Ringling Brothers Circus at the Spectrum

The entertainments of our grandfather's day are mostly gone. No more vaudeville, no Borscht Belt, no Theatre Guild attractions, not even Miss America on network TV.

One relic remains: the Ringling Brothers Barnum & Bailey Circus, advertised as "the World's Greatest Entertainment."

A tail-coated ringmaster greets us with the traditional opening: "Ladies and gentlemen and children of all ages, welcome to the greatest show on earth." Then come the animals, the trapeze artists, the clowns, women shot from cannons and all the acts that have always made circuses popular. The proficiency of the acrobats and aerialists is exciting.

And even I, blasé sophisticate that I am, must confess that the elephant act is fun to watch. The sight of ten pachyderms standing on their hind legs and spinning around brings a smile to my face, and to my son's and virtually everyone else's in the audience.

A lawsuit alleging cruelty to these animals is nearing a decision. I am not a partisan on either side, but the elephants don't appear to be unhappy or frightened. This circus company has been accused of shackling and chaining the elephants when they travel, but would it be safe to allow them to walk in public areas without restraint? (OK, I acknowledge that some people would say that's an unfair either/or, and the elephants should be left alone in the wild.)

Another spectacular part of this circus is a phalanx of horses that gallop through a series of maneuvers. They have much fewer restraints than do racehorses, and no jockey was whipping them in the Spectrum.

In the past, ringmasters have guided audiences through the evening's events and have sung especially composed songs. The current ringmaster is 24-year-old Alex Ramon, a handsome and pleasant fellow whose forte is magic tricks rather than singing, which he leaves to his assistant, Levitytia. This edition of the show is titled "Zing Zang Zoom," which Ramon chants at the climax of each stunt.

Making animals disappear and transforming clowns into tigers is good trickery, but I miss the strong musical impact of earlier years. At least Ringling Brothers Barnum & Bailey still has a live orchestra. This allows the band to adjust its timing to conform to live events taking place in front of them.

Part of the fun of going to the circus is seeing the paraphernalia on sale: cotton candy, snow cones, Merlin hats, red bulbs to wear on your nose. All in all, this is colorful and fast-moving entertainment. Its good to know that it's still thriving.