New Ringling Bros. circus pushes limits to go ‘Out of This World’

Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey didn’t become known as “The Greatest Show on Earth” by being complacent. Every two to four years, the circus gets a makeover so that audiences get something they’ve never seen before.

The latest update, “Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Presents Out of This World,” makes its world debut in Fresno when it rolls into Selland Arena for an eight-show run on Thursday, July 7. Normally new shows are introduced in Florida, where the company’s headquarters are located, but California was chosen for this show.

After the Fresno dates, the show will head to Staples Center in Los Angeles and then begin a multi-year tour that will take it across the United States.

Alana Feld, executive vice president of Feld Entertainment and producer of “Out of This World,” said she is excited about the new show debuting in Fresno because the city has always supported the circus.

Fans will see a whole new look for the circus. It still features acts going from floor to air, such as thrill skaters and gravity-defying acrobats, but it adds an ice element that brings new speed and motion to the show. The trick was to make the familiar – such as the trapeze and high-wire acts – seem fresh.

“Throughout the show, families won’t know where the floor ends and the ice begins,” Feld says. “As we unveil ‘Out of This World,’ a show unlike anything experienced before, we are launching our iconic brand into the future.”

Feld, known for producing arena events for Ringling Bros. and “Disney Live!,” predicts the latest incarnation of the circus will “shatter expectations, spark excitement and push the limits of what’s possible.”

This is the first Ringling Bros. circus created since the company decided to no longer include Asian elephants in the traveling shows.

Removing the elephants from the show opened up new possibilities, including the “Out of This World” space theme.

For most of the 146 years that Ringling Bros. has entertained audiences, the shows have featured a collection of performers linked together by the ringmaster. “Out of This World” is an interactive storyline that focuses on space-age family fun and technology. There will be a ringmaster, but his role has changed dramatically. Instead of just introducing acts, he is involved in the storyline.

The story is told through the lens of a magic telescope that can locate the top circus stars in the galaxy. The stars join the Circus Space Fleet on a mission to bring performers back to Earth and takes them to worlds of sand, water, fire and ice.

“This storyline gives children something to follow. They can cheer for the heroes and boo the villains,” Feld says.

Because the show won’t debut until the first performance in Fresno on July 7, the production team has not heard any feedback from the public. But there has been reaction from the performers.

“The performers are excited about this show,” Feld says. “Everyone was really pumped from the first audition.”

That excitement includes Feld, who has been a fan of the circus since she was a child. Her first job with the company was as a clown.

The new show is based on just a small part of the ideas the company has for revamping the circus. Finding the right elements is what motivates Feld.

“We love the challenge of being the greatest show on Earth. That means we have to top ourselves because no other entertainment is like Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey,” Feld says. “This is a place where grandparents and teenagers can find entertainment like no other.”

This story was originally published July 3, 2016 at 4:00 AM with the headline "New Ringling Bros. circus pushes limits to go ‘Out of This World’."