Article published November 12, 2009
'The Greatest Show on Earth' dazzles, delights on opening night
Circus makes its triumphant return
Josh Mudse of Toledo and his daughter Hannah, 4, were among the crowd enjoying the show as the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus returns to Toledo after an eight-year absence.
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By KIRK BAIRD
BLADE STAFF WRITER
Cue the Frank Sinatra classic, the clowns are back in town.
After nearly a decade's absence, Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus made its triumphant return to Toledo last night at the Lucas County Arena with a glitzy spectacle worthy of its moniker as “The Greatest Show on Earth.”
There were prancing elephants and roaring tigers, leaping acrobats and silly clowns, and everything else you've come to expect from a circus that began six years after the Civil War ended in 1865.
Some of last night's highlights:
The Highflying Dynamo Dogs, which dazzled the crowd as the talented team of canines zipped over hurdles and through a tunnel to snatch Frisbees in midair.
The aerial feats of acrobat Maria Garcia in the comedic guise of the sometimes graceful, sometimes klutzy “Queen of the Clouds.”
A performer bears the flag during the national anthem and the start of ‘The Greatest Show on Earth’ at the Lucas County Arena.
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And the death-defying Globe of Steel act by the Torres family, which elicited “oohs” and “ahhs” from the audience as up to six motorcyclists uniformly raced all around the steel cage.
And all of that was before the show's intermission.
“It just makes you feel like a kid all over again,” said Ashleigh Stevens, 25, of Toledo, who was attending the performance with her husband, Marty, 27, and their daughter, Kendra, 3. “To see her experience what I experienced at her age, it's just another generation of fun.”
Nearly 3,340 people attended last night's show. Event capac-ity was 5,500. Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus performs seven more shows, tonight through Sunday evening.
Tickets to all the performances are available through the Lucas County Arena Box Office, or Ticketmaster: 800-745-3000 or ticketmaster.com.
The last time the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus performed in Toledo was 2001 at the Sports Arena, said Steve Miller, general manager for the Lucas County Arena and SeaGate Convention Centre.
A performer gets a leg up on opening night as he entertains the crowd during the ‘Over the Top’ extravaganza at the arena.
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But the since-demolished venue proved to be too much of a challenge to accommodate the massive production of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, he said.
The human cannon had to be shot outside of the building. And the Sports Arena's low ceilings made it even more difficult for the acrobats to perform.
Mr. Miller was happy to report there were no such problems in the new Lucas County Arena.
“I was talking with the [circus] manager and he was very positive” about the venue, Mr. Miller said.
“They moved in and out easily, with no problems.”
The theme of this year's circus is Over The Top, which employs a narrative to the show, as Ringmaster Chuck Wagner and a trouble-making clown (Tom Dougherty) vie for control of the big top.
On Mr. Wagner's team are many of the circus' top performers, while the clown has the backing of his fellow made-up mischief makers, each group trying to outperform the other, leading to bigger and more exciting feats.
Mr. Miller expects the circus to be back.
| CIRCUS IN TOWN |
‘Over The Top,' this year's extravaganza by Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey, started last night and runs through Sunday at the new Lucas County Arena.
•Dates and times: Thursday and Friday, 7 p.m.; Saturday, 11 a.m., 3 p.m., and 7 p.m., andSunday, 1 p.m. and 5 p.m.
•Admission: Ticket prices start at $11. |
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“They're so excited about the market,” he said. “Most markets this size don't have eight shows. They just think the Toledo market is good.”
Libby Laplante, 27, of Monclova remembers going to Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus at the Sports Arena nearly two decades ago with her parents.
“We were sitting in the very back, but I loved it,” she said. “That's why we wanted to come today.”
Mrs. Laplante and her family joined many others on the arena floor to mingle with the circus performers as part of the preshow event.
Clowns signed autographs and children stared in wide-eyed wonder as ponies and goats took turns showing off for the crowd.
But the real magic began an hour later as the circus roared to life with an all-hands-on-deck opening.
By the time the performance drew to a close, some 2½ hours later, the 138th edition of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus had successfully reminded event-goers of what they had been missing.
“I'm just glad it's back,” said Robert Miller, 35, of Toledo. “It's the only circus I really know. I used to go to this every year as a kid.”
And now, Robert Miller said, he plans to start a new circus tradition with his 4-year-old son, Joseph.
“I told him about the circus the next day after I bought the tickets,” he said, “and he hasn't stopped talking about it.”
Contact Kirk Baird atkbaird@theblade.comor 419-724-6734.
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