Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey have risen from the ashes once again, rekindled. Showcasing a huge, diverse cast of young performers from around the world, they are coming to Chicago (technically Rosemont) to revive our love of circus from November 3-5. It has been a long time in the works--the official announcement of Ringling’s re-emergence on the circus scene was released back in May of 2022. It has finally happened and just one look at their social media gives you a good sense of how excited they are to be performing. For months they’ve been dropping behind-the-scenes and educational footage that demonstrates the stellar skill level of their circus artists, and now that they are on the road, videos are cropping up of their enthused audiences.
Historically dubbed the greatest show on earth, you might wonder, what has changed since they closed in May of 2017? To help answer that question, I had the good fortune to chat with Jan Damm, rola bola artist, juggler and overall clown. Damm says he is very excited that he gets to play on all of the circus apparatus during the show, and also to be the caretaker of a robot dog named Bailey (who promises to be a show stealer!) Damm and his wife Ariel (a wire walker herself) once called Chicago their home base for circus training, and he is happy to return to the city for a brief interlude.
Damm says the return for Ringling to the circus ring is an epic event. “They reimagined it…They're trying to think from square one. If we were making the ‘Greatest Show on Earth’ in the year 2023, what would that look like?”
The Ringling rebranding has even extended as far as a new logo, a playful modern twist on the old one, complete with a red nose/ball, which appears in most of their content. Although on the surface, the image has changed, the classic circus thrills will be as astounding as always. With a cast of 75, Ringling has brought talented performers from around the world.
Although the Feld empire has persisted with hit shows like Monster Jam, Marvel Universe Live! and Disney on Ice, the circus has always been the heart of their operations. Clearly, Feld is a company that knows how to pull off huge spectacles. Damm describes some of the highlights Chicago audiences can look forward to in the latest show, “There’s a lot of amazing acrobatics—incredible human performers that are the best in the world at what they do. There’s teeter board, flying trapeze, and also some extreme sports, like BMX and trials riders, and extreme unicyclers in the show performing on a set that transforms and creates a giant playground.... There’s pyrotechnics, video lighting effects, sound effects and incredible musicians from Argentina named Argendance who are performing with our drummer named Alex Stickels doing this really amazing rhythm number. So it's kind of like everything that you'd want to see in a spectacle!”
Gone are the days of the circus train, Damm pointed out. Without a train transporting the huge cast and equipment, things are a bit more contemporary. “We have an incredible logistics team that helps us get from place to place and we stay in hotels. We do miss the train, but of course, there were downsides to the old train. Getting to and from a train yard in a big city is not the easiest. And we get to stay near the venue. For example, I get to walk around in the beautiful city of Milwaukee or Chicago--to experience the cities in a more personal way, rather than being in a train yard in an industrial area.”
But the classic elements of circus that have always stirred hearts are still present, Damm reassures us, “If I may be so bold, the show is for literally everybody. We've had families that are really responding to the show. When we come out and do the slapstick number at the very beginning of the show, you can just hear the peals of laughter from the kids.”
Describing his role in the show, Damm explains “My character's name is Knickknack. He's one of the guides of the show, so he helps guide the audience through the performance. He gets into slips, trips and mishaps… and he gets into some classic clowning gags with our trio of comic performers from Ukraine named Equivokee.”
Damm says that from family outings to date night, there will be jaw-dropping acts to keep people engaged. Some of the acts might be familiar to most, including trapeze, high wire acts, acrobatics and juggling, for example. But others will come out of left field for newcomers. Take the teeterboard, a kind of seesaw that is jumped upon on one end to lend leverage to the flyer on the other side. It's a fast-paced crowd-pleaser. But have you heard of Icarian games, the double wheel of destiny or Boleadoras?
The return of Ringling to the USA circus and beyond is an important sign to the circus world that the art form will live on. Damm agrees, “Ringling is what we call the big one in the industry. It's 150 years of history! It's the giant of circus history. So many iconic performers have come through here. No part of the circus is untouched by RIngling's legacy."
The draw of circus is that it can reach a universal audience, appealing to people who love drama as well as those who love sports and spectacle—which makes for a great evening out. Fortunately for the Chicago region, we get to be part of the historic return of Ringling and to experience their new twist on an old classic.
Tickets are available for six shows over three days (November 3-5) at Rosemont’s Allstate Arena. Prices range from $42 to $139.
Photo credit Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey.