I must be very
much out of touch. I took my girl friend to the Ringling Circus at the
Roanoke, VA Civic Center yesterday. Since this show does not play this small
venue every year, it has probably been 5-years or more since I had caught
the show. Boy was I in for a shock. This must be the biggest downsizing
since 1956 and the folding of the Big Top. Catch this: no train (the parking
lot was full of house trailers and 18-wheelers), only one ring, only one
elephant, and NO cage act! While there were some quality acts which are
reminiscent of the "Big One", I don't think this show can survive. Even the
concession department left something to be desired. There were
no wireless bull horns selling the $15.00 "Circus Souvenir Programs". Yet on
the table where the woman was pitching some plush elephants and monkeys,
there were free comment cards with the following text. "We are all ears.
Tell us your comments. We are so confident that you will be pleased with our
products and service, that we guarantee all of our merchandise for 2-years".
Who ever heard of circus novelty merchandise being guaranteed for 2-years?
The Prince of Humbugs will turn over in his grave!
The entire animal cast consisted or the following: 6-white stallions, 2-dogs
and 1-elephant. Talk about a dog and pony show.
The old Sells and Gray and King Brothers of the 60's had more animals. I
think that they actually had 2 or maybe even 3 elephants.
Since there were 2-PETA demonstrators out front with picket signs, am I to
believe that the animal rights activists have done this to the Ringling show
with all of the Feld's money?
I guess I am
also resolved to the fact that the Strates show train is now the ONLY show
train in America?
I know that some of you guys are much more in touch than I am. I really feel
bad that I am so behind the times.
Tell me I am
all wet and don't know what I am talking about.
Tell me this is
all a bad dream.
Monty
Monty: I hope you did enjoy the "GOLD UNIT" of Ringling Bros. Barnum &
Bailey. The RBBB now has 3 circuses on tour. The red and blue units are on
trains, a total of 112 cars. More than the tented show ever had at it's
biggest.
I hope you will have the opportunity of seeing one of the bigger shows. The
gold unit was built to play the buildings not large enough to accommodate
the larger shows. Many towns do not have sufficient demurrage tracking
for the trains to park on. Some towns played by Gold have no sufficient
railroad service, if any. Usually seating capacities played by the
Gold unit are incapable of grossing enough money to pay the daily nut of one
of the train shows, even if every performance was sold out. Roanoke is a
great show town and when my partner C M Christ was the promoter for "World
Champion Wrestling" a few years ago he promoted at that Roanoke arena
several times. It was a fairly new, fine building, and perfect for the GOLD
unit. Costs of operating any businesses but especially shows have risen so
dramatically in the past few years, it becomes difficult to have any profit
margined.. Example,: when Herb Walters sold the Clark and Walters circus to
the Silver lake family in the spring of 1967 the show was on the road making
one nighters, booked, billed and advertised with all staff in place. That
show including. I believe with three elephants, sold for about ten percent
of what it costs today to put out the advance
(booking, contracting, permitting, licensing, advertising materials, buying
advertising, and billposting and billposters) for a show of that same size.
Then a chimpanzee trained was $500.00 (we had a couple) now thirty five to
forty thousand dollars. You can count on one hand with fingers to spare the
chimp acts today. Elephants then were sometimes available for
five to ten thousand. A gentle trained Asian today a hundred thousand
or more. You mention Kenneth Felds wealth (publicized annually in Forbes
directory of the wealthiest in North America). I hope he makes a lot of
money from the circuses, but it seems generally agreed that the nine ice
shows, because of far less nut, are the greater source of Feld Entertainment
Inc. profit revenue. I think Mr. Feld is doing a tremendous service to the
American public and to his and former RBBB owners in continuing to keep
these shows on the road. I don't believe that it is an easy task. He could
probably divest himself of his circus holdings, and make a lot more money in
the stock market, without the stress.
May God
bless all circuses.
I pray Mr.
Feld: Keep up your good work. We of The Circus Fans Association of America
appreciate all the circus industry and thee people involved.
Respectfully,
Ward Hall
Thanks Ward: I must admit that YES I did enjoy the Gold Unit. I have been to
the Ringling website and found out some of what you said in your reply. I
will just have to drive to Greensboro in February and catch the all new Red
Unit on its way to Madison Square Garden.
Yes Mr. Hall, you are so right! Thank the lord that the Feld's are now
keeping all 3-units on the road. I must confess that I used to be a CFA
member. Maybe now this will be a reason to join back up and get their great
publication, "White Tops". You just do not know how glad I am that the Red
and Blue Units, I know now, are still out there on the road. I have awakened
from my bad dream. As I said, I was out of touch.
Thank you again, Monty
