(Production photo by Curtis Brown Photography)

by Tim Leininger

HARTFORD — Local playwright Jacques Lamarre is known for his light heartwarming comedies, so when I heard he was writing a play on the infamous Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey’s circus fire of 1944, I, like many other people, took pause to see how he would approach an event that still stings in the memories of those who remember that fateful day.

            But rest assured that whatever faults Circus Fire may have, it is nothing if not respectful to the memories of the 160-plus people who perished in the tragic event and to the survivors who carried the horrors of that fateful day with them. The new play, written by Lamarre, directed by Jared Mezzocchi, and conceived by Lamarre, Mezzocchi, and TheaterWorks Hartford Artistic Director Rob Ruggiero, is running through May 31 at The First Company Governor’s Footguard, located at 159 High St.

            The choice to present Circus Fire in the Governor’s Footguard building versus TheaterWorks’ home on Pearl Street gives the stage an added depth. Performed in the round, the stage starts as the memorial for the fire (located at 350 Barbour St.), as a family curiously seeks it out as part of a casual Atlas Obscura search. The stage evolves into a center ring as we travel back in time to July 4, 1944, two days before the fire, as we observe the events that lead up to the fire, familiarizing some of the figures that will factor in later. Action happens in the center ring as well from the balcony and the wings. The nature of the show prohibits being able to catch all the action, but it is immersive, as projections of fire sweep over the ceiling and images of circus performances display across the balcony.

(Production photo by Curtis Brown Photography)

            We don’t get any specific, in depth, perspective of the event. Instead, we get a menagerie of testimony from different people who were witness to the fire or its aftereffects. The cast of 12 juggle numerous roles, with no one getting billing for any specific role. Godfrey L. Simmons, Jr. is the only actor who stays with one role for any length of time as an inspector investigating the fire. Everyone else jumps from playing parents to nurses to circus stagehands to local officials and more. For a 90-minute play it’s a lot of characters to maneuver and follow. Lighting Designer Rob Denton, and Mazzocchi — who designed the multimedia elements of the show — do their best to project text around the stage to say where the scene is and at least one of the key players in that scene. It’s a helpful tool if you’re eyes are fixed at one of the projection points in the moment, but if you miss it, you’re stuck wondering who we’re following for the next few minutes of the show.

            Circus Fire feels mostly meticulously paced, but also rushed at times. What I can only imagine is due to the severity of the story, and its premiere being staged less than 2.5 miles from where the disaster occurred, Mezzocchi moves the plot at an almost funereal pace when addressing the loss of life. No moment of tragedy or grief is rushed. The weight of each loss of life is set onto the audience with both reverence and finality.

At the same time, almost everything else feels rushed, particularly the investigation into the fire. There could easily be another half hour of drama as police investigate how the fire may have started, why the circus hadn’t taken proper precautions, and why the city of Hartford didn’t do an inspection of the circus grounds before it opened. Those moments are in the show, but it’s skimmed over for the sake of addressing more of the humanity of the situation. There are a lot of moving parts that are addressed that get short-changed. I would have preferred to have seen a deeper analysis of the players who were responsible for the safety of guests at the circus and how local politics played its part in either taking or subverting responsibility. Seeing some further development in the families who were affected by the fire and how they responded to the court cases that came from the investigation would have been great to see as well.

(Production photo by Curtis Brown Photography)

            Still, Circus Fire has a bit of everything for everyone who would be interested in an historic tragedy. The families and the medical staff bring humanity to the piece. We see representations of human nature as people react to the tragedy, and the societal element as we watch the politicians from the circus and the city try to pass blame where they can.

            Circus Fire is a reverent, respectful drama. It needs some fleshing out, but audiences who wish to feel the chaotic whirlwind that is one of the greatest tragedies in Hartford and circus history, there’s something for everyone.

TICKETS: https://twhartford.org/

PRODUCTION

Written by Jacques Lamarre; Direction and Multimedia Experience by Jared Mezzocchi; Set Design: Brian Prather; Costume Design: Arthur Wilson; Lighting Design: Rob Denton; Original Music & Sound Design: Lindsay Jones; Stage Manager: Tom Kosis; Assistant Stage Manager: Theresa Stark; Assistant Stage Manager: Caroline Saltz

CAST

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

Dan Whelton