Cost of Indulgence: A Circus Fire Review

Photo by Curtis Brown Photography.

“Circus Fire is a delicately woven production that further cements this moment in Hartford’s history, honoring the memory of its impact over 80 years later, in a beautifully moving tribute to the communities welded together by tragedy.”

Photo by Curtis Brown Photography.

TheaterWorks Hartford travels back in time with this chilling World Premiere production of Circus Fire, a play written by Hartford-based playwright Jacques Lamarre in remembrance of the catastrophic Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey fire that claimed the lives of close to 200 and injured hundreds more. This production, showing at the First Company’s Governor’s Foot Guard, is a July 6, 1944 time capsule— a memory of a Hartford summer afternoon gone awry. It pairs the trimmings of war with the trappings of life’s little indulgences, exploring the mysteries surrounding the ordeal.

The events leading to the fateful afternoon cannot exclude the signs of the times—the times that called on men to don uniforms and fight had also busied the remaining men in Hartford with work that provided essential munitions from its factories and created jobs for husbands, leaving wives and children to occupy themselves. The early 1940s were marked by efforts to aid allies who fought  in the Second World War. As a result, when the greatest show on earth came to town for a two-day event, attendants were primarily women and children.

The circus, a community of approximately 600 workers and 800 performers, continuously on the move, appealed to Hartford with the same fervor as any holiday (PBS & Hanley, 1970). The extravagance of the circus included the centerpiece of the traveling city—the big top, measuring approximately 2 football fields in length, 1 field wide, and about 5 stories high (PBS & Hanley, 1970). At the time, the canvas tents were only waterproofed, the process requiring a mixture of 6,000 gallons of white gasoline and 1,800 pounds of paraffin wax, spread across the canvas, allowing the water to roll over the tent if it rained, but heightening the risk of small flames quickly growing into an inferno (PBS & Hanley, 1970). According to the PBS documentary produced by Rich Hanley (1970), Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey experienced a reported “dozen minor fires” that occurred between the end of May and the beginning of July 1944. In addition to the little fires leading up to Hartford’s blaze, there was a 1910 fire in Schenectady, New York, and a 1912 fire in Sterling, Illinois, both with zero fatalities (PBS & Hanley, 1970). The contrasting August 1942 menagerie fire in Cleveland, Ohio, however, left 45 animals dead—the cause of these fires was never determined (PBS & Hanley, 1970). Flash forward to the 1944 fire in Hartford, Connecticut, where the cause is still undetermined, but the “several obscure and insignificant events” that “coalesced on a steamy July afternoon,” fueling the fire, were evident . These events included fire extinguishers that were not distributed, water pales that were unmanned at the time of the fire, and steel animal chutes that were only meant to temporarily block the exits, still being in place when the fire erupted, and the stampede began.

Jacques Lamarre’s compilation of the events surrounding Hartford’s 1994 Circus Fire honors the lives lost, pointing fingers at the series of human failures that contributed to the mass casualties rather than sensationalizing the catastrophe as some act of God. The story is told in excerpts of narratives from the lives connected to the lost, portrayed by the Connecticut-based cast of Mike Boland, Constantino Fernandez, Olivia Nicole Hoffman, Rebecka Jones, Caroline Kinsolving, Anastasia Maglaras, Eric Orsini, Stuart Rider, Janelle Anne Robinson, Godfrey L. Simmons, Jr., Marco Verna, and Dan Whelton.

The staunch investigative storytelling unfolds through the inquiries of Commissioner Hickey (Simmons), offering the gripping details of the moment that rocked Hartford’s history. It highlights the events in the lives of the survivors leading up to that Thursday matinee, and the 6 unknown victims, including Little Miss 1565. It also offers the resolution of the tragedy: 6 counts of involuntary manslaughter—David Blanchfield receiving 6 months, William Caley receiving 1 year, Edward Versteeg receiving 1 year, James Haley receiving 1-5 years, George Smith receiving 2-7 years, but none serving a full year.

This production’s use of the First Company’s Governor’s Foot Guard downtown Hartford opens the set design, allowing for an immersive experience for the audience. Brian Prather’s set design, the simple wooden platform in the center of five risers of seats, serves as the stage with actors floating through the partition between seats to take their place in the spotlight, sharing their contributions to the narrative. The multimedia elements of this production, including Ro Denton’s lighting design and Lindsay Jones’ music and sound design, helps to transform the minimalistic set, enveloping audiences with the sound of the circus, the projections up in the rafters from tight rope walkers during the opening acts to the horizon of fire that overtook the big top once the disaster struck. The projections further outlined Hickey’s investigation, shining light on the names of those involved, from the casualties to the culpable. 

Circus Fire is a delicately woven production that further cements this moment in Hartford’s history, honoring the memory of its impact over 80 years later, in a beautifully moving tribute to the communities welded together by tragedy.

Circus Fire runs through May 31st, with plenty of chances to see this show. For tickets, visit twhartford.org

Resources

PBS, & Hanley, R. (1970). The circus fire. Pbs.org; PBS. https://www.pbs.org/video/cptv-circus-fire/