Arts Entertainment

BILL CARROLL

Special to the Jewish News

C

ould this really be a circus? It has no
parading elephants; no trainer crack-
ing his whip so that lions and tigers
perform their tricks; no goofy clowns
hitting each other in the face with pies; and no
small cars emitting 50 midgets.
It is a circus, but in big-top tents, not an
oversized arena with three rings of confusion.
With plush velvet couches and chairs, not hard
benches; with a carpeted floor and no poles
blocking the view. Oh, and let's not forget
about the specialty pizzas catered by the
Golden Mushroom restaurant.
It's Barnum's Kaleidoscape, which combines
the luxury and intimacy of contemporary the-
ater with the excitement of a classic circus, and
it's coming to the grounds of the Southfield
Civic Center June 23-July 16. There, a corn-
plex of air-conditioned tents, made in Italy, will
occupy 15,000 square feet with 1,850 seats —
every seat within 50 feet of the circus ring. The

circus to a higher class, giving the audience a
total immersion experience. From the moment
the people step into one of the tents, they will
interact and communicate with the perform-
ers.
Actually, use of the big top is contrary to
Irvin Feld's original successful idea: taking the
circus out of tents into indoor areas with
greater seating capacity. Born in Maryland, the
son of Russian immigrants, the elder Feld oper-
ated a drugstore and record store, then became
a rock 'n' roll music promoter — even manag-
ing singer Paul Anka for the first 10 years of his
career.
Shortly after purchasing the circus in '67, he
sold it to the Mattel Toy Co., but operated it
for them until buying it back in 1982. By that
time, Kenneth Feld had graduated with a
degree in business management from Boston
University and joined the executive ranks of the
company, beginning what he calls his "graduate
education."
"I worked side by side.with my father in all
facets of the company to learn the live enter-

Top-Of-The-Line

With "Barnum's Kaleidoscape,"
impresario Kenneth Feld creates an exciting
combination of contemporary theater and classic circus.

.

circus will bring a $25,000 fee to the city, and
a possible $8,000 from ticket sales.
Southfield is the 10th city on Kaleidoscape
nationwide tour, which began in Los Angeles a
year ago, using tents for the first time since
1956. The production cost $10 million, and
involves 500 artisans and craftsmen and 62 per-
formers, primarily from Europe. The troupe
travels around in its own trains.
Kaleidoscape is the brainchild of Jewish
entertainment impresario Kenneth Feld, the
51-year-old chairman and chief executive offi-
cer of the world's largest live entertainment
company, Feld Entertainment Inc. The far-
flung organization with 2,500 employees and
productions in 44 countries was formed when
Kenneth's father, the late Irvin Feld, acquired
the famous Ringling Bros. and Barnum &
Bailey Circus in 1967.
"We returned to the big top because vie
wanted an intimate experience," said Feld in a
phone interview from his office in Vienna, Va.,
just outside his hometown of Washington,
D.C.
"We feel the big top is complementary to
the . acts themselves. It expands the scope of the

6/16
2000

88

tainment industry," he said.
The younger Feld had gone through the
Washington, D.C., school system, and had his
bar mitzvah at Congregation Adas Israel in the
nation's capital. He, his wife and three children,
ages 16 to 22, now belong to the Washington
Hebrew Congregation.
"I'm proud to say there's no religious preju-
dice in the circus business," he pointed out.
"The circus is a great example of how different
types of people from all over the world can get
along. The culture of the entertainment busi-
ness seems to supersede any discrimination."
When his father died at age 66 in 1984,
Kenneth Feld took over as CEO of Feld
Entertainment Inc., and has expanded the
organization far beyond the circus. The compa-
ny produces the Disney on Ice shows, full-length
productions of Disney-themed stories, as well
as The Wizard of Oz on Ice and Grease on Ice.
Feld launched famed magicians Siegfried &
Roy in the 1980s in Las Vegas; the Broadway
musicals Barnum and Big, some network televi-
sion specials; and even the establishment of a
SS-million, 200-acre elephant conservation
center in central Florida.

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Top: Impresario Kenneth Feld: "We returned to the
big top because we wanted an intimate experience."

Above: Pipo (real name Phillippe Sosman),
right, a Jewish clown from France, joins mime
David Larible in emceeing the show.

