Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus ZING! ZANG! ZOOM!

Last time NYCity Mama went to the circus, it was Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey.  It was in Madison Square Garden, and she remembers it well.  She remembers the animals, the acrobats, even the book and flashy light her father bought for her.  She was maybe 7 or 8 years old.

Now, 30 years later, she was given the opportunity to revisit.  But before she went she had the honor of meeting some of the members of the new magic focused show, Zing! Zang! Zoom!.

During this Meet and Greet, she was able to hear the stories of Magician and Zingmaster, Alex Ramone, who shared his love for magic since he was a child.  He lovingly talked about how his mother supported and encouraged him as he toned his new found passion and shared how he has a secret signal between them so he knows where she is in the audience (as she goes to every show).  Mama heard the story of the leading clown, Dustin, and how he overcame obesity to pursue his passion to become a professional clown and that of a younger clown-in-training, 18 years old, and how his family has been in the circus for generations and generations, with his mother and father still working there, and about his dream to perfect his clown skills.  She met the female cannonball, and listen to her share how she would watch her husband perform and she wanted to learn.  How after a few tries her husband doubted she would ever be able to master it, but with lots of training, she did and now is one half of the first female cannonball duo.  She has a 5 year old who attends the school in the circus with a group of other children, from all over the world.  And her daughter, with another friend, having only seen the show a couple of times, like to re-enact the roles of Zingmaster Alex and his assistant and know each word by heart.

Having met them and hearing their stories got Mama even more excited and she didn’t stop talking about it for days.

And now opening night had finally arrived!  Mama took her 3.5 year old, her 11 year old and husband with her.  They headed to Madison Square Garden. It was rainy, but otherwise not so bad.

They arrived an hour before the show in order to take advantage of the pre-show entertainment where they were able to go down to the stage floor and get closer to the performers.  It was crowded, but they were able to enjoy it all. The clowns, the painting elephant, the acrobats, and Zingmaster Alex picking members of the audience to help him perform magic tricks. Mama lookd at her 3.5 year old.  This was his first visit to the circus.  He was silent and wide-eyed.  It was great!

The boys were thrilled to be there.  They loved watching the set up, not really knowing what to expect.  Then the lights dimmed and one of the most colorful, magical openings to a show she has ever seen took place right there before them.

The acrobatic performances, the disappearance of a huge elephant with the wave of a hand and a “Zing! Zang! Zoom!”, the mischievous tricks of Mr. Gravity and his clown cronies, the music, the dancing and WOW, the human cannonball. For Mama that was the most suspenseful moment of the entire show!  It was incredible seeing those two women in action!  So much fun.  Definitely NOT anything like the circus she saw when she was a little girl.

Her boys loved the show.  Her 3 year old still asks to go back.  She couldn’t believe he was wide awake and attentive the entire time!  They started making their way home.  The rain was falling hard, but no one cared. The city was full of life and excitement, or maybe it was just that everything seemed so to her after having witnessed what is truly The Greatest Show On Earth.

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