Eight years after what was believed to be its final act, ‘The Greatest Show On Earth’ has returned to the Magic City.
Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey has resurrected its organization with a modernized version of the former circus and a nod to its long entertainment history. Organizers no longer use the moniker ‘circus’ to describe the show.
“This is a whole new reimagined show. It still has that great circus magic that always has been the attraction of the circus,” Ringling unicycle performer Wesley Williams told AL.com. “It just has been reimagined for audiences of 2025.”
The show runs Jan. 31 - Feb. 2 at the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex downtown.
Ringling last rolled into Birmingham in 2017 on its classic mile-long circus train that traditionally housed elephants, performers, crew members and their families.
The company has toured for nearly 150 years.
“That’s older than Coca-Cola, older than baseball, older than the Kentucky Derby, and up until seven years ago, it still traveled by train,” Williams said. “It was the longest privately owned train on railroads in America.”
The train is gone now, replaced by 18-wheelers, buses and commercial airlines. The elephants and other animals are also in the past, but new elements replace those retired classic elements, Williams promises.
Ringling traveled the world to recruit new talent for the show. The lineup includes 75 performers from 18 countries.
“It’s a true exhibition of the world’s best,” said Williams, who is a world record holder for the tallest rideable unicycle in the world at 34.6 feet. “We stretch things in ways that have never been done before.”
He and other performers visited Children’s Hospital of Alabama Wednesday to entertain young patients.
Williams describes the show as a fusion of tradition and modernity. New elements include more technology and audience engagement.
“Everybody knows about the highwire, but now there are three high wire performers walking at the same time,” Williams said. “We’ve just amplified everything. Our flying trapeze now crisscrosses, so there’s one going one way and one going the other way, so you have people almost flipping into your lap in the audience.”
About 30 semi-trucks are used to transport materials needed for the current shows, while performers travel by air and by bus.
“It allows Ringling to play in more cities than ever before,” Williams explained.
Parts of the old circus train were sold by show owner Feld Entertainment, while other parts were taken to museums around the country. And some other rail cars are owned by former performers.
Williams noted a retired ‘human cannonball’ who bought his former railcar home to use as a guesthouse.
Williams' fascination with the show began when he was a 6-year-old and his parents took him to his first Ringling show. He was later recruited to join the show while working in Monte Carlo.
“It’s a full circle dream,” he said. “It’s really so good that it’s back because it has been woven into American family tradition. You have new kids, new parents, new grandparents, aunts and uncles who haven’t seen Ringling. Bringing that magic back for kids across the country – we see it every day.”
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