More Theater Monday - Circus 1903

We were given free tickets to Circus 1903 for for review purposes. Any and all opinions expressed here are our own.

Where: The Theater at Madison Square Garden
             4 Penn Plaza
             New York, NY

Who: All ages

When: Now through April 16
           (see web-site http://www.circus1903.com/# at for other tour dates and locations)

Me - Circus 1903 was good. It was a show that was a circus liked it would have been in 1903. It was interesting. The elephants were so cool! That was my favorite part. They weren't really elephants. They were puppets. There were two elephants, a big one and a baby. Their names were Queenie and Peanut. Their faces looked so real. The little one was so cute even though it wasn't real. Other acts included a person who could twist her body in all different ways. There were tightrope walkers. There was a guy who did tricks on a bike. A couple times they picked kids out of the audience to help them with things. The Ringmaster did a trick where he acted like he was getting money out of their mouths and stuff, and he did a card trick. They all got to a keep a card, and one little girl got an elephant balloon. They didn't have clowns like normal circuses. They didn't have an other animals real or not. It was a fun thing to see, and I would recommend going. You especially won't want to miss the elephants.

Mom - Circus 1903 is not a show with a plot. It is an actual circus as it would be in 1903. It is a great show for all ages and does not really contain any acts that should be frightful to small children. Many of the acts may be familiar to modern audiences like a family of tightrope walkers, a juggler and a contortionist. There are other acts which may or may not be familiar to modern audiences two men doing acrobatics by one flipping the other one around, a similar act with a man flipping a woman around in the air, and a spinning ball act. Like any good circus, this circus is full of thrilling acts and death defying stunts. However a few things set this circus apart. For one thing because it is in a theater not an arena, you are able to get a lot closer to the action than you normal would. It makes the audience feel much more a part of the show especially because sometimes, you can even feel the vibrations when the performers jump around. Second of all, this is circus at its most pure. There are no giant tents, or explosions of light and or sound. There are just talented performers doing their stuff without even any nets.  However, the thing that most sets this circus apart is its elephants. These elephants are not so interesting for what they do but for what they are. They are not real elephants; they are puppets made by the same team that created the horse for the show War Horse. Even though you are able to see the puppeteers inside the elephants, they still seems so lifelike. You can't take your eyes off them. There is a lot to like about this circus, but the elephant puppets are what keep it an event not to miss. Maybe, if Ringling Brothers at least had elephants like these, they wouldn't be going out of business now.

For more information about Circus 1903, to order tickets and/or, to find out when and if there will be a show near you go to http://www.circus1903.com/#.

Tune in tomorrow for Tips for Tuesday.