A review of
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus

By Debra Ross, Publisher, KidsOutAndAbout.com
Friday, May 21, 2004

I took the girls to the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus at the Blue Cross Arena last night with some friends and their son. The circus is a great reminder of what it's like to be a child. The kids weren't savvy enough to grasp that it was a lackluster Thursday night crowd, that the music was a bit thin, or that the high wire experts had to catch themselves a couple of times. To them it simply was the Greatest Show on Earth, and the looks on their faces for more than two hours made it all worth it.

In my opinion, this year's Circus was somewhat better than last year's. It's an entirely new show, with different performers, so those who went last year won't be in the least bored. Those who remember my 2003 column about the Circus will recall my slight infatuation with last year's Ringmaster, Johnathan Lee Iverson, but I'm assured by my friends that it's not all in my head: His absence has indeed influenced the quality of the musical productions -- they're just not as interesting to listen to both lyrically and musically. Kevin Venardos isn't bad, but he doesn't have Johnathan's presence. But we thought the acts themselves were better than last years', more fun to watch and more professionally executed. Watching "Crazy Wilson" on the "Pendulum of Pandemonium" was a pulse-racing experience. There were fewer animal acts than last year, which left more room for the people performances, and the Arena seemed somehow better ventilated. Overall, a more enjoyable experience.

Some advice about the circus. First, the tickets are expensive; the cheapest were $12 + $1.25 tax (children 2 and up pay full price), and in retrospect I would have bought the next level up just to get in the middle rather than on the end to be able to see better. However, the crowd was so small that we were able to move around (higher, on the side, with the security guard's permission) to get a slightly better view. Going early will help you get your money's worth; they have a Three Ring Adventure that starts an hour before the performance, which lets you get up close and personal with the animal and human performers.

Second, they ply you from every which way with offers to sell your kids all manner of Circus Paraphernalia. And these things are very expensive: for example, a bag of cotton candy with a cheap circus Ringmaster's hat sitting on top is $10. But I remembered this from last year, and so what I did was on the way we stopped at Michael's craft store and picked up a pinwheel for each child, for 99 cents apiece. They're shiny and they move, just like the junk they sell you at the arena for 17 times the price. The kids enjoyed waving them around before and during the performance, and any time some eager vendor approached our seats and our kids turned to ask, we pointed at the pinwheels. They're still young enough (3 and 4 and almost-5) to be happy with this. My friends thought I was a genius. Caveat: If you make use of this kind of ploy, make sure you give them to the kids before you get to the arena. This way, they get invested in their pinwheel; otherwise, they may see it as just one option among many, and nag you for different stuff. The one problem is if you give it to them too early, they may get bored with it. I whipped them out right after we parked.

For older kids, my friend Anne who saw the circus in New York City offered this bit of advice: She gave her 11-year-old a set amount of money before the show (I think it was $10 or $15) for her to spend any way she liked. That cut down on the "I-want-this I-want-that" chorus -- all decisions were Charlotte's. When the money was gone, it was gone, and so was the whining.

We also brought our own juice boxes and "Clifford fruit chewies," saving us from buying $6 snacks. I remember hating when my mom did this when I was a kid, but don't we all grow up to be our parents? I suppose that I'll stop this when they get old enough to complain, but if your kids are young enough, don't hesitate: They'll get a healthful snack that's the perfect size for them and save you a lot of money.

Final bit of advice: Have a blast!

©Debra Ross, 2004
All rights reserved.