The Big Apple Circus Offers Big Top Fun for Little Ones
BY Elizabeth Takacsfrom: www.kids.baristanet.comFriday, Jan 06, 2012
The circus has come to town, but it won’t be here much longer as this weekend marks the final performances for The Big Apple Circus’ Lincoln Center run. There are still seats available, ranging from $25-$175, but if that’s a little too short-notice for you then you could consider catching one of their Bridgewater, NJ performances running from March 33 through the 18 or Queens, NY in May. Otherwise you’ll have to wait until the holiday season rolls around again.
Growing up in the metro area I always heard of the Big Apple Circus but never had an occasion to attend one of their shows nor did I really know the Big Apple Circus and what they were all about. Then a couple of years ago I happened to catch a series, Circus, on PBS where a film crew trailed the Big Apple Circus for a year. They began in upstate New York where the show is developed and rehearsed. Then they joined them on the road as they took their show from state to state, ending finally with their Lincoln Center run. I was hooked. I loved that the Big Apple Circus is a not-for-profit organization that sponsors a number of community outreach programs. They send clowns to children’s hospitals and mount vaudeville performances in elder care facilities. They sponsor after-school programs in clowning. Also to their credit is something they call Circus of the Senses, a circus performance specially designed for children with hearing and vision impairments as well as other challenges.
So this was the year we finally felt ready to take our children to the big top.
We have a four year old and an almost two year old (children under three are free though they must sit on a lap), and The Big Apple Circus is especially suitable for younger kids. It’s a one-ring circus in a rather intimate setting (there are only 16 rows and you’re never more than 50-ft. from the stage so there really isn’t a bad seat in the house), kids can easily focus on and engage in the acts without too many distractions– even the toddler was riveted, no kidding. Also, the show is very interactive, there’s a fair amount of audience participation. And it truly is a big-top experience, the crew brings their tent from venue to venue, mounting it even on the plaza at Lincoln Center. However, fear not, it may be a tent but that does not mean it lacks modern comforts like bathrooms and heat. It’s also completely wheelchair accessible and totally stroller friendly. Be warned, though, there are no diaper changing facilities.
Clowns are a major feature of the show. They don’t wear a lot of make-up (another plus, especially for younger audience members) and their clowning is a combination of site gags and pantomime. Grandma the Clown is perhaps the Big Apple Circus’ most well-known act, and this season marks Barry Lubin’s final spin as the lovable octogenarian before hanging up his wig. We actually got to meet Grandma as we were arriving, and I have to admit, I felt quite star-struck.
The show changes from year to year and always centers on a theme. This year’s “Dream Big” show features acrobats, jugglers, aerial acts including the flying trapeze, horses, dogs even a porcupine, pig and capybara. It was a fun time and may very well become an annual tradition for this family. According to one four-year old attendee, “It was really, really, good.”
Growing up in the metro area I always heard of the Big Apple Circus but never had an occasion to attend one of their shows nor did I really know the Big Apple Circus and what they were all about. Then a couple of years ago I happened to catch a series, Circus, on PBS where a film crew trailed the Big Apple Circus for a year. They began in upstate New York where the show is developed and rehearsed. Then they joined them on the road as they took their show from state to state, ending finally with their Lincoln Center run. I was hooked. I loved that the Big Apple Circus is a not-for-profit organization that sponsors a number of community outreach programs. They send clowns to children’s hospitals and mount vaudeville performances in elder care facilities. They sponsor after-school programs in clowning. Also to their credit is something they call Circus of the Senses, a circus performance specially designed for children with hearing and vision impairments as well as other challenges.
So this was the year we finally felt ready to take our children to the big top.
We have a four year old and an almost two year old (children under three are free though they must sit on a lap), and The Big Apple Circus is especially suitable for younger kids. It’s a one-ring circus in a rather intimate setting (there are only 16 rows and you’re never more than 50-ft. from the stage so there really isn’t a bad seat in the house), kids can easily focus on and engage in the acts without too many distractions– even the toddler was riveted, no kidding. Also, the show is very interactive, there’s a fair amount of audience participation. And it truly is a big-top experience, the crew brings their tent from venue to venue, mounting it even on the plaza at Lincoln Center. However, fear not, it may be a tent but that does not mean it lacks modern comforts like bathrooms and heat. It’s also completely wheelchair accessible and totally stroller friendly. Be warned, though, there are no diaper changing facilities.
Clowns are a major feature of the show. They don’t wear a lot of make-up (another plus, especially for younger audience members) and their clowning is a combination of site gags and pantomime. Grandma the Clown is perhaps the Big Apple Circus’ most well-known act, and this season marks Barry Lubin’s final spin as the lovable octogenarian before hanging up his wig. We actually got to meet Grandma as we were arriving, and I have to admit, I felt quite star-struck.
The show changes from year to year and always centers on a theme. This year’s “Dream Big” show features acrobats, jugglers, aerial acts including the flying trapeze, horses, dogs even a porcupine, pig and capybara. It was a fun time and may very well become an annual tradition for this family. According to one four-year old attendee, “It was really, really, good.”
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