Earlier this month, Sean and I went (as press) to see a brand new show, Big Apple Circus LEGENDARIUM. Reggie and Michael didn’t want to attend because they had seen the Big Apple Circus perform in the past and thought that it would be too similar. (While they enjoyed it the first time, they rarely want to see things multiple times.) It ended up being their loss, because Sean and I had a blast. As Sean said, “They made a big mistake!”
On the way to the circus, I was speaking with some random lady on the train who had struck up a conversation with Sean and me. When I mentioned that we were on our way to the circus, she commented that circuses treat animals badly. While some circuses probably do mistreat animals, I really don’t think that is the case for the Big Apple Circus. It actually has a positive reputation for being humane in their animal treatment. They only work with domesticated animals (such as horses and dogs) and I also like that the dogs used in LEGENDARIUM’s “Central Park Dogs” act are rescued shelter dogs.
Anyway, the show was amazing…totally different from past Big Apple Circus shows. In addition to experiencing nostalgic aspects of past circus shows, the underlying theme of the production (for me) was the importance of imagination. It really is amazing what imagination can bring about. Everything really is created more than once since thoughts become reality. The various acts – a solo trapeze act, a contortionist who did archery with her feet, a man who rode a bicycle on a wire, tango dancing jugglers and much more – really left me thinking, “I need to imagine more!”
Oh yes…the fight. In Part Two of the circus, I got in a fight with one of the Acrobuffos (a husband-and-wife clown team) clowns. The husband pulled me into the ring and his “jealous” wife and I fought over him. There were fists up, air kicks and battling with foam whips. SO FUN! Prior to this “fight”, I had always thought that those “pull out of the audience” circus things were planned beforehand. (Actually, when the clown first motioned for me to come on stage, I looked behind me to see whom he was calling.) In any event, I now know that they are not. I can now cross another thing off my “I didn’t know that I wanted to do this BUT I’m so glad that I did it because it was AWESOME” list – perform in a circus ring! My only regret is that I don’t have any pictures or video of the interaction since Sean was the only familiar person who was with me at the circus. That’s fine though…I still have the memory.
In any event, LEGENDARIUM will run through Sunday, January 13th under the Big Top at Damrosch Park in Lincoln Center. Tickets start at $25 and are available at www.bigapplecircus.org, by calling (888) 541-3750 or at the Circus Box Office that is located in front of the Big Top. The show runs for 2 hours, including a 15-minute intermission. (On a side note, I was impressed with the reasonable concession prices. During the intermission, I only spent $8 to buy Sean chicken fingers, fries and fruit punch.) I’m not doing an “experience gifts” section to my holiday gift guide, but I think that tickets to see LEGENDARIUM would make a great holiday gift for the kids in your life.
{Post images courtesy of Big Apple Circus)