A Reminder of Old Chicago – In Harvard Square

Back in the days of Prohibition, P.T. Barnum and the Ringling Brothers didn’t hold a monopoly on the concept of Circus.

I was introduced to the Boston Circus Guild (and a sister group named A Different Spin) through their performances in the Historic Hudson Valley.  When I read that they were performing a full show in a small nightclub, I asked permission to drive up and shoot it.  The theme was that of a down-but-not-out cabaret owner during the Prohibition period, selling Mafia supplied liquor while the patrons were entertained both musically and with amazing feats of acrobatic and physical skill.  How do you keep the Mafia from taking over the business when it’s this good, eh?

The date was set for January 3rd, 2014.  A Friday night, and they’d be performing an early and late show.  These are from the matinee, and have never been seen before.

The drive from Long Island didn’t phase me.  What freaked some people out was that we’d just gotten hit by a blizzard, and there was knee deep snow everywhere.  Once I made it into Connecticut, the rest was clear sailing.  Even parking in Harvard Square was not that unreasonable!

The colors you see are the actual colors of the show.  Everything seen here was done with available light (no flash or strobe) – low lighting goes along with the whole undercover speakeasy scene.