Fire it Up’ Ringling Bros & Barnum
and Bailey’s Circus
A
Review by Jane Haworth
Staff Writer
"My favorite part was the tigers, elephant
s and the crossbow man!" piped up my
six-year-old, James, from the back of the car, before falling
asleep. For me, choosing my favorite act from Fully Charged
Ringling Bros, Barnum and Bailey’s Circus was a little harder. The
two and a half hour show was back-to-back, action-packed, colorful
entertainment, hence my problem! One standout was the jaw-dropping,
edge-of–your-seat performance on the high wire by the Danguir
Troupe. Throughout their routine the danger level seemed to rise
culminating in a never-before-seen treat as one brother jumped
shoulder-to-shoulder to another on the high wire!
Photo: Taba, the animal trainer persuading his
mighty tigers to perform for the audience. Photo by Jane Haworth
Fully Charged Ringling Bros and Barnum and
Bailey’s latest show is a powerhouse of world-class performers
brought together into The Greatest Show on Earth. Leading the show
with his engaging personality and strong vocal talent of the 36th
ringmaster, Brian Crawford Scott. I still catch myself singing
‘Fire it Up’ two days later! To see this high-energy, colorful show
felt like watching a circus on Broadway. Costume Designer Susan Hilferty is credited
with working on the international stage-hit musical Wicked and the
sought-after Scenic Designer Derek McLane is responsible for
bringing this high-tech stage to life. My only criticism would be,
at times with performances in three circus rings I never knew quite
where to look, as when the juggling act opened the show. Do I watch
the Fusco Brothers or the Safargalina Jugglers?
Photo courtesy Ringling Bros and Barnum and Bailey's
Also, as the aerial artists were
performing alongside the Yakubov Troupe from Kazakhstan, I felt I
was missing some of their amazing feats whilst they swung from 40ft
straps. The clowns did an amazing job distracting the audience
during the scene changes that were frequent, necessary and happened
almost magically. Suddenly two huge spinning steel wheels appeared
from which the Fernandez Brothers executed some breathe-taking
maneuvers as they spun, jumped rope and somersaulted between the
wheels. This was a definite adrenaline-pumped, crowd favorite.
The more unusual performances came
form the mighty, combined seven hundred pound ‘Brothers of Brawn’
Dmitriy Nadolinskiy and Rusian Gilulin, who were able to spin,
effortlessly whilst holding two utility poles with seats attached
and five performers. Not forgetting The Human Fuse, Brian Miser,
who flew blazing across the circus floor in less than a second,
propelled only by his self-built giant crossbow. What would a
circus be without the animal routines and the world’s most
charismatic animal trainer "Taba" or Tabayara Maluenda. His Chilean
accent and constant banter with the animals and audience alike, was
endearing. Photo courtesy Ringling Bros
and Barnum and Bailey's
His bond and ability to communicate
with the animals was also remarkable. Seeing him charm ten huge
tigers so they rolled over and begged like kit-tens was
fascinating. How he lined up seven female Asian elephants getting
them effortlessly to pose on back legs, leaning against fellow
elephants was awe-inspiring.
Circuses and animals are pretty
controversial,
so I have
always had mixed feelings about
going, in fact this was my first ever circus performance. Taking
advantage of the Ringling Bros Animal Open House to visit the
animals and handlers, we learned that the circus travels by train
and at the close of the show the elephants would be taking a
two-mile walk back to that train. Now that seemed nicely low-tech,
bringing back memories of the book I recently read ‘Water for
Elephants’. I was happy to learn that Ringling Bros does have an
elephant conservation project and retirement facility in Florida,
which includes a breeding program for their elephants.
Photo: The charming female elephants that did everything
under the control of their animal trainer, Taba. Photo by Jane
Haworth
More
information from
www.elephantcenter.com
As with all shows, especially those
with a large family audience, the concession and merchandising
opportunities are boundless. It was a shame to see that Ringling
Bros was no different, even a little more opportunistic. Having
spent much for tickets already, families are faced with $12
popcorn, cotton candy and drinks, not to mention the $20+ price
tags on souvenirs. The entertainment was not only Fully Charged!
but your credit card would have been too!
I would definitely recommend arriving early
for the show and taking advantage of the ticketholders' ‘Power-Up
Party’, as we did. We were able to go on stage, meet and interact
with performers and animals, and collect autographs. Many of the
acrobats and clowns were putting on shows and demonstrations. It
was fun to watch Asia the Elephant doing her Pachyderm painting. My
daughter, Lucy, found herself involved in a juggling act and was
afraid to move as juggling pins flew inches from her ears! Taking
this opportunity to extend our circus experience was priceless.
Fully Charged! Ringling Bros and Barnum and Bailey’s The
Greatest Show on Earth wound up in Sacramento but hit the
railroad tracks with its mile-long train of approximately 60 cars
heading to Salt Lake City, Utah between Sept 22-25th, then to
Denver, Colorado and St Louis, Missouri. For the full tour schedule
and more information, visit
www.ringlingbros.com
Photo: The Power-Up Party. Pre-show the audience could gather on
stage to watch individual performances like these clowns doing a
balancing act. Photo by Jane Haworth
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