The final curtain falls late Sunday on the \u00ab\u00a0Greatest Show on Earth.\u00a0\u00bb<\/b>
\nThe final curtain fell late Sunday on the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, known widely as \u00ab\u00a0the Greatest Show on Earth.\u00a0\u00bb
The circus, which traces its lineage back to showman P. T. Barnum\u2019s traveling museum in the 1800s, performed its final show at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, N.Y.
Ringling streamed the final show on its website and on Facebook Live, where at least 19,000 viewers watched at one point. One commenter remarked: \u201ci remember seeing the Greatest Show on Earth as a little girl with my family. Thank you for all your hard work and all the joy you brought to us all.\u201d
A second unit of the traveling circus closed this month in Providence, R. I.
The circus last January said it would end its run after 146 years. The move came as circuses and animal-performance shows across the country have struggled with declining attendance, shrinking attention spans and shifting social pressure brought to bear by activists who have argued the animals are sometimes poorly treated.
The battle over animal rights dealt a seemingly fatal blow to the circus \u2014 Ringling had been targeted by organizations like PETA who consider it cruel to force animals to perform.
Producers removed elephants from the show’s performances a year ago, and Feld Entertainment, which owns the circus, said ticket sales dropped drastically. The company had long battled animal rights activists in costly court skirmishes, winning a $15.75 million judgment against them in 2015. But it apparently lost the larger fight with public opinion.
\u00ab\u00a0The circus and its people have continually been a source of inspiration and joy to my family and me, which is why this was such a tough business decision to make, \u00a0\u00bb company CEO Kenneth Feld said in a statement last January. \u00ab\u00a0The decision was even more difficult because of the amazing fans that have become part of our extended circus family over the years, and we are extremely grateful to the millions of families who have made Ringling Bros. part of their lives for generations.\u00a0\u00bb
Before Feld, there was Phineas Taylor Barnum’s traveling show of animals and human oddities, and the five Ringling brothers’ juggling act and skits in Wisconsin in the late 1800s. They merged and performed across the country, traveling by train (some still do, to this day) . The Feld family bought the Ringling circus in 1967.
At its prime, the circus was considered a family-friendly outing. But the shows lost their appeal toward the end of the 20th century, Feld said last January. He believes it grew outdated and difficult for audiences with shorter attention spans.
\u201cThe competitor in many ways is time, \u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s a different model that we can\u2019 t see how it works in today\u2019s world to justify and maintain an affordable ticket price. So you\u2019 ve got all these things working against it.\u201d
When the Feld family first acquired the circus, the show was just under 3 hours. At the end, the show was 2 hours and 7 minutes. The longest segment \u2014 a tiger act \u2014 clocked in at 12 minutes.
During Sunday’s final performance, Alexander Lacey, the circus\u2019s big cat trainer, addressed the animal-rights issue directly, pausing from his act to tell the crowd that the circus had bred, raised and cared for 500 lions and tigers \u2014 on display Sunday night, he said, were the circus’s ninth generation of tigers and 11th generation of lions.
\u201cPeople are not really concerned with wildlife until they feel it and see it and enjoy it, \u00a0\u00bb he said, \u00ab\u00a0and love it as much as I do \u2014 until they\u2019 ve seen it with their own eyes.\u00a0\u00bb
He told the crowd, \u00ab\u00a0It\u2019s so important that you carry on supporting all those people that do dedicate their lives to these animals. Support good, well-run circuses. Support good, well-run zoos. Support good, well-run public parks that look after these animals.\u201d
Lacey’s exhortation wasn’t the only direct message. Before Sunday night\u2019s performance began, Feld himself addressed the crowd, with family members by his side, telling circusgoers, \u201cFrom the bottom of our hearts we want to say thank you all very much, and please enjoy and celebrate the Greatest Show on Earth one last time.\u201d
The secret of the circus\u2019s success, he told the crowd, was \u201cthe people \u2014 it\u2019s the spirit, the dedication, the perseverance of everyone that you\u2019 ll see tonight that makes the impossible possible. They\u2019 ve always been an inspiration for us and they should really be an inspiration for everyone on how we conduct our lives.\u201d
Feld said the \u2018town without a ZIP Code\u2019 operates with remarkable teamwork. \u201cNo matter what it is, they rise to the top, \u201d he said. \u201cAnd they\u2019 re the reason that they are and this is the Greatest Show on Earth. They\u2019 re very special people and we love them all.\u201d
Feld, his voice sometimes shaking, said that in the 50 years that his family had produced the circus, over a quarter-billion people had seen its shows.
\u201cIt\u2019s always been our goal to be able to share with families the incredible experience, the joy, the happiness and the wonderment of the Greatest Show on Earth \u2014 and I think we\u2019 ve accomplished that goal.\u201d
As the performance ended, Ringmaster Johnathan Lee Iverson acknowledged the cheering crowd with a question: \u201cWait, wait, \u00a0\u00bb he said. \u00ab\u00a0I thought the circus was antiquated. You mean you love the circus?\u201d
He thanked everyone from the animal trainers to the band to the train crew, the wardrobe fitters and the circus’s spiritual counselors, acknowledging the Feld family’s role in saving \u00ab\u00a0this American treasure, this American icon\u00a0\u00bb 50 years earlier.
Finally, Iverson signed off, exhorting the crowd: \u201cKeep the circus alive inside you! Thank you very much!\u201d
Contributing: Trevor Hughes, USA TODAY, and The Associated Press. Follow Greg Toppo on Twitter: @gtoppo<\/p>\n

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