Ringling Brothers Rumbles Into the Southland
This year, Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey will have us believe the circus wonder is “King Tusk.”
The Asian-born pachyderm, billed as the “largest traveling land mammal,” may not be any more exciting than the goat-like “Unicorn” of two seasons ago but he made an impressive leader of the circus parade, upper right, Wednesday night at the Anaheim Convention Center--the opening of Ringling’s Southern California run.
If this year’s show seems underwhelming in sumptuous pageantry, it still has its moments of charm, such as Tina Gebel, the wolfhound tamer, lower left, and its thrills, from free-style bikers to flying aerialists.
The star remains Gunther Gebel-Williams, who can still turn a cage of cranky Bengal tigers into household pets, cuddle a surly leopard, upper left, and run 20 elephants through Busby Berkeley-like clomping.
The circus is in Anaheim through Tuesday, then plays the Long Beach Arena, Thursday to July 26, and Los Angeles Sports Arena, July 29 to Aug. 9.
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