‘Ladieeeeees and gentlemen, children of all ages, presenting the man who was the youngest and the first African-American ringmaster in the 140-year history of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus …”
Wait a minute, as the ringmaster Jonathan Lee Iverson is the person who should be providing the brassy prologue. But it is true that at the age of 22 in 1998 he was both of the above for the 129th edition of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey “The Greatest Show on Earth.”
Now he’s back with the 140th edition — “Barnum 200,” a celebration of the 200th birthday of P.T. Barnum (actually born July 5, 1810), which is coming to the DCU Center next week. The ringmaster will be introducing more than 130 performers, including trapeze and trampoline artists, hand balancers, clowns, and Mighty Meetal, “the strongest man in the world,” as well as elephants and exotic animals (an “Animal Open House” opens 90 minutes before each show and is free to all ticket holders).
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