It’s here! Feld Entertainment is days away from kicking off the highly anticipated 2023 North American tour of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey® The Greatest Show On Earth®. With an electrifying opening night scheduled for September 29 in Louisiana, the immersive, live, family entertainment experience is unlike anything audiences have ever seen, filled with incredible feats that push the limits of human potential. The reimagined American Icon will captivate families through a 360-degree experience that brings fans into the action and the music, creating real connections between audiences and performers.
“As we began envisioning the reimagined Ringling, it was important to balance evolving the show for today’s consumers, while staying true to who we are as a brand,” said Kenneth Feld, Chair and Chief Executive Officer of Feld Entertainment. “Over the past two years, we have innovated and reimagined what audiences can expect from live family entertainment. We are delivering powerful moments of connection between the performers and the audience.”
Packed with explosive excitement, The Greatest Show On Earth begins and ends with a bang! Lauren Irving, Alex Stickels, and Jan Damm join forces as Aria, Stix, and Nick Nack who serve as the soul, rhythm, and funny bone of the show, guiding audiences through an interactive and immersive experience. The music-filled journey is bursting with catchy rhythms, beats, songs, and laughter that will have audiences clapping, tapping, singing, and laughing along. As Aria, Stix, and Nick Nack serve as show guides, they encounter never-before-seen stunts, acrobatic displays, and comedic acts along the way. A globally diverse cast that includes 75 performers hailing from 18 countries including Argentina, Canada, Cuba, Ethiopia, Italy, Mongolia, Spain, Ukraine, and the United States will inspire audiences through a variety of unbelievable circus acts, including:
- Never-Before-Seen Stunts
Reimagining an American Icon means reimagining traditional acts and adding an extra layer of awe and wonder. The Triangular Highwire, led by The Lopez Family, sixth-generation circus artists hailing from Mexico and Chile, takes the show to new heights with a never-before-attempted take on the classic highwire. By re-engineering a circus favorite, three 25-foot-tall wires are connected in a triangular formation with performers who triple the excitement by jumping over their partner’s shoulders, riding bikes on the thin wire with performers on top in a handstand, and more incredible human feats. The Double Wheel of Destiny is even more extreme with four acrobatic daredevils performing challenging back-and-forth leaps and somersaults atop two simultaneously spinning apparatuses suspended 30 feet above the ground and moving at incredibly high speeds.
- Hilarious Comedic Performances
Delivering humor in a new, laugh-out-loud, unexpected way are Nick Nack and the Equivokee trio. Nick Nack, one of the show guides, alongside the trio from Ukraine, introduces a modern take on clowning that leaves the makeup behind and focuses on delivering fun for Children of All Ages through a comedic blend of Rola Bola, juggling, acrobatics, dancing, and much more silliness.
- The Ultimate Playground
The 360-degree modular performance area is the ultimate playground with colorful elements that evoke a toy box activated by the incredible athletics of the performers. It then transforms into the ultimate skatepark as bikes soar through the air during a high-adrenaline extreme sports act. Featuring a group of BMX riders, a trial bike, and an extreme unicycle, these riders perform stunts on a unique trampoline box constructed in the center of a take-off and landing ramp, the only one of its kind. Double-sided ramps allow the extreme athletes to mirror each other with epic side-by-side bike stunts that include high-flying flips.
- Criss-Cross Trapeze
Nine trapeze artists will ascend to the Criss-Cross Trapeze – the ultimate swing set consisting of four pedestals for this multi-directional act. The Flying Caceres will soar front-to-back, side-to-side, and diagonally with flyers and catchers in an action-packed, near-miss style act where seconds and inches determine the outcome of each high-flying skill. This incredible feat of timing will lead to an in-act transformation, as two platforms disappear, allowing for more daring tricks and higher rotations, including a double-layout rotation from bar to bar, seen for the first time in The Greatest Show On Earth.
- Aerial & Acrobatic Spectacle
Every seat at The Greatest Show On Earth will have an impressive view as fans witness a combination of solo and group aerialists that shine brightly in the air simultaneously performing aerial straps and hoops. Jumping, diving, and tumbling across the show floor, skilled acrobats will leave audiences in awe with acts ranging from Teeterboard, Hand-to-Hand Balancing, Hoop Diving, Foot Juggling, and more impressive feats. Closing the show with a bang is the Ringling Rocket, featuring Skyler Miser launching across the arena to an incredible, inconceivable distance at 65 mph.
- Record-Breaking Heights
Wheeling at spectacular heights will be Wesley Williams, the One Wheel Wonder, a Guinness World Record-setting performer who will be taking on a daring new challenge as he attempts to set a new world record. Wesley will ride ten different unicycles throughout the show, including one with six stacked wheels, an accordion-style unicycle that grows taller with each pedal rotation, and the tallest at an astonishing height of over 34 feet!
- Dynamic Musical Performances
Audiences will dance along to the beat of original music, pop cover tunes, and live rock-inspired drumming in The Greatest Show On Earth. Argendance, an energetic, bombastic dance troupe from Argentina, presents a fiery fusion of Boleadoras and Malambo that create dynamic moments alongside show guide Stix, the rhythm of the show. The Melody Mixer, a unique and interactive moment will feature audience-created musical content incorporated into the show, surprising fans.
“The one thing that has always defined a Ringling show is the sense of wonder, awe, and authenticity,” said Juliette Feld Grossman, Chief Operating Officer of Feld Entertainment and Producer of The Greatest Show On Earth. “Each member of the audience, spanning multiple generations, will find moments within the performance they can relate to, providing the exhilarating, inspiring feeling only Ringling can deliver.”
The Greatest Show On Earth will officially kick off Friday, September 29 in Bossier City, LA. Additional dates and tickets are available on our Schedule & Tickets page.