Circus Review from ANG

[Guest guest]

Christine Morrissey wrote:

 

> Fun show, but miscellany enough to blow one's big top

> By Susan Young

> STAFF WRITER

> Alameda Newspaper Group

>

> " SOMETIMES the fates conspire against even the most optimistic fun-seeker.

> Take a trip to the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, a place

> where anyone with a soft spot for Day-Glo paint, glittery costumes,

> daring acrobats, exotic animals and Las Vegas-style entertainment is

> just bound to have a swell time.

>

> But at the top of the ramp near the ticket booths, before even

> entering the building, things began to get dicey. We were greeted by

> animal rights activists telling circus-goers they should be spending

> their disposable income dollars at a miniature golf course instead of

> seeking amusement through the pain of innocent animals.

>

> For me, it all started going south right after that.

>

> The protesters probably would have called it circus karma. A ticket

> misunderstanding resulted in spending close to 45 minutes trying to

> get into the building. Our seats weren't exactly in the nose-bleed

> area, but let's just say there was no chance of accidentally getting

> stepped on by an elephant.

>

> In fact, the beasts looked a mite on the tiny side from that altitude

> as they paraded past in their glittery finery. The good thing about

> the location of our seats was that we were almost at eye level with

> the first act, a lovely aerialist dubbed Sylvia, the Circus Siren.

>

> The red-headed dare-devil moved effortlessly on her trapeze without so

> much as a bit of netting to cushion her should she fall. Her

> spectacular trick of slipping off her perch and catching herself with

> her heels was marred slightly by the first of many trips to the snack

> bar by the two young women seated next to me.

>

> A virtual parade of snacks from hot dogs to cotton candy was brought

> back trip by numerous trip as the women disrupted almost every act in

> the offing.

>

> As if it wasn't bad enough that the women couldn't wait for the breaks

> between the acts to disrupt everyone, the trash piling up on the floor

> under their chairs started creeping perilously close to me.

>

> It was tough paying attention to the show when another three-ring

> circus was playing out right beside me.

>

> Back on the arena floor, Sylvia -- a ninth-generation circus performer

> -- proved her versatility by switching from her high-flying act to

> commanding eight stunning white Arabians in a liberty act.

>

> Another act featuring fearless riders performing tricks on horseback

> and acrobatics feats was rewarded with substantial applause by a tough

> opening-night crowd.

>

> Perhaps due in part to the uproar in recent years over animal acts,

> this circus was filled with more acrobats than animals.

>

> We watched breathlessly as obvious crowd-pleaser " Crazy " Wilson

> Dominguez jumped and slid along the 40-foot spinning steel gyroscope.

> He was tossed like a laundry sheet in a twirling dryer, coming

> dangerously close to getting bounced off.

>

> On the flip side, there was a deadly dull act in which T.M. the Gator

> Guy took a couple of small alligators out of boxes and let them cruise

> a little close to some youngsters posing as tender nibbles.

>

> More entertaining was Sara the Tiger Whisperer. At 25, she has only

> been working with her big cats for a little more than two years, yet

> it seemed that the tigers held a certain affection for her.

>

> Sara had them sitting on chairs and stretching up for cat-paw waves,

> but there was no jumping through fiery hoops. That trick was left to

> the human performers in the martial arts act with Master Chy Fu Dey

> and his assistants Gantulga Barvii and Kanat Tchalabaev.

>

> It's too bad that in these days of special effects, a man who can bend

> a solid steel bar around his neck doesn't seem that phenomenal.

>

> While I'm an admitted circus junkie, one act has never been very

> appealing to me: circus clowns.

>

> That staple of genre has never generated so much as a giggle, until

> David Larible took to the arena. His latest schtick is to grab

> audience members and bring them to the center arena, where he decks

> them out in hip-hop garb. It's a funny bit that ran beautifully on

> opening night.

>

> Larible's considerable talents also allowed him to pull off an old

> chestnut -- taking a person from the audience, blindfolding him, and

> making him believe Larible is throwing sharp knives dangerously close

> to him.

>

> Lasting just a bit longer than two hours, the circus closed out with

> Jumpin' Jon Weiss getting shot out of a cannon.

>

> It should have marked a glorious grand finale. Instead -- between the

> spotlights hitting me right in the eyes, obscuring my view of the

> triple flips by the trapeze act, and the seatmates from hell -- it was

> like the starting bell at the Kentucky Derby.

>

> My feet hit the ground running toward the parking lot as the announcer

> gave the final Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus send-off,

> " May all your days be circus days. "

>

> Or not. "

>

>

>

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