The Cast Photo by Curtis Brown

The presentation, staged within the multi-confines of Hartford's First Company's Governor's Foot Guard building, begins as a number of people, during the current day, gather and converse about the blaze that decades back killed 167 individuals and injured approximately 700 others. Those watching the play from various vantage points are then transported to Providence, Rhode Island, where the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus has stopped. It is slated to move on to Hartford a couple of days later. The first captivating section of the play takes around one half hour to perform. Everyone is excited to see the famous circus and that includes parents with kids. Ten Equity actors and two Hartt School student actors play all parts. None of the roles are delineated in the program and this makes it difficult for theatregoers (or anyone else lacking a script) to ascertain that aspect.

The roles played by 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 include a band leader, police commissioner, circus handy person, and more. This is a group effort enabling the whole to benefit from the sum of its gifted parts.

The second portion of the production focuses upon the actual blaze when someone yells "Fire!" People struggle for breath, trip over each another, and frantically attempt to flee. The immensely creative TheaterWorks creative team heightens immediacy by positioning certain actors high above the circular performance space. Set designer Brian Prather opens up the primary stage area, which is framed by bleacher-like risers. There are images on the inside ceiling of the building while Rob Denton (lights) and Lindsay Jones (music and sound) strike everyone's senses through effects both jarring and educational. The work of projections content creator Andrés Poch and projections programmer Peter Leibold is pivotal. Those watching the presentation crane their heads at times to keep up with the narrative. And then: darkness.

Emmett Kelly, played by Mike Boland, says "I'm no hero, I'm just doing what any person would do. Consoling children. Parents. Reuniting them when I can. I'm trying to be strong for the people but truth is, I'm in shock. We all are."

The aftermath of the play, the long finale, is sobering and heartbreaking. Both the mayor of the city of Hartford and governor of the state of Connecticut appear. Those in need are shuttled off to hospitals. A parish priest arrives. Citizens try to figure out just how and why it all happened, what went wrong, as the sorrow associated with a morgue permeates. The circus, however, will move along and should resume in Sarasota, Florida.

Jacques Lamarre, faced with the gargantuan task of distilling the tragic occurrences into scripted form, handsomely succeeds. His dialogue is sharp and telling, his detailing of goings-on precise. Director Mezzocchi must move actors in and out of the center of a theatre-in-the-round and up and down as well. The action and words never cease. The actors, to a person, are engaged and highly proficient. They are required to snap from one emotion to the next in an instant, for there isn't any space for smooth transition. All are alert and there's never a lagging moment.

The catastrophic fire shattered communities within the circus itself and within the city of Hartford. Is is thought that 7000 people were in attendance on that fateful occasion. It would be impossible to estimate piercing and profound loss.

The trio of individuals who combined artistic talent with vision to bring us Circus Fire were not alive at the time of the disaster. Yet they've masterfully collaborated and obviously researched in order to mount a show that is absolutely engrossing. It is not meant to elicit thrilling wows from those who attend. Rather, this experience, with its acutely realistic feel, distinctively and personally permeates one's sensibilities.

Circus Fire, a TheaterWorks Hartford production, runs through May 31, 2026, at The First Company Governor's Foot Guard, 159 High St., Hartford CT. For tickets and information, please call 860-527-7838 or visit twhartford.org.