Leaving the life: The final days of the Ringling Bros. Circus
Performers
hugging
Ringmaster Kristen Michelle Wilson, right, hugs a member of
the crew after the red unit’s final performance, Sunday, May 7, 2017, in
Providence, R.I. For the performers who travel with the Ringling Bros. and
Barnum & Bailey Circus, its demise means the end of a unique way of life
for hundreds of performers and crew members. (Photo: Julie Jacobson/AP)
An elephant
stretches its trunk through a window to soothe a sick child. A woman gives
birth and three months later is back performing on the high wire. A handler of
big cats weeps as the beasts lope out of the ring for the last time.
These
stories could come only from circus performers, and in particular one famous
circus, the one immortalized as “The Greatest Show on Earth”: the Ringling
Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, which is hanging its hat for the last
time this weekend.
One of
Ringling’s two traveling circuses is scheduled to perform its final show Sunday
in New York Providence
The final shows are May 7 at the
Dunkin' Donuts Center in 
.
