Ricketts' Circus in the Capital City, Part Four

The final installment of our story about John Bill Ricketts, with more adventures about his equestrian circus and theatrical troupe. We meet the American comedian and dancer John Durang, and Ricketts has his portrait painted by Gilbert Stuart. The Circus and Art Pantheon  becomes a major fixture of Philadelphia's social scene in the transition from the Washington to the Adams Administration. But troubles begin to mount as Ricketts's shows get increasingly elaborate with special effects like onstage volcanoes - and fire and wooden buildings are not a good combination . . .(Portait of Ricketts from the collection of the National Gallery, Washington, DC. For more illustrations and information, see the episode blog post on our website: /blog/episode-6-ricketts-circus-in-the-capital-city-part-four/(The original 2021 episode was slightly revised and re-edited in August of 2026)Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AITHpodcastFollow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aithpodcast/To become a supporter the show, go to: [email protected] the show"Adventures in Theater History: Philadelphia" the BOOK can be ordered from independent bookstores and at all online book retailers now! For a link, go to our website: www.aithpodcast.comOur email address is [email protected] us on social media:Bluesky: @aithpodcast.bsky.socialFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/AITHpodcastInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/aithpodcast/ Support our work and get BONUS EPISODES on Patreon! GO HERE© Podcast text copyright, Peter Schmitz. All rights reserved.℗ All original voice recordings copyright Peter Schmitz.℗ All original music copyright Christopher Mark Colucci. Used by permission.