The animal acts are a difficult element to understand, especially from the outside looking in. When the circus was a relative new thing, of course there was never a concern about that. I think there was some film of a different circus where trainers were seriously abusing animals, and that helped prompt the original outcry. Then, the assumption was that every circus was handling their non-human performers that way too.
Ringling, for their part, had a very good record of animal care and it showed, because animals that are not treated properly would not perform correctly, and there were maybe one or two incidents of any animal issues on those shows during the last fifty years or so.
I think we all just took for granted that the show would continue on, even with the new configuration of no elephant performers.
The Greatest Show on Earth and The World's Most Famous Arena = Madison Square Garden - kind of were an alliance over the years. And maybe that was the signal that the show was going to end... when the Circus stopped playing at MSG, going instead to the Prudential Center in New Jersey and the Barclay's Center in Brooklyn... that was a jolt.
And yes! Thirteen Weeks in NYC was both a boon to the show, and a great opportunity for the performers, many of whom were from Europe, South America, Asia and Africa to have some time (usually Sunday Evenings, Monday Afternoons and the occasional scheduled off days) to explore the city, learn about it, and to have a chance to get a sense of what it was all about.
All in all, a chapter of the American Story is coming to a close. I wish the circus would have given us a heads up. The final shows all sold out and scalpers are selling the tickets for 2000 bucks a pop.
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Ringling, for their part, had a very good record of animal care and it showed, because animals that are not treated properly would not perform correctly, and there were maybe one or two incidents of any animal issues on those shows during the last fifty years or so.
I think we all just took for granted that the show would continue on, even with the new configuration of no elephant performers.
The Greatest Show on Earth and The World's Most Famous Arena = Madison Square Garden - kind of were an alliance over the years. And maybe that was the signal that the show was going to end... when the Circus stopped playing at MSG, going instead to the Prudential Center in New Jersey and the Barclay's Center in Brooklyn... that was a jolt.
And yes! Thirteen Weeks in NYC was both a boon to the show, and a great opportunity for the performers, many of whom were from Europe, South America, Asia and Africa to have some time (usually Sunday Evenings, Monday Afternoons and the occasional scheduled off days) to explore the city, learn about it, and to have a chance to get a sense of what it was all about.
All in all, a chapter of the American Story is coming to a close. I wish the circus would have given us a heads up. The final shows all sold out and scalpers are selling the tickets for 2000 bucks a pop.