Two Circuses Converge On Hartford For A Weekend Of Saying Goodbye To The Old, Hello To The New

Ladies and gentlemen, two circuses cross paths in Hartford the same week — one, a new, modern vision of what a circus must have been like 114 years ago; the other among the final performances of a circus that has been around for 146 years.

The Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey Circus is at the XL Center April 27 to 30 with its soon-to-close Circus Xtreme spectacular.

Circus 1903 is a new theater show from the producer of The Illusionists. Its first U.S. tour stops at the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts April 28 to 30.

They couldn’t have picked a better location to intersect. Connecticut has been home to some of the highest highs and lowest lows in circus history. One of the shapers of this singular art form was P.T. Barnum, who was born in Bethel in 1810 and served two terms in the Connecticut House of Representatives and one term as the mayor of Bridgeport while becoming one of the best-known hucksters and impresarios of his time. One of the greatest stars of Barnum’s circus, General Tom Thumb, was born in Bridgeport and built a home on the Thimble Islands.

On the dark side, there was the Hartford circus fire of 1944, back when Ringling Bros. performed in outdoor tents. The tragedy, which killed 169 people, not only improved fire safety codes in Connecticut forever after, it led to Ringling Bros. becoming a strictly indoor operation by 1956.

Both the Ringling Bros. circus and 1903 tell a tale of traditions, transitions and vanishing landscapes. They both exalt classic circus showmanship, featuring aerialists, jugglers, acrobats, trick bicyclists and other time-honored attractions.

As audiences have decreased for Ringling Bros., the recent Cirque du Soleil offering “Toruk — The First Flight” at the XL Center sold more tickets than any of the previous Cirque du Soleil shows at the venue.

“A lot of people in our company,” says Steve Payne, vice president of corporate communications for Feld Entertainment, “feel that the circus is the cornerstone of what we do. If you can produce Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey, you can produce anything in modern entertainment.” Feld Entertainment has produced the circus since 1967.

That cornerstone will disappear in a matter of weeks, when the final two Ringling Bros. tours climb their last trapeze. Circus Xtreme expires May 7 in Providence, a week after it plays Hartford. Out of This World goes out of business May 21 in Uniondale, N.Y.

“We realized the business model for the circus was not sustainable anymore,” Payne says. “Over the past 10 years, there have been flat or declining sales — not in all markets, but the conclusion became starkly obvious.”

The final go-round of Circus Xtreme is distinguished by the appearance of the first female ringmaster for Ringling Bros. Kristen Michelle Wilson auditioned for the job in September, was announced with fanfare in December and after three days with the show was given the news that it would all end in early May.

“It’s such a tragedy,” Wilson says. “… Many people in our show are multigenerational circus. This is older than baseball, older than Coca-Cola. The next generation won’t have a ‘Greatest Show on Earth’.”

After setting the oversized standard for circuses since the 19th century, Ringling Bros.had to face competition not just from the sleek, lithe, mood-shifting Cirque du Soleil but from a slew of small, lean circuses that fit in theaters rather than arenas.

Circus 1903, conceived by the British producer Simon Painter, is a fine example of how circuses have had to reinvent themselves on a smaller scale without losing the excitement and derring-do that is still expected of them.

David Williamson, who appears in Circus 1903 as a sideshow barker and ringmaster character called “Willie Whipsnade” (replete with twirly mustache) worked in Painter’s best-known show “The Illusionists.”

Circus 1903 is “a romantic throwback circus, with authentic music and costumes, that puts the focus back on the performers,” Williamson says. “It’s all about the showmanship.”

Some of the distinctive acts in Circus 1903 include a lyra (athletic hoop) artist; a Rolla Bolla balance routine; and Russian acrobats who’ve worked together for 20 years and synch their stunts closely to a recorded music soundtrack.

The entire show has an original score composed by Evan Jolly (who’s done several Illusionists shows) and recorded by the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra. Plus “I’m told we’re the only proscenium circus that can do a proper high-wire act,” Williamson says.

The show’s major innovation, however, might be the use of elephant puppets — designed by Mervyn Millar and Tracy Waller of the British puppet troupe Significant Object — to stand in for their live counterparts.

Luke Chadwick-Jones plays Peanut, a baby elephant; three other puppeteers manipulate Peanut’s 11-foot-tall mother. Chadwick-Jones says his audition for Peanut involved just “a pair of aluminum stilts, and you know, ‘Be the elephant’.”

Circus artistry continues to progress in fascinating new directions. Design and tone are becoming as important as the ability to balance on a wire.

“I know the Ringling Bros. model is closing,” “Williamson says, “but there will always be circuses.”

THE RINGLING BROS. AND BARNUM & BAILEY CIRCUS swoops into the XL Center, 1 Civic Center Plaza, Hartford, April 27 to 30. Performances are Thursday and Friday at 7 p.m.; Saturday at 11 a.m., and 3 and 7 p.m.; and Sunday at 1 and 5 p.m. A preshow allows audience members to meet performers and look at the animals $20 to $150. 860-249-6333 and xlcenter.com.

CIRCUS 1903 is at The Bushnell, 166 Capitol Ave., Hartford, April 28 to 30. Performances are Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 2 and 8 p.m. and Sunday at 1 and 6:30 p.m. $27.50 to $88.50. 860-987-5900 and bushnell.org.