From Jackie LeClaire

4463372711_53355ba802, a photo by bucklesw1 on Flickr. Some of my opinions on the Ringling Bros. & Barnum and Bailey Show, Tampa Bay Forum, Jan. 7, 3:30 Performance First of all it is importent to note that I have not seen Ringling since the first year it elimated the 3 rings. I am sure it has got to be quite some time ago. My most annoying thing was not being able to understand the ringmaster as he was always screaming into the mike. I guess the do not want you to understand, maybe it is a gimmick to sell programs. I felt badly for the flying act, a really great act and could have been so beautiful with some generic music with a rhythm rather than that bang, bang what ever the music was. They did a fantastic act. They came in and coveralls, started on the platforms and ended up there. No come down into the nets. Different for me, but I guess that is what is done today. I sort of felt that was kind of a throw away act, opening the second half of the show in that manner. It is without question, the Greatest Show On Earth. All the acts were good, specially the teter board acts and the dog acts with the cat act, elephant number, etc, etc. It was thrilling to see thosed elephants acoss the arean in those bright white lights. The Chinese group do more of an exhibition of their abilities in what ever you call what they are doing, but they do a darn good job of it. I had a difficult time finding the clowns. We arrived just 5 minutes before the show started. They were pointed out to me, I was stupidly looking for something that looked at least something like what I remembered in clowning. I loved the Rapunzel castle number. They did a great job on that and it was cleverly done. The midget , dwarf, or little person, was dynamic, He was cute, loving and very funny. Reminded me of Prince Paul and Frankie Soluto. The audience loved him and he was definitely a star of the show. I never did understand what the ringmaster yelled, if he did yell his name. Interesting that the Cossack number ended up like an old fashion ridding act. I attended the 3:30 show on Saturday. I am sure it was a problem and will be corrected, but when the finale came with the dragon, there was so much smoke in the arena, that even with the spots, it was just about impossible to see anything in the arena but the smoke. They must have had the entire cast out there, but it was trying find them in a sand storm and the smoke had still not cleared as we left the arena. We did get to see the Dragon as in came around to our track where the smoke was less dense. It is a great, animated float, very technically clever when it did show. The wardrobe overall was fantastic and the energy of the performers and the pace of the show spectacular. No one other circus in America could ever present such a show. The technical presentation of the lighting effects and on the screens was phenomenal. This writing of course in not a fact sheet, but just an old times opinion of a show that I was with in 1929 at one year old, and my dad spent 35 years with and me in and out for 20. It still makes me proud of my Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey heritage