Ringling’s big spec for 1946 was themed
Toyland, which naturally suggests that it should have been
accompanied by music from Babes in Toyland. When the show opened in Madison Square
Garden, however, it was accompanied by some rather highbrow original music
composed by Deems Taylor (who is probably best remembered today as the
commentator who introduces the musical numbers in Walt Disney’s
Fantasia.) While the
Circus was still in New York, John Ringling North and James Haley wrested its
control away from Aunt Edith and Cousin Robert.
According to contemporary reviews, one of the first changes they made was
to replace the Deems Taylor spec music with music by Victor Herbert, including,
we must assume, music from Babes in Toyland.
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Sunday, December 21, 2014
Babes In Toyland #4
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2 comments:
Victor Herbert’s music has been used to accompany circus acts since the 1890s. At the 1962 Grotto Circus in Cleveland, the Zacchinis' flying act was accompanied by a special musical score (perhaps prepared by Bill Pruyn or Izzy Cervone) that was comprised entirely of Victor Herbert’s music.
And speaking of Victor Herbert’s music, for the 114th Edition Blue Unit, which celebrated the 100th anniversary of the Ringling Brothers’ first circus tour, an unusual amount of care was taken to insure that old-time music was prominently featured, particularly in the first half of the performance. For display No. 3, which featured Daniel Suskow working camels in the center ring and Michael and Kevin Gautier working small elephants in the end rings, the music consisted of three marches by Victor Herbert that dated from the time of the original Ringling brothers: “The Serenade March” (1897), “The Ameer March” (1899) and “World’s Progress March” (1917).
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