The Big Apple Circus is back in town for its 42nd holiday season, pitching its one-ring tent in Damrosch Park, where New Yorkers who witnessed this joyful little spectacle as youngsters are likely bringing their own offspring to see it.
Longtime fan though I am of the Big Apple Circus, let’s note that the current attraction is not among its finest editions.
That said, the two-hour event features several admirable circus acts, and even packs some thrills. Yet there is a strangely perfunctory quality to the show. Unlike most previous editions, this one involves no theme that might provide a visual or musical unity to thread together the ten acts that are presented here.
As far as the better thrills go, there’s nothing like a whirling Wheel of Death act to get viewers gasping and a 23 year-old Jayson Dominguez fearlessly cavorts and skips rope as the rotating centrifugal monster soars upwards. The eight-member Aliev Troupe crisply and calmly executes Russian barre gymnastics atop a high wire as well as some nifty trapeze acrobatics.
The most inspiring sequence is “Dupla Mao na Roda” (four hands and two wheels), a strong-arm showcase performed with great intensity by Rafael Ferreira and Alan Pagnota. Ferreira, born with a congenital condition that affects his lower extremities, has developed remarkable upper body strength that allows him to gracefully balance atop Pagnota’s hands. The flexible ways that the partners slowly transition into their various poses is impressive to watch.
The little kids in the audience rocked out plenty at the antics of the Savitsky Cats, a cute crew of somewhat grumpy looking kitties who climb ladders, jump brooms, walk on hind legs, and do other things that felines usually don’t ever do.
The unlikeliest segment in this circus aimed for youngsters is the aerial straps duo of Maryna Tkachenko and Tetiana Yudina, glamour gals whose skimpy costumes, spread eagle contortions in midair, and sensual vibes look better suited to Las Vegas. Among other acts on the duller side of the two-act program is Kyle Driggs, a proficient juggler whose specialty involves umbrellas.
Appearing sporadically throughout the entertainment is Amy Gordon, an energetic comic whose clownish persona is a feisty Manhattan pigeon. Yes, expect a couple of poop gags.
Clad in red, white, and blue, Storm Marrero is the husky-voiced ringmaster who vocalizes with throaty vigor. Like some of the other troupers, Marrero frequently encourages the audience to clap along with whatever is happening. Such obvious put-your-hands-together pandering for applause gets tiresome. Led by ace trumpeter Wages Argott, the band blasts out brassy music composed by Janine Delwarte and Ada Westfall that lends some extra drama to the acts.
Co-directors Cecil MacKinnon and Jack Marsh do all right by the mechanics of the show, as nets and equipment are efficiently assembled and then removed within the ring. But this edition is a strictly no frills endeavor that would benefit from brighter visuals. Although Emilio Sosa, a rising name in theater circles, is credited with the costume design, the wardrobe here appears so random that it suggests most of the artists brought their own outfits with them.
Let’s hope that next season’s event inventively spins around a concept or at least provides some more razzle-dazzle than the current attraction, which is pleasantly entertaining but scarcely memorable.
