don't think it would have worked to do it right away, but maybe five years is long enough that the model will work now.

[Macbone1]

Like most other musical support gigs, they may not spend the savings from dropping the animal acts (and trainers, keepers, etc) on live music. If they did I'd be surprised if the band was any bigger than 5 pieces.

[WilliamLang]

Ringling Brothers without animals exists - it's Cirque du Soleil. all you'd need to do is put the audience in the round instead of theatre seating

[robcat2075]

I've been to both Ringling and Cirque over the years. However, the most entertaining circus I've been to was a small one in Copenhagen, a one-ring circus.

They had everything... clowns, acrobats, magicians, animal acts. It was in a small venue so you were close to the action.

I felt the problem with Ringling was that it was too big. With three rings in a cavernous civic auditorium, no matter where you sat, you were going to be too far to clearly see some act. You'd be better off watching on TV.

I think Feld may have lucked out by closing down Ringling before COVID hit. Cirque du Soleil went bankrupt and is now owned by Las Vegas casinos.

[Doug Elliott]

The timing was definitely lucky.
The band has always been part of the show, it was necessary to be able to go with the flow of uncertain timings and outcomes from the acts. Can't do that with recordings.

[JohnL]

The band has always been part of the show, it was necessary to be able to go with the flow of uncertain timings and outcomes from the acts. Can't do that with recordings.

Good point. Something like a trapeze act or a high wire really can't be timed to play to a track.

Ringling Brothers without animals exists - it's Cirque du Soleil. all you'd need to do is put the audience in the round instead of theatre seating

Cirque du Soleil is rather a different sort of show than a traditional circus. The performers possess many of the same or similar skills, but it's a significantly different presentation. With CdS uses the circus arts in a theatrical production, with performers portraying characters in a narrative. The NYT article hints that the new Ringling's show may move in that direction (at least to the point of having some sort of narrative that ties the acts together), but I hope they retain enough of the traditional format that they don't look like CdS. CdS has pretty much cornered the market on what they do.

Like most other musical support gigs, they may not spend the savings from dropping the animal acts (and trainers, keepers, etc) on live music. If they did I'd be surprised if the band was any bigger than 5 pieces.

The Ringling band had 9 musicians (times 2, since there were two touring units), but that was for a huge, three-ring circuses. They'll almost certainly have to scale that back if they go to a smaller (i.e., one-ring) show; more like 5 or 6 pieces. I think Big Apple had 7. As for any savings from eliminating the animal acts? Taking out the elephants lowered costs, but also precipitated a drop in revenue.

I think Feld may have lucked out by closing down Ringling before COVID hit. Cirque du Soleil went bankrupt and is now owned by Las Vegas casinos.

They still took a hit on the rest of their arena and stadium shows, though.

[robcat2075]

Joke we can't tell without elephants...

The clown comes home from work and complains to his wife, "I hate my job!"
"What's wrong?", she asks.
He says, "They make me wear this silly costume and these giant shoes and I have to march behind those smelly elephants and everyone laughs at me while I'm cleaning up all the animal dung!"
"So why don't you quit and find a different job?" the wife asks.
"What?? And leave show business??"

[SimmonsTrombone]

Back in the 80s my AFM local had a rule requiring them to hire a certain number of local musicians. That’s how I got to play Ringling. I dropped out of playing for years and came back a while back in a non-union area. Do locals still have rules such as that one?