articles

Review: Ringling Bros. presents CIRCUS EXTREME

By Sabrina Condon, Macaroni Kid Brewster-Mahopac-Carmel February 25, 2015

We were invited to see the Ringling Bros. Presents CIRCUS EXTREME at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.  This show will be in our area through 3/22 on various days and at various locations.  This is by far my favorite Ringling Bros. show to-date.  The show was so energized, upbeat, fast moving, jaw dropping, and amazing.  Even my ever-moving 17-month-old sat stock still throughout the entire show. 

 

We did have traffic difficulties getting into Barclays, despite calculating in buffer times.  I suggest giving yourself 2 hours travel time unless you’re familiar with the Brooklyn area.  I had trouble finding the 625 Atlantic Ave Parking Lot entrance, which is actually located on Forest Green, adjacent to Atlantic Ave and steps from the Barclays front door.  We were only charged $7 for parking, and on the coldest day of the year (remember, the wind chills that Friday night were -20 to -30), we were grateful for the extremely close parking. 

 

There is a pre-show if you arrive early, which takes place for about 1 hour prior to show-time.  It is available to anyone that has purchased tickets and allows you on the floor to see animals up close, talk to the circus crew, games, and activities.  We highly recommend it. 

The show itself, as I already stated, is by far my favorite.  The audience was the most engaged audience I’ve ever seen at any show (Ringling Bros. or any other show) with dancing, singing, clapping, oohing, aahhing (us included). My children were pointing and screaming “LOOK” throughout the performances. 

My favorite and also my 3-year-old’s favorite was seeing the elephants so up close.  ALL the animals are extremely well cared for, great weights, great coats, and clear affection for their trainers.  The elephants actually looked to be smiling with their eyes as the audience cheered them on. The tiger trainer fed off the audience and his energy just went up and up and up.  He was so incredible to watch his handling of the cats, especially when a couple were acting up…he got them in line with barely any realization from the audience, and kept on moving. 

The aerialists were gorgeous in their costumes, their stuntwork, and their air dancing.  That looked to be my 17-month-olds favorite part.  Her eyes remained transfixed throughout the entire performance. 

Though I miss last year’s MC, this year’s MC was just as incredible.  His performance was on par with Broadway shows, and he kept the audience engaged and entertained. 

It’s truly impossible to relay how much we enjoyed this circus.  I truly highly recommend going, even if it’s dealing with the Brooklyn traffic.  I also recommend using the GPS phone app WAZE to get you there, as it does a fantastic job of skirting you around traffic. 

You can find more information about the show in our original article HERE.  The show will be at:

Barclays Center in Brooklyn 2/19-3/1,

Nassau Coliseum on Long Island 3/4-3/8,

Prudential Center in Newark, NJ 3/12-3/15, and

IZOD Center in East Rutherford, NJ 3/18/-3/22