Ringling Brothers circus to perform in Philadelphia

By Michelle Talisesky
Collegian Staff
April 25, 2007

Philadelphia is playing host to the Greatest Show on Earth— Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus April 24 through April 29 at the Wachovia Spectrum in South Philadelphia.

Witness amazing circus acts and animals and enjoy the antics of Bello the clown, along with appearances by Asian elephants, lions, Royal Bengal and white tigers and bears.

The Circus’s Web site calls the event “A Hair-Raising Circus Bello-Bration,” in honor of the famed clown Bello. Bello will tempt fate as he attempts to balance on a seven-story sway pole and survive the Wheel of Steel.

The star of the show, Bello is named the “master of merriment,” bringing “loads of laughter and daredevil hilarity” to the circus performance. He was nominated by Time magazine as “America’s Best Clown.”

Other performers set to star in the circus include Ringmaster Tyron McFarlan as well as Brian and Tina Miser, the human cannonballs. Taba the tiger trainer will also star in the Greatest Show on Earth, demonstrating his skills with the Bengal tigers. Returning favorites include Asian elephants and white horses.

The idea of the circus is said to have begun April 3, 1793, when the first circus debuted in none other than Philadelphia. For everyone at The Greatest Show On Earth, however, the real beginning is considered to be that moment when the lights go down and the show is just about to begin.

After P.T. Barnum’s death in 1891, James A. Bailey carried the Barnum & Bailey Circus to new heights of popularity. The Greatest Show On Earth owned over 85 railroad cars used for transportation across the United States, employed more than 1,000 people and consisted of five rings and stages, plus the largest traveling menagerie anywhere.

Meanwhile, the Ringling brothers of Baraboo, Wis., were building a reputation of their own. In 1884, Alf T., Al, Charles, John and Otto Ringling soon became known as Kings Of The Circus World as they performed in their own circus. A sixth brother, Henry Ringling, joined the show in 1886.

In 1907, the Ringlings purchased Barnum and Bailey’s circus after more than a year of discussion and negotiation. On July 8, 1907, the deal went through and The Greatest Show On Earth became the property of the Ringlings for a price of $400,000, starting Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey.

As the circus evolved it became known as The Greatest Show on Earth, and now encompasses exotic animals and America’s Best Clown, on display this week in Philadelphia.

taliseskym1@lasalle.edu