After 146 Years, Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Circus bids ‘Adieu’
Mangaluru: Many Indian Americans settled in USA will agree with me, if at all they had been to ‘Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Circus’, they would all say “It was one of the best Circus shows in the World”- and for that matter, I also would be one more person to say that too. Browsing through the newspaper I came to know that Curtain came down in Uniondale-New York, 146 years after circus put on its first show. On Sunday, the Circus performed its final show ending its 146-year history of big top entertainment- The ringmaster led a chorus of “Auld Lang Syne” after the circus’ very last show. During my 23 years in US, I have never missed a single show of ‘Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Circus’, when they performed in Chicago- and many a times I saw the show twice or thrice- because every show had different acts, on multiple stages. Although we all enjoyed the “Greatest Show on Earth” all these years, but sadly, the future generation of Indian Americans children will miss all the entertainment that this Circus could bring to life. It’s a pastime that no longer anybody gets to enjoy anymore, unfortunately.
The famed circus put on its last three shows Sunday in Uniondale, NY at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum and before a final bow ringmaster Johnathan Lee Iverson led the performers, crew and audience in an emotional rendition of ‘Auld Lang Syne’. Many in the audience had tears in their eyes as they sang, and performers on the show floor hugged. Ringling’s parent company, Feld Entertainment, announced in January that the circus would take its final bow this year, citing declining attendance and high operating costs as being among their reasons for closing it down. For many fans attending the weekend’s performances, it was a final chance to say goodbye to beloved childhood memories. And for others, it was a bucket list fulfillment.
On Saturday afternoon, under cloudy skies, fans streamed into the Nassau Coliseum in suburban New York to pay their last respects to the iconic show. It’s a pastime that no longer anybody gets to enjoy anymore, unfortunately. Everybody’s in their tablets and not really going out and seeing different kinds of entertainment anymore. ‘I’m becoming an adult today,’ said 46-year-old Heather Greenberg, of New York City. ‘I can’t go to the circus with my daddy anymore.’ The final performance was broadcast live on the internet on May 21.
The Circus last show was an extravaganza of big cats, motorcycle stunts, clowns performing death-defying acts, ice skaters, buckets of popcorn and Mongolian contortionists — and that was just the first half of the show. A circus spokesman confirmed that homes have been found for the animals that were owned by Ringling, including the tigers, horses and camels.
Ringling had two touring circuses this season, one ending its run earlier this month in Providence, Rhode Island. Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus debuted as a traveling circus on March 29, 1919 in New York City, combining two popular circus companies into a monolith spectacle. The Ringling Bros. circus roots date back to April 1871 — just over 146 years ago.
They bought Barnum & Bailey Circus from PT Barnum and James Anthony Bailey in 1906, after Bailey’s death, but kept the two circuses touring independently for 13 years before merging them. In recent years, the circus has been dogged by criticism from animal right groups over its incorporation of wild animals into it shows.
Inputs from New York News