Sunday Morning, Looking Back: Friday First Draft Fangless, I Think -- Therapy Parrots to Seat Wagon Sightings ... L'Amyxed Up for Take Out ...

This originally appeared on January 16, 2009World, come in! Now and then, a peep from foreign shores, and it's about time. About thirty percent of the traffic on this here midway comes in accented, and I wonder as I wander what they are thinking. So, how nice to hear from a real Aussie, Barry Nixon, who chirps, “Know your cribbing is read and appreciated." Fond memories have I for the Aussies (we will table Circus Oz for the moment -- but what a stunner, Oz under a tent!). In their Outdoor Showman, once edited by the gentlemanly Richard Holden, when I was once young and full of myself (as if I no longer am), I got published many times, leading up to my big break in the pages of Variety. And during that period taken for granted (blame it on...

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Not Just the USA, Circus Ticket Sales Plunge in Other Countries; Parents Wanting Banned Animals Back in the Ring

Think we have it bad over here? We’re not alone. From Australia to India, and likely in-between, tent shows are not packing them in.Courtesy of Aussie Barry Nixon, here’s a story in The Times of India ruing a "dying industry" throughout the country. “How can a circus be made meaningful when there are no more lions, tigers and panthers now,” questioned Vinod Kumar, who manages a major Indian circus. He blames most of the problem on “the indifferent attitude of government towards circus,” primarily for its having banned lions, tigers, bears and monkeys.“Parents come to us and they inquire about these animals, as they look forward to show their young ones the tamed-wild animals.” That is exactly what I have heard from a number of circus owners and staff, and born out by actions taken on, among...

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The Crowds That Don’t Come: Are the Attendance Figures Really This Bad?

Circus Season of 2008: Most Tent Shows Play to Paltry Turnouts; Big Apple Hits Record Year; Kelly Miller’s Big Biz Jump Still Short of the MarkHow many people saw your circus last week, last year? How are we really to know? We hear talk and rumors, some of which may be tainted by sour grapes or fan worship. We go and see for ourselves. And these days, to see is to feel a sadness that so few patrons are in the seats. Big Apple Circus is surely an exception -- they claim to have seated a record 575,000 people last year. Ditto, I assume, for UniverSoul. Ringling? Likely not. Of course these are impressions, which is all we have to go on. Unlike virtually all other forms of entertainment, from CD sales to movie tickets sold, under the big tops...

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Broadway in Free Fall: January Delivers 13 Shows to Oblivion

The slated closing of thirteen shows along the Great White Way in the month of January has even New York Times theatre critic Charles Isherwood breathlessly astonished -- "incredible." Reports he, erroring away in disaster story mode, the staggering number amounts to "almost half" of the current lineup. In fact, 13 is not a half of 42.Still, it marks a dramatic drop. Fans without agendas will rue. The envious will cheer. Tough town. Tough stages to tackle.This has not been a good season. Included among the departing are a pair of longer-term survivals, Hairspray and Spamalot. The others are: All My Sons, Boeing-Boeing, Dividing the Estate, Grease, Gypsy, Irving Berlin's White Christmas, Liza's at the Palace, The Mel Brooks Musical Young Frankenstein, Slava's Snowshow, Spring Awakening, and...

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Not the Same Parade Without Stephanie ... No Wonder She's Back on KTLA

Gorgeous weather for the annual Rose Parade. How I wish I were there. Many inspiring floats, as usual. I looked for the KTLA-TV broadcast, but it's no longer aired in the Bay Area. How I have missed wonderful Stephanie Edwards, who co-hosted with Bob Eubanks for many years. She has been missing in action for two parades, the victim of a callous, stupidly calculated termination to replace her with a younger woman that outraged, as it should, thousands of Southern Californians. To me, effervescent Stephanie epitomized the best of the sunny SoCal spirit. Then I did some research and discovered to my joy that KTLA has returned Stephanie to her rightful place in the broadcast booth! So, dreams still can come true in dreamland. Go, L.A.!Maybe now...

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