"FUNUNDRUM" REVIEW

Ringling Bros. and Barnum Bailey celebrate 200th Birthday

By Melissa Hoon Daily Titan Assistant Opinion Editor

Published: September 07, 2010
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey celebrated the late P. T. Barnum’s 200th birthday in Southern California this summer at the biggest circus yet: “Barnum’s FUNundrum.” The show used old circus elements to honor Barnum and new technology to create a show that was “bigger and better” than ever before, according to Nicole Feld, the event’s co-producer.
At the Honda Center in Anaheim July 28, “Barnum’s FUNundrum” seemed to have something for everyone. Circus fun started before the show began, as children and their parents crowded around gates outside the arena to watch elephants play with hay and car tires.

Once inside, circus-goers were part of the All Access Pre-show, where they could try on costumes, learn dance routines and walk beneath performers who juggled while on stilts. From this point on, the audience was completely engaged in the FUNundrum.
After the Pre-show, the ringmaster introduced Barnum Award Winners ? children who have done good for their community, like first place winner, Joseph Mechado, 13, of Upland, who helped raise $30,000 for charities with Biking for America by riding his bicycle from California to Washington, D.C., in 39 days.
Next, a red,white and blue clad elephant made a lap around the floor as the National Anthem was sung, while live music was performed. The show opened with a bright, sparkly and lively ensemble of mermaids, dancing dragons and warriors, and acrobats jumping off of bendable balance beams.
The show went on with notable acts such as The Sky-High Ice Gliders (a high wire act), Mighty Meetal (a man who lifts over 1,500 pounds) and Daniel Raffo, the tiger trainer (who performs in a cage with eight 700 pound tigers from all over the world).

While the show was nothing short of spectacular, it failed to prove how it was “bigger and better” than previous shows. Besides several motorcyclists riding upside-down together in a circular steel cage, no act left me gaping in surprise. Yes, the three Asian female “body benders,” or contortionists, made me think my yoga classes are a piece of cake, but I’d expect to see that act at a circus, so of course my eyeballs didn’t pop from their sockets in amazement.
Children ran in circles in amazement at their seats ? and not because of the adrenaline from their sugar highs from eating scores of cotton candy and popcorn ? but because the circus is made for them to lure at in awe at their tender, innocent ages (far from my old age of 22).
Feld also said there is something for everyone at the circus. While that might be true, that “something” for everyone will spark a wide range of reactions. For example, when the highly anticipated Baby Barack, a 1-year-old elephant, walked a lap around the ring with his mother, I thought, “That’s it?” But surely children screamed aloud, “Look at that cute, tiny baby elephant! He’s so cool, Mom! Let’s try to pet him after the show!”
The circus is called “The Greatest Show On Earth,” but I can think of many shows that are greater than the FUNundrum, starting with The Beatles’ LOVE Show in Las Vegas. But again, perhaps that’s because I’m in college and not elementary school.
http://www.dailytitan.com/2010/09/07/circus-review/