For 146 years, Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus wowed crowds with a diverse range of acts that included lions, elephants and tigers, but sales began to slump amid a growing public distaste for the use of animals in the circus. Five years ago it shut down, but that was not the end for Ringling Bros.
The company on Wednesday announced its return, with its first show on Sept. 28, 2023, and a tour of more than 50 cities, The New York Times reported. There will be changes, though.
"We will not be touring animals," Juliette Feld Grossman, a producer of the revived circus, said in an interview with Today.
Feld Entertainment, which purchased the circus in 1967, is revamping the show, which according to the Times, is focusing now on narrative storylines and human feats — not animals.
At the helm is Giulio Scatola, a veteran of Cirque du Soleil, as director of casting and performance for the new production. With casting calls across the world, he is looking for "people with stories and people who are able to use their bodies to tell that story."
According to Today, more than 1,000 performers have auditioned, with about 75 expected to make the cut.
"What we're seeing is huge demand for people," Grossman said. "To be in person and to see things that are real."
The new show is not without skeptics.
"They can call it a circus, but I think their audience is going to be disappointed," a competitor, Justin Loomis, the co-founder and producer of the Loomis Bros. Circus, told the Times. That circus features dozens of animals including ponies, tigers and elephants, in its acts.
"People are going to go under the assumption it is what they remember," he continued, "and then when they arrive and purchase their ticket and sit through the show, they are going to be like, Where were the animals?"
Animal rights groups however have applauded the Ringling Bros. for its decision to cut animals out of its performances.
"Feld's decision to bring the circus back without animals sends a very clear message to the industry that the circus can dazzle audiences with willing human performers and that no animal needs to be exploited," said Rachel Mathews, the director of the captive animal law enforcement division of the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals Foundation.
"What people see in the circus is a display of human dominance," she continued. "The fact is the public doesn't want to see that anymore."
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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