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Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey goes ‘over the top’ in Cleveland

| Wednesday October 01 2008, 2:58pm

CLEVELAND - Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey will bring its all-new live entertainment extravaganza “Over The Top” to Cleveland later this month.

_{Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey will bring its all-new live entertainment extravaganza “Over The Top” to Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland for two weekends only during Oct. 24-26 and Oct. 31-Nov. 2. Tickets cost $80 (circus celebrity), $65 (front row), $40 (VIP), $20 and $15. All seats are reserved, and tickets are on sale now at visiting www.ringling.com or www.ticketmaster.com, or by calling Ticketmaster at 216/241-2121. More than 70 pictures about the circus can be seen in an online gallery titled “Circus coming to Cleveland” on ReflectorCam 2.0 on this Web site. BUY PHOTO}

The wacky battle featuring the ultimate tug-of-war between Ringmaster Chuck Wagner and clown eccentric Tom Dougherty — all over a magical top hat that controls the circus — is staged at Quicken Loans Arena for two weekends only during Oct. 24-26 and Oct. 31-Nov. 2.

Over The Top is two circuses in one, providing excitement for the whole family. Get ready for an exciting dose of double trouble as the battle to control the circus takes center stage. Each time the hat switches hands, the circus switches tempo.

When the Ringmaster dons the hat, he conjures stupendous spectacles for his circus. After all, he wears the top hat and as everyone knows, the magic — and management — of the circus lies beneath its brim. As the Ringmaster’s trusted side-kicks — clowns extraordinaire Pepe and Royo — roll out the red carpet and announce the circus’ opening, a magnificent menagerie of acrobats and animals, contortionists and clowns, daredevils and divas parade into the ring.

High above the crowd, elastic acrobats spring and swing on bungees as a dazzling damsel swirls and twirls above center stage from her hair. The excitement crescendos and the Ringmaster proudly proclaims that the 138th edition is indeed his show. As fireworks flair, our regal Ringmaster drops his hat, which is furtively filched by Tom, effectively shifting command to the comic cut-up.

When Tom’s in control, he uses the hat to summon silly and whimsical acts for his circus. Intent on showing off his animalistic prowess, Tom introduces his own animal act into the show with a little help from the Clown Alley Penguins. Under the Clown Eccentric’s discombobulated direction, the not-so-ferocious flock wiggle and waddle, jiggle and jive their way onto the horse cove where they move and groove to a rockin’ beat. Infused with performances by Daniel Raffo’s amazing Bengal tigers, the Flying Caceres’ high flying trapeze act, the Duo Kurrinskyy’s contortionism and more, Tom’s circus rivals the Ringmaster’s and brings the battle to control the circus into full swing.

The two continue to top one another until the Ringmaster and clown realize that the magic of the circus is not in the hat, but in the hearts of everyone in the audience. The show culminates in an amazing display of gigantic glowing rainforest flowers surrounding Chinese acrobats swinging on vines and propelling through the air.

Circus fans will see nearly 100 animals including flying dogs; Asian Elephants that skip, hop, and groove; miniature horses, llamas, pigs, and even a performing porcupine. Over The Top also incorporates the latest technology, such as stealth screens, to bring the audience a new way to experience the thrills of the circus. And with the audience's participation, this circus really goes Over The Top.

An hour before the circus begins, fans of all ages can join Ringling Bros. performers on the arena floor to learn circus skills, meet majestic animals and get an up close and personal look at The

Greatest Show on Earth during the free all-access pre-show.

Tickets cost $80 (circus celebrity), $65 (front row), $40 (VIP), $20 and $15. All seats are reserved, and tickets are on sale now at visiting www.ringling.com or www.ticketmaster.com, or by calling Ticketmaster at 216/241-2121.

Here is the schedule:

Friday, Oct. 24: 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, Oct. 25: 11:30 a.m., 3:30 p.m., 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, Oct. 26: 1 p.m., 5 p.m.

Friday, Oct. 31: 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, Nov. 1: 11:30 a.m., 3:30 p.m., 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, Nov. 2: 1 p.m., 5 p.m.

FUN FACTS

Train Travel and Fun Facts:

The average distance the Ringling Bros. circus train travels between cities is 350 miles.

There are 61 cars on the Blue Unit train:  4 animal stock cars, 31 coaches (living quarters), 2 concession storage cars, 20 flat bed cars, 1 pie car (restaurant), 2 generator cars (noise attenuated), and 1 shop car (maintenance).

The Ringling Bros train is more than 1 mile long!  [61 cars at 90 feet per car totals 5490 feet, and that’s before the engines are added!]  Each year, an average of 1000 hours is spent traveling by train from city to city.

The Blue Unit train will travel an average of 16,000 miles in one year.

The longest journey the train travels between cities is 1,335 miles, from Denver to Cleveland.

The 138th Edition will play 42 different North American cities in one year, or 84 in a 2 year tour.

The train master walks a minimum of 3 miles per day in taking care of every aspect of the Ringling Bros. train.

It takes the Ringling Bros. train recycling team 9000 man-hours to build one train car for The Greatest Show On Earth.

Concessions/Souvenirs:

Over 1,000 pounds of popcorn are consumed in each city that Ringling Bros. visits.

At each performance, 4,000 pounds (2 tons) of ice is used to produce snow cones.

More than 750 pounds of sugar is used to spin cotton candy in each city.

Animal Fun Facts:

A total of 92 animals travel with the 138th edition including: 

7 Asian elephants,  all female, ranging in age from 6 to 40 years old

7 goats  (6 Pygmy and 1 Angora)

11 Tigers (all orange & black variety)

1 Alpaca

2 Llamas

14 Horses (Canadian pacers, quarter horse, Andalusian, Paint, Arabian, Russian Donchek) 

12 Welsh Ponies

4 miniature horses

1 miniature donkey

2 Vietnamese pot-bellied pigs

1 African porcupine

30 dogs

Did you know?  An adult porcupine has up to 30,000 quills and spines on its body. (spines are slightly longer than the quills, and are similar to thin straws)

   

Elephant Expertise!

Elephants are born with hair, toe nails, and a set of 4 teeth, (2 upper and 2 lower). They can get up to 6 sets of teeth in a lifetime.  A full grown elephant’s tooth weighs about the same as a bowling ball.

The circumference of an elephant’s foot, doubled, gives you the height of an elephant at its shoulder (this is how trackers measure the size and age of a herd of elephants — by measuring the tracks or  footprints!)

An average of 160 pounds of food is eaten by each Asian elephant per day.

As a daily snack, an elephant can eat at least 3 loaves of bread — in human terms this adds up to at least 36 sandwiches!  Elephants also love to eat apple, carrots, watermelons and most other healthy vegetables and grains!

An Asian elephant calf weighs about 250 pounds at birth.

By its first birthday, an elephant calf will weigh over 1,300. And by the time it is full grown, an Asian elephant can weigh from 8,000 to 10,000 pounds!

The tallest point of an elephant’s body is the top of its head. Adobe is the height of a basketball hoop! 

An elephant can drink up to 800 glasses of water in one day; compare to a human who drinks 8 glasses of water a day.

In addition to their excellent hearing — elephants also use their ears like a fan — flapping them back and forth to cool themselves and when elephants swim they use their trunks like snorkels?

So far, we’ve had 20 elephant calves born in to our breeding program.  Ringling Bros. has the largest sustainable herd of captive Asian elephants in the western hemisphere.

Tiger Trivia

Like human fingerprints, the pattern of each tiger’s stripes is unique.

Tigers can see much better in the dark than humans can.

Tigers communicate their feelings through body language such as the position of their ears and tail.

Performer Fun Facts

There are 102 performers in cast of the 138th Edition.

Cast members hail from 20 countries on 5 continents.

There are 11 languages spoken backstage.

The 138th Edition contains 22 acts, including the Clown Alley Blow-Off.

Continent/Country-Language

Asia: 

China (Henan Province)-Mandarin Chinese

Russia-Russian

Ukraine-Ukrainian/Russian

Africa: 

Morocco-Arabic

Europe:   

England-English

Germany-German

France-French

Hungary-Hungarian

Ireland-English

Spain-Spanish

Central/South America:

Cuba-Spanish

Brazil -Portuguese

Columbia-Spanish

Guyana-English/Amerindian

Mexico-Spanish

Paraguay-Guarani

Peru-Spanish

Uruguay-Spanish

North America: 

United States-English

Logistics:  Tech and Stat Factoids

A total of 240 75-watt energy-saver compact fluorescent light bulbs are used to illuminate the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey logo sign on the entrance portal of the 138th edition — saving 28 percent on electrical energy when compared to standard incandescent bulbs, and lasting 10X longer.

The portal through which the circus performers enter is 30 feet high and 45 feet wide.

The gigantic Top Hat adorning the portal is 8 feet tall, proportionally big enough to fit a man 72 feet tall!

The Clown Shoes on the portal are 1 1/2 stories tall! (over 12 feet).  Those are big shoes to fill!

The portal and bandstand are decorated with a montage of more than 600 square feet of Ringling Bros. vintage poster images. (about 40 images)

The stealth screens are composed of 9000 individual LED lights

It takes approximately 14 hours to assemble the rigging and show elements.

It takes  5 hours to take down and pack up the show.

15,000 feet of steel cable is used to hang the grid for the circus rigging.

Ringling Bros. uses 10,000 feet of poly rope to rig the acts

1,500 feet of metal truss is used to create the grid.

It takes 100 chain hoist motors to support the grid and the aerial acts

14,000 feet of stainless steel cable is used to create the custom hand-crafted great tiger arena

12,000 square feet of half-inch thick rubber padding,  weighing 32,000 pounds, is specially applied to the arena floor to ensure safe footing for animals and performers

There are several hundred costume changes in the show.

BIOGRAPHIES

Chuck Wagner — Ringmaster

A showman in the tradition of P. T. Barnum himself, Chuck Wagner returns to The Greatest Show On Earth® for his second tour of duty.  Chuck began his career on the ABC soap opera General Hospital and has played over 1,2000 performances as the Beast in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast on Broadway.  A veteran of film, television and Broadway, Chuck is thrilled to be entrusted once again with the Ringmaster’s hat.  “I have the greatest job on Earth,” says Chuck of his role as Ringmaster.  “I get to be in the Circus and at the Circus at the same time!”  With more than a quarter century of professional roles to his credit, Chuck is best known for his dynamic portrayal of larger-than-life characters on stages across the country — a talent he brings to the 138th Edition in a performance that’s Over the Top!

Tom Dougherty — Clown Eccentric

Why would an erudite, Brooklyn-born boy raised on opera and ballet abandon a budding career in politics to become a clown?  “I wanted to affect the world in a positive way,” recalls Tom Dougherty.  “A clown is a magical creature with all the powers of a magical creature.”  Three decades later, Tom’s still spreading his magic — and mischief — far and wide as he squares off with Chuck Wagner in his quest to capture the Ringmaster’s top hat and seize control of The Greatest Show On Earth®.  His rascally ruses and devilish deeds send everyone’s spirits skyrocketing as Tom discovers where the true magic of the circus lies.

Pepe and Royo — Clowns

Though they hail from Spain and France, Eric Sanchez and Lorenzo Rodriguez — affectionately known as Pepe and Royo — bring ear-to-ear grins to Children of All Ages from around the globe.  Back together again after nearly a decade spent honing their individual talents in circuses across Europe, the dynamic duo pull out all the stops in a rivalry of unrivaled proportions.  Acting as the mischief making, mini-me assistants to Ringmaster Chuck Wagner as he strives to maintain control of the circus, Pepe and Royo tickle funny bones large and small with their amusing antics and contagious comic escapades.  But hilarity isn’t all these fun-loving clowns have up their sleeves; their melodic musical prowess and circus artistry help make the 138th Edition of Ringling Bros. The Greatest Show On Earth.

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