Sunday, January 3, 2010

MEDIA DAY FOR RINGLING IN TAMPA (TAMPA HERALD TRIBUNE)

Born January 19, 2009 Baby "Barack" is introduced to the media

This show will be over the 'big top'

TAMPA - For 140 years, Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey has let kids be kids and adults be kids, too.

To mark the 200th birthday of circus entertainer extraordinaire P.T. Barnum, organizers promise the making of their biggest, over-the-top show to date when it roars into town Jan. 6 with Barnum's FUNundrum, a celebration inspired by the greatest showman who ever lived.

"He was just a man who was all about building up to something unbelievable," said circus director Amy Tinkham. "He was about complete escape; this (year) is totally about spectacle. The acts are amazing."

Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey pulled back the curtain on rehearsals this week at the Florida State Fairgrounds, where the circus sets up shop each year in the weeks before performances begin.

The extravaganza features a troupe with seven motorcyclists zooming around a 16-foot "Spherical Miracle"; high-wire artists performing 40 feet in the air at a 45-degree angle; plus the "Masters of Musculature" using their bodies in a mind-blowing world of distortion and contortion.

"This year is going to bigger and bolder than ever before," said Alana Feld, who, for the first time, is co-producing the circus act with her sister, Nicole Feld - both of whom are executive vice presidents for Feld Entertainment Inc. "I am so excited for what's to come."

Also making his debut today was Barack, a baby Asian elephant born Jan. 19. In addition to the elephant, other animal performers on the floor in January are tigers, ponies, horses and goats.

IF YOU GO

WHAT: Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey show featuring new and classic circus acts

WHEN: Jan. 6-10 (7:30 p.m. Jan. 6-8; 11:30 a.m., 3:30 and 7:30 p.m. Jan. 9; 1 and 5 p.m. Jan. 10)

WHERE: St. Pete Times Forum, 401 Channelside Drive, Tampa

TICKETS: $15, $20, $25, $35 (VIP), $55 (front row), $85 (circus celebrity); Call the box office, (813) 301-2500, or Ticketmaster, (813) 287-8844.

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