For the last time, the circus is in town with a new show and no elephants
Audiences attending Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus’ latest offering will notice a few changes, in addition to the elephant not in the room.
The circus officially retired its last 11 performing elephants last summer, meaning there will be no pachyderm parade through the University of South Carolina Greek Village when the circus comes to town Thursday, Jan. 26 through Sunday, Jan. 29.
The performers will still rumble into Columbia by train, and plan to wow audiences with a newly redesigned show titled “Out of This World.”
The four-night stand will be the last time the Ringling circus comes to Columbia – ever. Last week, Kenneth Feld, CEO of Feld Entertainment, which produces the circus, announced that the show will close forever in May after a 146-year run.
“Ringling Bros. ticket sales have been declining, but following the transition of the elephants off the road, we saw an even more dramatic drop,” Feld said in a statement. “This, coupled with high operating costs, made the circus an unsustainable business for the company.”
(“Out of This World” still has lions, tigers, a leopard, horses, goats, pigs, llamas, a donkey and kangaroos.)
Related: Beloved Riverbanks Zoo elephant has died
Before “Out of This World” arrives at Colonial Life Arena, Go Columbia spoke with Ringmaster Johnathan Lee Iverson about some of the new elements in Ringling’s final circus production.
For the first time, the show has a storyline, which Iverson said makes it easier for audiences to follow along.
“Before, the circus was essentially a glorious grand display of talent. There might be a theme, but no storyline. With this, there’s something to follow. There are characters you’ll be invested in. I think it elevates the show,” he said.
In “Out of This World,” Iverson and acrobat Paulo dos Santos travel to planets across the galaxy, battling an evil queen who has kidnapped their circus stars and scattered them in space. Technology like programmable spotlights and 3-D video projection mapping aide in transforming arenas into other-worldly spacescapes.
The addition of ice is another first.
Performers will combine acrobatic disciplines with stilt-skating, human pyramid formations and hoop-diving on ice.
“It adds a fast-paced flavor to the show,” Iverson said. He doesn’t wear skates in the show (“We have an unspoken agreement to keep the ringmaster off of YouTube”) but that many performers learned to adapt their talents to the ice.
Iverson joined the circus in 1998 as the youngest – and first African-American – ringmaster in the circus’s history. His wife and two children are also employed by the circus.
The final production of "Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey presents “Out of This World" will be Sunday, May 21 in Uniondale, New York.
If you go
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus
WHEN: Thursday, Jan. 26-Sunday, Jan. 29
WHERE: Colonial Life Arena, 801 Lincoln St.
COST: $13-$53
DETAILS: www.coloniallifearena.com
Circus elephants’ legacy still lives at USC
The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey left something behind on the University of South Carolina campus – the Elephant Room at Carolina Coliseum.
Generations of local high school students have gathered in the Elephant Room before graduation ceremonies. USC students used to stand in long lines to register for classes in the catacomb-like basement that also serves as a loading area.
Most knew the name had some connection to the circus elephants. Here’s the official story of how the Elephant Room got its name, as passed down from former coliseum directors to current director Sid Kenyon.
“In one of the early years of the Carolina Coliseum (somewhere around 1970), the outside temperatures were near the high teens while Ringling Bros. circus was here. It was determined that the temperatures were too cold for the elephants to remain in their tents in the parking lots behind the building, so they were brought into the storage (and) staging area adjacent to the arena portion of the coliseum. People began calling this area the ‘Elephant Room.’”
Joey Holleman, The Associated Press
This story was originally published January 18, 2017 at 10:23 AM with the headline "For the last time, the circus is in town with a new show and no elephants."