The Big Apple Circus (BAC) is back at City Hall Plaza featuring its signature clown Grandma, but this latest show is definitely not your grandmother’s circus. Bet you’ve never seen goats riding mini-horses or samurais defying death with lariat stunts that no cowboy ever dreamed of.
BAC’s new artistic management has responded to changing audience tastes and to the need to downsize by getting maximum use out of its smaller, more racially diverse company. BAC regulars will immediately notice that there are fewer animal and aerial acts than in the past, but also that many turns now showcase several circus skills.
The days of an all-white cast are gone. Now Asians and Africans now make up 75 percent of the troupe.
Big Apple’s new directors say, “We’ve made every effort to tip our hats to what is familiar to circus audiences, while giving them an entirely new experience for their ears as well as their eyes.”
Attentive ears definitely notice a wider variety of live music played including contemporary pop, world beat, and original tunes. The increase in music ties in with this 33rd edition’s theme “Dance On.” In this “show that never stops,” the acts flow from one right into the next, incorporating the entire company and even the ring crew into the choreography as the scenes shift. These seamless segues keep the momentum high, but leave strikingly tall ringmaster Kevin Venardos with little to do.
Some of the Eastern performers look a little stiff with all the between-scenes Western boogying they have to do, but the two-hour spectacle ends up with a giant international party feel.
The first act warms the crowd up with an Ethiopian juggler and a quintet of Mongolian contortionists. Kenyan Boys mix gymnastics, juggling, pole-climbing, and human pyramid formation in an uproarious routine that wowed crowds at pro basketball half time shows.
Sweet and sassy guest clown Rob Torres, who has performed in 44 countries, demonstrates his mastery of audience interaction whether he’s capturing applause in a keepsake box, or bawling to get a pretty ringside lady to kiss the boo-boos on increasingly personal parts of his anatomy.
“Dance On”’s astounding finale is the “One Dream Lasso Act” by the Hebei Wuqiao Acrobatic Troupe. Hailing from the Chinese province where acrobats have trained for millennia, these fearless athletes stun audiences with their unusual display of tumbling and rope tricks.
The BAC has 65 performances at the Government Center T stop through May 15. Ticket details at bigapplecircus.org.
