PICADILLY CIRCUS

Elephants and aerialists perform Thursday in Piccadilly Circus

An elephant performs in the ring at the Piccadilly Circus.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010By Melissa Miller ~ Southeast Missourian
There's only one place in Cape Girardeau to find a boxing kangaroo, a giant jungle monster and motorcycles flying through the "Chamber of Doom." All this and more will be at the Piccadilly Circus at 4:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Thursday at the Show Me Center. "It's fun, it's exciting, it's hysterical," said Niles Garden of the Piccadilly Circus, based in Sarasota, Fla. "The human feats are just amazing. At the show we did last night, people were standing up in awe."
The show includes more than 25 human performers, many of whom are acrobats. The Alexis Brothers will perform Cirque du Soleil-style aerial moves, Garden said.
Animals featured in the European-style circus show include horses, elephants, monkeys and a kangaroo.
Elephant and pony rides also will be available along with cotton candy, snow cones and other circus treats.

A Russian clown troupe performs in the Piccadilly Circus.

The show's clowns, which at times ride in a comedy car that drives itself, also provide the audience with plenty of comic relief, Garden said. Before the show arrives in Cape Girardeau, it will perform in Jackson, Tenn., today. From Cape Girardeau the circus travels to Carlinville, Ill.
"We're in a new town every day, and we just keep on moving," Garden said.
Free ticket coupons for children ages 13 and younger were distributed at local schools and area businesses. This coupon also may be downloaded at the circus' website, www.thefuncircus.com.
Adult tickets are $37 for VIP seating and $27 for general admission. Child VIP tickets are $15 or $10 for general admission.
For more information, call the Show Me Center box office at 651-5000.
mmiller@semissourian.com