Circus Pulls in Fully Charged

Ringling Brothers & Barnum & Bailey Circus’ show, “Fully Charged,” opened Wednesday night at the Prudential Center, where it will stay through Sunday. Now, in the name of full disclosure: I am not a circus lover. The last one I went to featured a finale consisting of cats. As in kitty cats.

Obviously, Ringling Brothers is vastly bigger and the fact that the venue was the Prudential Center in Newark (close to Livingston) was a draw. Another incentive to go was the “All Access Power Up Pre Show Party,” where anyone with a ticket to the main show can arrive an hour early, go onto the arena floor to meet some of the performers, try on some circus costumes, see some of the performers do tricks they don’t necessarily do in the show (kind of as a pre-show warm-up), see some of the animals, and watch Asia, one of their Asian elephants, paint a picture.  You can also enter for a chance to win the elephant’s "masterpiece."

A pre-show “Party” it’s not, but it is cool. Trying on the costumes was fun, surprisingly more for my husband than my daughter who had a death grip on my hand the whole pre-show time. We got to observe some of the performers up close, but it was seeing the animals, just a few feet in front of us, that was especially memorable. 

We learned some interesting facts about the animals (who knew that elephants sweat through the cuticles in the nails in their feet or that they have a little “finger” at the end of their trunks that allows them to pick up small objects or that their favorite treat is a whole loaf of bread?) It was also fascinating seeing how much equipment, especially safety equipment like heavy wire and clamps, goes into the making of the circus.

The main show itself was incredible! How often do you get to sing the Star-Spangled Banner watching the flag held by a showgirl atop a star-spangled elephant? And the opening parade is really a spectacle: the ringmaster was singing while jugglers, acrobats, clowns, elephants, horses, and dancers in lavish costumes paraded around the arena. Watching the display, I felt a thrill I haven’t felt since I was a kid!

Along with the requisite (but no less amazing) acrobats, gymnasts, clowns, and animal acts, there were some surprises: strong men lifting telephone poles adorn with dancers, fireworks, and acrobats who seemed to spend more time flipping through the air than being on the ground. 

My favorite performance was the Human Catapult who shot out of a giant crossbow in a burst of flames before landing in an inflatable “mattress.”  He was still ON FIRE when dancers and clowns with fire extinguishers put out the flames.  How can you be blasé about the circus when you see something like that?

If you’re worried that your kids will be overwhelmed by the concept of a “three ring circus,” don’t be.  There was a lot going on, but not in an over stimulating way and it really only played out once when there were two rings of horses and one of zebras.  Most of the time, it was clear where you were supposed to have your attention. When one act was performing, often the stagehands were either setting up for or taking props down from another act. 

This is a circus that is not only “the greatest show on earth” but is imbued with a sense of fun. The performers seem to honestly love what they’re doing and that affection is communicated to the audience. You share in their pleasure, their enjoyment. I could almost see the memories being etched in my children’s minds as their eyes were alive with the pleasure of the show. 

When I tucked my daughter into bed, I asked her what was her favorite part.  “All of it, Mommy.  All of it,” she replied. 

If you love the circus and even if you don’t, go see this show. It will give you memories to last a lifetime, give the kids lots to wonder about (“how did they DO that?”), and make you smile when you remember the looks in your children’s eyes as they watched “the greatest show on earth.”  Ringling Brothers certainly made a circus convert out of me.

To learn more about this circus, and for some neat circus games,  log onto www.ringling.com.