Drawing upon a vast and richly visual archive, and featuring a host of performers, historians and aficionados, The Circus brings to life an era when Circus Day would shut down a town, its stars were among the most famous people in the country, and multitudes gathered to see the improbable and the impossible, the exotic and the spectacular.

The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus limped through the Great Depression, facing new competition from radio, sporting events and the movies. For more than a century, the circus had brought daily life to a standstill. And then, when day broke, the miracle had vanished. Equestrians, sideshow performers, clowns, roustabouts, curious beasts — all became just figments of a glorious dream.