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<\/a>The happy and talented cast of Santa’s Circus. Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n
And let me tell you\u2014I love circuses. In case you didn\u2019t know, I was in a circus myself when I was just out of my teens. It was the biggest traveling Big Top back then, and I was the star of the sideshow, Little Mina from Copenhagen. (And no\u2014I was\u00a0not<\/em>\u00a0the Fat Lady! I was the\u00a0Divided<\/em>\u00a0Lady.) It was a strange and wonderful experience for a young Jewish college girl from Brooklyn to have.<\/p>\n But even so, I do not love\u00a0every\u00a0circus act. I can always live without animal acts. And I\u2019m a little done with the trapeze, (which I actually tried a time or two myself.\u00a0 Don\u2019t ask.) So I absolutely adored\u00a0Santa\u2019s Circus<\/em>\u00a0because it’s basically an acrobatic and amusing stage show, as opposed to the gigantic kind of circus that I was in. And just about\u00a0every<\/em>\u00a0act is a highlight.<\/p>\n I did have my favorites, of course. My absolute fave is a shock, even to me. Although I do not have clown-phobia<\/em>, (and the main clown in\u00a0my<\/em>\u00a0circus came to see my act every night, and beeped his horn at me, so I liked\u00a0him<\/em>,) I\u2019ve never been a fan of clown\u00a0acts<\/em>. I especially do not like the ones in Cirque Du Soleil. Never have. But the clown act in the second half of\u00a0Santa\u2019s Circus <\/em>is the best one I\u2019ve ever seen! No exaggeration. I was cheering, giggling, leaning forward in my seat, and downright guffawing the entire time. The scenario is the clown teaching three dads from the audience how to dance while playing instruments. It’s hilarious.<\/p>\n The cheerful bow at the end of the fabulous, hilarious, musical clown act! Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n I also adored the very Christmas-y set. I felt like we were in a Hallmark movie!<\/p>\n I noticed that there was something happening in front of the curtain before the show started, but I was otherwise engaged at the time, so I don\u2019t know what it is exactly. All I know is that Mrs. Clause is involved, and it looked like perhaps children could go on the stage to greet her. So if you\u2019re going to the Montalban with young \u2019uns, I suggest getting there early and finding out for yourself.<\/p>\n The music is pre-recorded except for one\u00a0striking\u00a0bit, which is a\u00a0glamorous female violinist who plays live every now and then throughout, including for the first spectacular act.<\/p>\n Santa’s Circus<\/em>\u00a0starts right off with a bang\u2014a hand balancer who piles chairs up almost to the ceiling, and continues to do handstands on them. (I promise you that even if you\u2019ve seen some of these acts on TV, you really must<\/em> see them live on stage while you have the chance.)<\/p>\n The opening act–the hand balancer and the live violinist. Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n Then comes the contortionist, who has to be seen in person to be believed. (That’s what\u00a0I<\/em>\u00a0was billed as in the circus, but whenever I see people like this wonderful woman, I chuckle to myself about how fake\u00a0my<\/em>\u00a0act was.)<\/p>\n The acrobatic acts are interspersed with singing, dancing, tumbling, clowning, and audience participation. You never know what\u2019s coming next in\u00a0Santa\u2019s Circus<\/em>! And it’s all seamless. It seems much shorter than the hour and forty-five minutes that it is.<\/p>\n In the first half there’s one little part with \u201csnow.\u201d (If you love seeing that stuff as much as I<\/em> do, I suggest you choose seats on the left side near the front.) When the snow started, my visual of the kids in front of me reaching their hands up to it was just beautiful. I wish I had taken a picture of it. But I\u2019ll always cherish the memory of that supreme innocent happiness.<\/p>\n Two of my other favorite acts are courtesy of the big group of acrobats. In the first half, they do amazing\u00a0rope jumping, dressed as colorful Marios. It’s one of the best numbers in the show. You don’t see\u00a0that\u00a0<\/em>every day. Shortly before the finale, the same troupe does a major tumbling act. We were all screaming watching them!<\/p>\n The rope-jumping Marios. Photo by Lionel Garcia, as is the one at the top of this review.<\/p><\/div>\n The hand balancer who opens the show then showcases his unicycle skills, and he’s great once again. Especially from\u00a0my<\/em>\u00a0perspective–I can’t even ride a bike!<\/p>\n Santa shows up every now and then. He and the Mrs. do a lovely magic act. Who knew Santa is so talented?! And I believe he’s even on the Montalban’s happening rooftop after the show, greeting children and hearing their holiday wish lists.<\/p>\n Santa and Mrs. Clause, taking a bow. Photo by Mr. X.<\/p><\/div>\n My only one teensy-tiny problem at all is that when\u00a0we<\/em>\u00a0saw Santa’s Circus<\/em>, the music was way too loud. I’ve heard that it’s gotten better since then, but just in case, I suggest bringing some cotton to put in sensitive ears.<\/p>\n I was happy to see that there were lots of well-behaved kids on the day we were there. But, please parents, do not be rude to the people around you, in\u00a0any<\/em>\u00a0way, actually, but especially if you buy your kids the lighted clear balloons at intermission. The kids need to just lie them down while the show is going on, until the finale when the waving of them is encouraged. Besides that having the souvenirs moving around in front of you is\u00a0so<\/em>\u00a0annoying and blocks your view of the stage, (as it did for\u00a0us<\/em>, and we’re not short little kids!,) the flashing lights can really harm someone in the audience who might have epilepsy. I’m not kidding about that. So an announcement needs to be made before the second half to \u201cplease put your balloons down until the finale, and then go crazy with them!\u201d That would definitely help with the enjoyment of the second half.<\/p>\n Just a few of the lit-up balloons that the kids in the audience were waving during the entire second half! Photo by Mr. X.<\/p><\/div>\n Santa’s Circus<\/em> is produced by Cirque Factory, which was founded by Cirque du Soleil member, Francisco Santos. I understand they do other productions at different times of the year, but this was my introduction to them. I hope to see more presentations down the line, or at the very least, this<\/em> show again next year. If not next week<\/em> again!<\/p>\n So to sum up, I highly recommend Santa’s Circus<\/em> to everyone<\/em>, kids and grown-ups alike! It’s a great show; it’s wonderful to see children having so much fun; it’s in a lovely laid-back theater; the late, great Ricardo Montalban’s announcement before the show is charming; and the refreshments on the mezzanine before the curtain and at intermission are the most reasonably-priced snacks and drinks of all time! What’s not to love?!<\/p>\n Santa\u2019s Circus<\/em>\u00a0running\u00a0through December 27, 2023<\/strong> SANTA\u2019S CIRCUS Drop whatever you\u2019re doing this minute, (even reading the rest of this review,) and procure your tickets to\u00a0Santa\u2019s Circus\u00a0at the wonderful Montalban Theatre in Hollywood! It\u2019s seriously the most fun I\u2019ve had all holiday season, (and I have definitely been having fun! So this is saying something.) The show is in town for<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>
\n Montalban\u00a0Theatre1615 Vine Street, Hollywood<\/strong>
\n www.santascircusexperience.com<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"