Over time, I've heard comment here and there about Circus and its relationship with the Shrine in the U.S.
In their day, the Texas Shrine Dates were the stuff of legend. At their height, it was said that they could give Ringling a serious run for their money.
One of the big Shrine Circus dates still around is the one in Evansville, Indiana.
Great things have been said about that show and the Shrine that sponsors it.
The Shrine does wonderful benevolent work for children with their very special needs, and in so doing helps us all. It is truly a blessing to have their hearts working to make life better. Without their hard work, our lives would indeed be smaller.
The Shrine in the U.S. has done and still does much to promote and foster circus in America. Circus tradition is greatly preserved through their efforts
I sincerely wish and hope that some Shrines would follow the Evansville example when hosting a circus.
I would speak specifically about the Shrine that hosts the Shrine Circus in Nashville.
I had occasion to see that show last fall and was embarrassed and sorely disappointed by what I observed to be a miserable excuse for a show.
Granted it's a Shrine fundraiser for a worthy cause, to the extent that those monies are directed to the nominal charitable reason.
However, I question whether that Shrine (and others that may share similar show biz 'sensibilities') should be producing, directing and overrunning the event instead of merely hosting and promoting it.
The arena floor of the Nashville Municipal Auditorium looked like it was still being set-up but was actually ‘ready’ for the show. The arena floor was amply overrun by pot-bellied men idly milling about, pre-show, dressed in fezzes and pseudo boy scout jumpsuits, their hands stuffed in their pockets.
At one point during the course of the show the hippodrome was filled with scores of men in tuxes and jumpsuits of differing decoration carrying flags and banners - marching with minimal precision or pride.
At another point, the arena was filled with their overdressed go-karts, motorcycles, and '50s cars, completely and deafeningly filling the building's interior with more haze, smoke, and CO than the ventilation system could handle.
The local shriners outnumbered the performers and the audience by a wide margin.
The shrine clowns, beyond limply waving 'hi', were mostly lifeless, unfunny boors dressed in zip-up cinch-sack suits and nylon multicolor wigs. It seemed that the blow off to almost every one of their ensemble “gags” was the explosion of a cherry bomb.
The local shrine provided the show band - composed of wheezing amateurs who could barely follow a tune with a tailwind, had no life in them and no apparent desire or ability to play anything at a tempo faster than 50 beats per minute.
The acts I saw performing there were mostly rather listless and had no spark... perhaps they were discouraged by the venue at which they had to work and by the sloppy production values and sensibility of its hosts and producer – but they still took the money
One has to work to eat, to be sure, but this venue was produced from hunger.
To the Shriners of Nashville and elsewhere who want to do circus-on-the-cheap –
PLEASE don’t do it. Stick to your strengths. Let the show people exercise theirs.
The shows benefit the kids. The shows are a means to an important end.
The event is not about the Shrine, it is put forth BY the Shrine FOR THE CHILDREN.
Don’t cheapen the event… don’t glorify yourselves… don’t cut corners…
Insist on putting on high quality shows. Better shows will draw bigger crowds, putting more money in the pot FOR THE CHILDREN.
Leave your "clowns", band, hangers-on, and other idle-walkers at home…
or in the bleachers, and definitely away from the show floor.
They don’t belong there if they are not adding quality to the show.
Do something most productive - host the event, promote it to the hilt,
and then get out of the way.
PLEASE leave the production values of the show to quality professionals who actually give a damn about their art - producers, artists, clowns, and musicians, et al.
Cheers to folks with principle like Paul Kaye who refuse to "do bargains" but insist on putting on a good show.
This Nashville Shrine Circus was definitely “bargain sub-basement”.
