Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus

Yummy and friends took me to the circus this weekend. I hadn't been for a very long time.

Lets get the research out of the way first. Turn back the clock to the 1890s. Barnum and Bailey had their circus, the Ringling Brothers was building theirs, and there were ten other circuses that also were big enough to tour by train. P.T. "There's a sucker born every minute" Barnum died in 1891. In 1905 that Bailey chap sold a 50% share of the circus to the [Ringling Brothers]. After his death in 1906 his widow sold them the rest. The two circuses toured separately until 1919 when the war and the flu caused shortages in supplies, manpower, and diminished rail service. It wasn't until then that the two joined together to form one massive traveling circus. Both circuses had a respected and well established name so neither one was considered one that could be lost. So, unlike all the other circuses that the [Ringlings] were purchasing, Barnum and Bailey got to keep it's name. Thus the massive name we know now.

We also started wondering about the tour schedule for the circus. 50 states (some rather large) and 52 weekends of the year. Even if small neighboring states have to share a circus and large states get extra they're hard pressed to get everywhere in a year. Turns out there are multiple tours like I suspected. There's a blue tour, a gold tour, and a new red tour.

We went to see the blue tour called "Over the Top". Most of the performances are tied together by a storyline about a power struggle between the ring master and the head clown. They keep stealing the ringmaster's top hat from either other and flexing the might of their own circus performer followers.

I haven't been to enough circuses to be able to judge the relative merits of this one. They've gotten rid of the three ring format in favor of either a central act or a whole floor full of chaos. This does allow them to black out parts of the floor so props can be added or removed almost unnoticed while the performance continues in another part. Losing the three rings may be part of why they now have three touring troupes.

Anyway, I had a good time. I think the show is worth the $20 that somebody or other paid for it.