Zing, Zang, Zoom!

Usually, my reaction every January is "The circus is coming to town, the circus is coming to town!" This year was no different. Usually, my reaction upon seeing it is sheer delight. I love circuses. I love music. The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circuses have managed to combine both beautifully every time I've seen their shows. This year's Red Train show, however, failed on both counts.

I don't know if it's because Orlando is one of Ringling's first stops and Zing, Zang, Zoom hasn't had enough time to mesh fully or if it's a truly awful show. I understand that most audience members are under the age of 10 and have a sense of wonder about circuses in general, but ZZZ just doesn't pack in the circus feel as well as the Blue Train's show, Over the Top. I saw that one debut last year as well. OtT has all aspects of what you'd expect from a circus show: Ringling's ever-present elephants and tigers, hilarious clowns, and amazing and innovative stunts and acrobatics. OtP truly is over the top. The songs were lovely and catchy and the performers engaging.

ZZZ has two songs. Levitytia clearly lip-synched and Ringmaster Alex likely did as well. "Don't Try This at Home" was a fairly annoying number that felt belittling. Give the audience some credit. A small disclosure about trained magicians would suffice. Devoting an entire song indicates a lack of creativity. In fact, this entire show lacks creativity. It's main premise is magic. Great. Interesting beginning, especially considering the dearth of magic show specials on TV. I recall watching those as a kid and being absolutely enthralled. What's been forgotten however, is that this is a circus. Death-defying stunts and acrobatics and novelties abound! Those things don't go hand in hand with illusions. The key to a circus is that everything is in full view. You see the harnesses and that's where the stab of anxiety comes from. He's not tethered to anything! She's tethered by her hair and only her hair! These two opposing concepts fight each other for dominance in the show and fail to make it spectacular. ZZZ needs to focus on one or the other in order to pull this off successfully. I suggest the circus aspect because really, who goes to the circus to see a magic show?

I was in Section 108 at the Amway Arena; the audience had no enthusiasm until the gravity-defying rings performance. ZZZ needs a lot more zing before intermission for this to become an even show. The audience was buzzing with anticipation before the show started, but once it was underway, Ringmaster Alex had to put a gargantuan amount of effort into getting even minimal audience participation. When it's obvious the cast knows it's not keeping the audience entertained, it's just painful to watch. The audience around me seemed surprised by the ending and I'll have to agree, it was far too abrupt and anticlimactic. I, for one, was wondering where my money's worth had gone. Hopefully, ZZZ gets it's kinks straightened out. Otherwise, it's going to be a torturous two years.