The Big Top of Days of Yore Comes to Life in ‘Circus 1903’

Patrick Regan

When people think “circus”, their minds go to the golden age of traveling tents and itinerant performers. Clowns catching naps on trains and the Big Top going up overnight and disappearing just as quickly. That’s the era that “Circus 1903,” coming to the Pantages, is trying to re-create.

The cooperative brainchild of the producers of the high-tech magical extravaganza “The Illusionists” and Significant Object – best known as the puppetry wizards behind the West End production of “War Horse” and the Birmingham Rep’s production of “The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe.”

It’s specifically that puppetry that allows “Circus 1903” to exist. Last year, the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey retired their circus elephants after years of criticism from animal-rights groups, sending them to a Florida conservation center.  This was likely overdue, but it also took away another thing that kept their identity distinct. Cirque du Soleil specializes in non-animal circus acts, and seeing the elephants was the part of the draw of the traditional circus.

Significant Object’s contribution to “1903” puts elephants back in the three rings with amazingly constructed and operated puppets – there’s no animal cruelty here, simply the wonder and spectacle that only the big top can hold.

While the elephants might be fake, the rest of the performance isn’t. Real acrobats, true feats of strength, and the bravery and skill of knife throwers and tight-rope walkers are all on display. “Circus 1903” takes the audience back to the days at the turn of the century, to a time before the world was at our fingertips, and the sight of the circus train was the promise of the far reaches of the world coming to visit.

“Circus 1903” takes over the Hollywood Pantages stage Feb. 14-19.