Jay HandelmanSarasota Herald-Tribune
For nearly 20 years, The Ringling’s Circus Museum has been a highlight for visitors with its displays of old show posters, memorabilia and a massive scale model replica of all the equipment, animals and people involved in moving a traveling big top tent circus from city to city by train cars.
That highly detailed model created by the late Howard Tibbals over more than 50 years of his life, takes up most of the ground floor of a building he helped pay for. And now, two years after his death at age 85, the Circus Museum has been updated to bring the history of the art form into the 21st century.
“The Greatest Show on Earth,” a new permanent exhibition, focuses on the period since Irvin Feld bought the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus in 1967 and built up its following after a transition from outdoor tent shows to indoor arenas.
“Our timeline ended in about 1967, which was when the Feld family took over ownership of Ringling Bros. and we thought it was time to bring it up to date,” said Jennifer Lemmer Posey, the Tibbals Curator of Circus at The Ringling.
The new 3,500-square-foot area on the second floor features several rooms with interactive displays, a video in which costumes, props and performers appear to come to life, paper models of past circus productions and smaller video features that allow visitors to control what and how much they see and learn.
Lemmer Posey said Feld knew that building the indoor circus shows “was going to require a lot of work to fill up arenas that could seat thousands of people.” That led to the introduction of more lavish costumes and scenic elements, plus new lighting and sound technology. There are some samples of designs on display.
Tracing a changing circus history
For more than 10 years, visitors to the circus museum have been welcomed by a giant, nearly two-story-high mural in the entry hallway. It once hung at Feld Entertainment headquarters and highlights some of the famous artists, acts and behind-the-scenes personnel who have been involved over the years. Among those seen are Circus Sarasota co-founder and aerialist Dolly Jacobs; her father, the famed clown Lou Jacobs; Circus Sarasota clown and educator Karen Bell; clown Glen “Frosty Little”; the late legendary animal trainer Gunther Gebel-Williams, along with Kenneth Feld, Irvin's son who now runs the company with his children. Irvin Feld died in 1984.
Feld Entertainment, which is based in Palmetto, provided most of the material and memorabilia featured and was involved in the creation of the new area. “They have really supported this project and wanted to showcase their legacy,” Lemmer Posey said.
Outside the new exhibit area, the museum has updated the timeline scroll on one wall that traces developments in circus history from 2000 BC.
Visitors enter under a large lit-up marquee proclaiming “The Greatest Show on Earth” that was displayed in arenas during the 2016 circus tour. Walking into a room with bright red curtains, you see display cases with life casts of made-up clown faces, and a detailed map showcasing what life is like on a traveling circus show. In another room are multiple video screens controlled by moving your hand over a beam of light to determine what you see. Some feature photographs of different acts and others have videos.
Six years of planning
The project’s design process began in 2018, “and then the pandemic came and the supply chain was disrupted and it took longer than we hoped,” Lemmer Posey said. But the delays also allowed for more contemporary displays like those light and hand-controlled photos and video boxes.
“This exhibit will serve as a dynamic testament to the vitality and innovation of modern circus,” Ringling Museum Executive Director Steven High said in a statement. “We are thrilled to finally have permanent gallery space dedicated to the era of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus that many of our visitors remember.“
The new area opens just as Ringling Bros. has relaunched the touring circus show after it was shut down in 2017. It faced strong competition from a growing number of Cirque du Soleil shows, and pressure from animal rights groups.
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Ringling has had a strong Sarasota following because of its long ties to the community. Circus magnate John Ringling moved the circus winter quarters to Sarasota in 1927, where it remained and became a tourist attraction until a move to Venice in 1960. In 1992, the company moved the winter quarters, when new shows are put together, to the Florida State Fairgrounds because the Seminole Gulf Railroad abandoned about 10 miles of track into Venice.
The latest edition of The Greatest Show on Earth began touring last fall, with a Tampa stop in January.
Feld Entertainment has continued to do big business with a variety of other shows, including Disney on Ice, Monster Jam, Marvel Universe Live, Super Moto Cross and Jurassic World Live Tour.
The Circus Museum is included in regular admission to The Ringling. 5401 Bay Shore Rd., Sarasota. 941-359-5700; ringling.org
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