When Lawrence Records was a child in the 1960s he attended a special Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus performance at the Providence Auditorium. It left a lasting impression.
“When I saw elephants at the circus, I said, ‘Someday I’m going to own an elephant,’ ” Records said. “I started saving 25-cent pieces, and by the time I was 20, I had an elephant.” In fact, Records bought two elephants, which he trained and cared for at his home in North Kingstown.
Records now lives in Dudley, Mass., where he has an animal-show business called Records and Burpee. He and his wife, Alexandra Burpee, care for about 140 animals (but no elephants) on a private, 28-acre farm.
Records is one of the millions of fans who attended the renowned circus as it performed in Providence over the last century. He, along with countless other loyal fans, will sadly bid “adieu” to the show next month, as Ringling Bros. will close for good after 146 years.
Ringling Bros. has performed in Providence for nearly a century, and the city has played an integral role in its history. That includes a 2014 show that received national attention when several performers were injured, sparking a still-unresolved lawsuit. Providence will now host one of its final performances.
“It’s a shame to see it go down,” Records said. “It was so good for families for years, but its business model has become prohibitive.”
Indeed, the traveling circuses of yesteryear were revered as a primary source of family entertainment, and would draw large crowds, enticed by its mix of exotic animals, tumbling clowns and spectacular performances.
In Providence, families for decades flooded downtown for multiday shows, which benefited some local businesses and family-oriented restaurants.
Dale J. Venturini, president and CEO of the Rhode Island Hospitality Association, remembers walking alongside visiting elephants, and, like Records, was inspired by their presence and scale.
“I couldn’t even keep up with them,” she recalled.
But the circus, like the world around it, has changed. High overhead costs, low ticket prices and declining sales have hurt the bottom line.
“The circus still travels by train. Each one is about a mile long, and as you can guess, that is not an inexpensive mode of transportation,” said Stephen E. Payne, vice president of corporate communications at Feld Entertainment Inc., which owns Ringling Bros. “Even more fundamental, when you look across the entertainment landscape, it used to be when Ringling Brothers came to town it was a celebration. There were three television stations when I was a kid. Now there’s over 1,000.”
The circus also has suffered from outspoken opposition from animal-rights groups, who’ve long complained about its treatment and use of exotic animals.
“Sometimes the right decision is not an easy one,” Payne said. “When that last curtain closes on the circus unit in Providence, it will be a very emotional evening. There’s a sense that we’re all witnesses to history.”
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SUFFERING SALES
Ringling Bros. merged with Barnum & Bailey the same year it started performing in Providence, in 1919.
The circus didn’t come every year, however, until Feld Entertainment acquired it in 1967. Ringling Bros. has since played locally each year with at least eight scheduled performances, for a total of about 500 shows. The event has drawn more than 2.7 million spectators over that time, according to estimates provided by Feld Entertainment.
“Audiences in Providence have always been great,” said Payne.
Its absence in future years will leave a financial gap for the R.I. Convention Center Authority, which estimates the circus generates about $75,000 to $100,000 each year for the Dunkin’ Donuts Center.
“It’s a good event, but it’s not a gigantic moneymaker,” said Jim McCarville, RICCA executive director, noting that the performers travel by train and stay in the box cars, meaning hotels don’t benefit directly from their presence.
But other downtown businesses do benefit from the circus’ visits, he acknowledged.
“They do take some local purchasing, they do advertising, so there’s a good impact for radio, TV and print outlets,” he said. “It’s a good event to get people downtown, and we do derive additional parking revenue, and increased traffic at the [Providence Place] mall.”
Ticket sales, however, have been trending downward, as the circus sold 31,961 tickets for eight shows last year, representing a 34.7 percent decline from a decade ago.
Ticket sales hit a low of 20,033 in 2014, when a group of eight acrobats, performing an act known as “the human chandelier,” fell about 20 feet and struck a ninth person on the ground. The performers suffered several injuries, and have since filed a lawsuit against Patroller Supply LLC and four other companies. The performers allege a carabiner broke during the act, which caused the fall, according to the lawsuit filed in California Superior Court.
The terrifying act was caught on video and uploaded online, which shows shocked and confused audience members watching as paramedics dash into the performance area to treat the performers. The remaining Providence shows were canceled.
“The first responders really did save lives,” Payne said.
Sean Bergeron, a U.S. Marine, had been to the Ringling circus five times before he saw the acrobats fall. He was sitting in the sixth row with his then-girlfriend.
“We had a clear view of their faces, before and after they fell. … Watching them lay there yelling, screaming for help; people around me crying,” he remembered. “Shortly after the last victim had left, I had to drive home with those images in my head,” said the Rhode Island resident. “Couldn’t get them away. Still can’t to this day.”
RIACC and Feld Entertainment were not named in the lawsuit, which is still pending. But Feld Entertainment was slapped with a $7,000 fine by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Ticket sales were hurt the following year.
“2015 suffered from a hangover,” McCarville said.
The 2014 incident is at least the second time a major mishap occurred during a Ringling Bros. show in Providence. In 1987, the show’s head elephant, Targa, dropped dead in front of circusgoers. An autopsy revealed the cause of death was a pancreatic tumor, which put to rest rumors of a heart attack. A sideshow ensued after a suggestion arose to bury the elephant at the Central Landfill in Johnston. (That didn’t happen.)
Ringling’s use of animals, however, has long been a polarizing facet of the circus. Opposition groups have accused the circus and animal trainers of mistreatment, which – among other things – led the circus to end its use of elephants.
Providence last year hosted Ringling Bros.’ last show with elephants. That was the same year Rhode Island became the first state to ban the use of bullhooks, known also as elephant goads, which is a hooked device used for centuries to prod and control elephants.
“There is a myriad of causes for why we are ending the show. I wouldn’t point to that as the cause,” Payne said about the opposition. “I can tell you that it didn’t help.”
ANIMAL RIGHTS
Circus fans and city dwellers often know exactly when the circus comes to town, as a commencing parade through Providence signals its arrival.
For decades, elephants have been a part of this tradition in Providence, even predating Ringling Bros. Old black and white photos at the Providence Public Library show elephants walking in pairs down Westminster Street in the late 1890s. The photographer had climbed a building between Fenner and Franklin streets to capture the spectacle, as onlookers lined each side of the street with their carts and horses.
Exotic and wild animals have always been part of the allure of circuses. But it might also have contributed to its downfall.
“It’s gone on for decades, people who question the treatment of animals and especially the elephants,” said McCarville.
Rep. Patricia A. Serpa, D-West Warwick, co-sponsored the legislation banning the use of bullhooks on elephants in circuses and traveling shows. “I’m proud to be part of the pushback,” Serpa said. “It’s a cruel and punishing form of treatment because the elephants do respond to the pain being inflicted. As so
ciety evolves, we have other ways of training these elephants.”
Serpa first became involved at the request of The Humane Society of the United States, a nonprofit advocacy group for animal protection. The group actively opposes circus treatment of animals.
“I see it as a win for the animals,” said Debbie L. Leahy, manager of captive wildlife protection at The Humane Society. “There’s overwhelming evidence of cruel treatment that goes into each and every circus performance, so this is definitely a huge win for the animals.”
But not everyone agrees with that assessment, including Scott Marshall, Rhode Island’s state veterinarian. Marshall started working with Ringling Bros. first in the private sector beginning in 1991 and again in the public sector starting about a decade ago. He first provided emergency care for the animals while practicing privately. He now examines the animals for health purposes when they first arrive in the state.
“It’s a big ethical debate whether wild animals should be kept in captivity for entertainment purposes,” Marshall said. “From a health perspective, I’ve never seen any neglect or abuse, and the animals are very well-cared for, apart from the ethical debate about whether they should be there or not in the first place.”
Marshall, along with Records, advocated against the bullhook legislation.
“I was amazed at how well they were treated,” Marshall added. “I was fortunate enough to get a little behind-the-scenes peek and was escorted through the other animal enclosures. Twenty elephants, all lined up asleep at the same time, that’s something that will be etched in my mind forever.”
Likewise, Records, who’s trained elephants and hippopotami, along with a plethora of other animals, characterizes Ringling Bros. and its treatment of animals as the “gold standard.”
“It’s a shame people have demonized the circus,” he said. “People are told they’re horrible to the animals, and I don’t believe that’s right. But if you say something enough times, people are going to believe it, regardless of whether it’s the truth.”
FILLING THE VOID
Despite how one feels about the circus and its legacy, the show ending will leave a hole in the run of performances that come each year to Providence.
Payne, however, says Feld Entertainment is committed to filling that void with a new show. In November, Feld Entertainment signed a partnership with Sesame Workshop to develop a new tour of Sesame Street live shows, which he said could come to the city.
He also says the company has another large-scale show in preproduction “based on stories and characters that you would recognize pretty easily.” He stopped short of disclosing more, but said the company would make a formal announcement later this spring.
“Yes,” he said. “That show will come to Providence.”
Ringling Bros. is separated into two shows, “Out of This World” and “Circus Xtreme.” The latter will perform its final show, in Providence, from May 4 to May 7. “Out of This World” will perform its last show from May 12 to May 21 in New York, which will officially bring an end to Ringling Bros.
Venturini expects a big crowd for the final Providence shows, as people will want to be part of history. She says that will be a boon for local business.
“It’s the final stop for the touring unit,” she said. “Our city is so navigable, affordable and easy to get to, it’ll generate a fair amount of business for the local economy. Out-of-town guests are going to want to be part of the historic event.”
When asked whether the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey brand might ever be sold to another company, Payne said there’s a sense the Feld family – which owns Feld Entertainment – wanted to close the business model down completely.
He’s also doubtful anyone would want to buy it.
“I think people see it as a business model that in 21st-century America is no longer viable,” he said. “Let’s not try to have anyone else keep it going for name’s sake. Let’s do this in true show business fashion and go out big and on top.”
For animal advocates, including Leahy, efforts to raise awareness about the treatment of animals at shows will continue. Apart from its elephants, which have retired to a 200-acre property in central Florida, Ringling Bros. contracts out a lot of its individual animal trainers for other shows. Leahy expects those individuals will move on to other shows and fairs.
“We raise awareness so people don’t buy tickets to wild-animal acts, and sometimes we do outreach to specific venues and encourage them to establish policies,” Leahy said.
Payne says since the company announced it would be closing the circus after this year, the response from long-time fans has been overwhelming. He says Providence is no exception.
“Everybody there will be witness to history and an era of live entertainment that’s filled with memories and thrills that we won’t ever forget,” he said. “That’s what the circus has always been about.”
For longtime fans, including Records, it truly is the end of an era.
“The circus was born out of a time when there wasn’t a lot of entertainment,” he said. “Now it’s different. It’s a very difficult business model, and I hate to say it, but its time has come.”
