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The Big Apple Circus: Celebrating the City That Never Sleeps

Both a beloved tradition and a mind-blowing extravaganza, the Big Apple Circus is back with an all-new show guaranteed to skyrocket your holiday spirit. Angling its spotlight on the magical places, landmarks, and diverse cultures New York City is known for, this year’s theme is “Hometown Playground”—a fitting title for this incredible thrill ride from Manhattan to Harlem, Brooklyn to the Bronx, with each stop showcasing a different world-class circus act.

zsiliak big apple circus

Zsilak Trio Jugglers

“The range and variety of talent is amazing,” says the show’s Emmy-winning creator and director, Shanda Sawyer, underscoring the production’s colorful fusion of skill, fearlessness, imagination, prowess, comedy, and lyricism. 

Sawyer, whose resume spans music videos, TV shows, commercials, and live entertainment—including Marvel Universe Live! and Ringling Bros. & Barnum and Bailey Circus—grew up in San Francisco where, at the age of 14, she was doing street shows along with her sister. “I was always that kid, rolling out a carpet, putting on crazy shows, mostly music and dance. But people on the street don’t buy tickets, so you have to figure out how to engage and entertain them on the spot, otherwise they’ll just walk away,” she says. “It was good training for what I do now.”

shanda sawyers

Shanda Sawyer

Growing up, Sawyer also found herself drawn to innovative bootstrap troupes like the Pickle Family Circus. “They’re why I love the Big Apple Circus so much—it’s such a gem, such a special, bespoke show that comes alive in the environments you create,” says Sawyer. 

As with any contemporary project involving numerous components, “Hometown Playground” requires a solid visual-audio-technological framework that works for and with a broad range of scenarios. For example, the opening number, featuring a song composed by longtime Springsteen producer Ron Aniello, sets the theme in motion before a New York skyline appears and becomes a backdrop for an upside-down window washer outside a high rise—the first of many thrill-infused acts emerging out of projections.

“Instead of the traditional Ringmaster, comedic ‘only in NY’ characters make surprise appearances, becoming the de facto hosts of the show,” notes Sawyer, a visionary whose willingness to sidestep convention gives the 2024 edition of the show its exhilarating momentum. 

big apple circus slack wire performer

Which is why—particularly if you’ve yet to see the Big Apple Circus—this is an incarnation you won’t want to miss. You may think of it as being kid-centric but it’s also multi-generational. Sure, it will no doubt unleash your inner child at some point, but, as Sawyer points out, the show has something to delight everyone in the family. “I especially love the moments that surprise people, like our Central Park scene where performers and dancers seem to exist in a snow-globe, or coming across a trapeze rigging in a Brooklyn setting,” she says.

What’s not surprising, however, is how heading to the Big Top in Damrosch Park and sharing the unparalleled fun and excitement of the circus has become an annual tradition for countless New York families. Still, should you be new to the city or visiting, this year’s show is the perfect intro to the city that never sleeps.

big apple circus

“People from all over the world come to play in our incredible playground,” says Sawyer. “I think for any tourist this is such a unique experience—the location alone—and a theme that celebrates not only the city and its legacy, but also New York’s own Big Apple Circus!”

The Big Apple Circus is playing at the Big Top in Lincoln Center’s Damrosch Park. Get tickets at bigapplecircus.com. Limited engagement from November 8th through January 5th.  

2024 CIRCUS CELEBS

Aerial Orb – Fourth-generation circus performer Sofia Petrov sails gracefully high up in the Big Top

poodle car big apple circus

The Cartoon Poodles – Adorable, talented, and precocious, each one a shelter rescue

Comedy Pickpocket – Signature shenanigans of Sweden’s Michael Halverson are as hilarious as they are confounding; beware, he may hijack your wallet before the show is over

Contortionist – Kalle Pikkuharju of Finland rivets audiences by reconfiguring his body into unbelievable positions

Flying Poemas – This Argentine trapeze family soars, most impressively with their legendary triple somersault 

Human Fountains – This America’s Got Talent Allstars comedy troupe showers (literally) the Big Top with their zany take on the city’s fabulous fountains

The Russia Swing – This heart-stopping aerial act finds four fearless performers flying through the air from a ginormous floor-mounted swing

contortionist big apple circus

Slack Wire – Ethiopian performer Mihret Mekonnen demonstrates strength, power, and balance navigating the ever-challenging slack wire with his elegant moves

Upside Down Walker – Alex Petrov of Bulgaria defies gravity (and reality) in a routine that has mesmerized audiences from around the world

Wheel of Destiny – Acrobat Anatoly Brazzan boggles the mind in a brilliant balancing act atop a giant rotating wheel

Zsilak Trio Jugglers – From Budapest to the Big Apple, these super-talented performers are known for spell-binding synchronized juggling

About the Author

City Guide Theatre Editor Griffin Miller moved to New York to pursue an acting/writing career in the 1980s after graduating magna cum laude from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. Since then, she has written for The New York Times, For the Bride, Hotels, and a number of other publications, mostly in the areas of travel and performance arts. An active member of The New York Travel Writers Association, she is also a playwright and award-winning collage artist. In addition, she sits on the board of The Lewis Carroll Society of North America. Griffin is married to Richard Sandomir, a reporter for The New York Times.

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