Ringling Brothers Presents "Legends"

The Ringling Bros.and Barnum & Bailey Circus at the Patriot Center was great fun.  The show was entitled "Legends," and was filled with legendary circus acts.  No one was shot out of a cannon, but other than that, they hit all the major circus milestones.  

It's been many years since I'd been to the Patriot Center.  It's a great venue -- large enough to have a real "big show" feel, but small enough to feel like all the seats have a good view and you don't have to walk miles to get to around. 

I was pleased to hear recently that Ringing Bros. will be retiring elephants from all of their shows in 2016.  (I live in a house divided in that regard -- my husband disagrees and thinks that elephants are an important part of the circus.)  But even when the elephants are no longer in the show, there are many other animal acts.  We counted a full ten different species that performed, including the traditional big cats (lions and tigers), dogs (big and small), and horses.  And there were some non-traditional ones like goats and llamas...  and one surprise that I won't ruin here.

The human acts included motorcycles, acrobats, clowns, trapeze artists, and a spectacular Ringmaster complete with flamboyant sparkling tail coat and top hat (changed often, of course).  Both my husband and I were very pleased to see that they had a live band.  Lots of electronics included, but live trumpet, trombone, saxophone, keyboard, and drums, at the least.  The human acts are always my favorite, and I found myself saying, along with my boys, things like "Wow!" and "No way!" 

The show was LOUD.  If you're sensitive to loud noises (or bright lights, for that matter), be prepared.  

Our boys are 8 and 10, and both thoroughly enjoyed the show.  There was, as my 10 year old put it after the show, "a little cheese" in some of the acts, but overall they had a great time.  At one point during the show that same 10 year old said, "This might really be The Greatest Show on Earth!"  High praise, indeed.

Want to go? You can catch the show:

The Patriot Center April 8 – April 19, 2015

Show times:
· Wednesday, April 8 @ 7:00 pm
· Thursday, April 9 @ 7:00 pm
· Friday, April 10 @ 7:30 pm
· Saturday, April 11 @ 11:30 am, 3:30 pm, 7:30 pm
· Sunday, April 12 @ 1:00 pm, 5:00 pm
· Thursday, April 16 @ 7:00 pm
· Friday, April 17 @ 10:30 am, 7:30 pm
· Saturday, April 18 @ 11:30 am, 3:30 pm, 7:30 pm
· Sunday, April 19 @ 1:00 pm, 5:00 pm

Tickets are available via Ticketmaster.