Circus



The Circus is a group of performers, including but not limited to acrobats, clowns, animal acts, jugglers, and daredevils who perform in a troop, often in multiple rings or arenas, and led by a Ringmaster. The Circus dates back to ancient Rome, where it consisted of horse and chariot races, and China where they consisted of primarily acrobatic acts.

The first western circus opened in Philadelphia in 1793, but it was P.T. Barnum who was the pioneer of what audiences are familiar with today. Upon his death and subsequent merger of his circus with that of James Anthony Bailey, a more familiar circus was born, with a large canvas tent, human oddities for a sideshow, and multiple rings housing continuous acts. In 1919, the Barnum and Bailey show merged with the Ringling Brothers show, to form the quintessential American circus, the Ringling Brothers, Barnum and Bailey Circus.

The Muppets have visited the circus on numerous occasions.

The Muppet Show

 * Harvey Korman plays "Maurice the Magnificent", an animal tamer who tries to tame the dangerous (and extremely docile) Thog in episode 110.


 * In an "At the Dance" segment, Mildred and George have the following exchange.
 * Mildred: George, do you like circuses?
 * George: Oh, I love 'em!
 * Mildred: Then, you must love Ringling.
 * George: I don't know. I never ringled!


 * The song "Lydia, the Tattooed Lady" was presented as a cirus side show when performed by Kermit on The Muppet Show.

Sesame Street

 * Guntac Gelman Jones, a flea trainer, brings his world-famous flea circus to Sesame Street to perform in episode 3275. The acts include Olaf the Weight-Lifting Flea and Tatanya Flea on the tightrope.


 * In episode 4043, Elmo, Zoe, and Rocco pretend to be in the circus.


 * In The Sesame Street Circus of Oppositees, Guy Smiley serves as ringmaster while Betty Lou and Cookie Monster enjoy the circus.


 * Elmo visits the Number 6 Circus in episode 3912. And he gets shot out of a cannon under the big top in "Elmo's World: Hats", and becomes a circus dog in "Elmo's World: Dogs".


 * Telly feels left out when all the other kids at Gina's day care are going to the circus and lies that his uncle is a ringmaster in "Telling the Truth".


 * In "Journey to Ernie" segments, Big Bird walks a tightrope at the circus, and Ernie searches for Big Bird at the circus.


 * In episode 2849, Maria reads Elmo and Snuffy the book "The Snuffleupagus and the Rope," which is about a rope who works as a tightrope in the circus.


 * episode 0670 features Luis the ringmaster demonstrating "before" and "after" in a circus routine.


 * The song "Women Can Be" features a woman with a successful career at the circus.

Video segments involving the circus include a boy named Anthony and his trapeze artist parents, a girl named Shirley performs in the circus with her clown father and an elephant act , counting circus clowns , A gymnastics team practices their act

Animation segments include four elephants at the circus by Owe Gustafson, a flea circus performing feats beginning with the letter F , a Pinball Number Count segment features the circus , Animals and acrobats form letters in the Alphabet Circus , The 8 Brothers Circus displays 8 elephants , Madlenka imagining her neighborhood as a circus , Tommy Trueheart displays his 11 trick-performing lions ,


 * A Sesame Street View-Master reel features "Circus Fun".

Muppet Babies

 * Applause released a series of Muppet Babies PVC figures dressed in circus attire.


 * The Muppet Babies visit the circus in the storybook Muppet Babies at the Circus

Other

 * Pepe has said that since Muppets Tonight has ended, Seymour's green card has expired, and he has been deported to India where he works in a circus.


 * In an episode of The Hoobs, the Hoobs help Iver decide which circus job would suit him best.


 * For Sesamstrasse's 1000th episode, the show was taped at a Zirkus Althoff.


 * In The Muppet Show Comic Book: The Treasure of Peg-Leg Wilson, the Julius Prunes Amazing Flea Circus perform on Animal's drum set.


 * An episode of Breakfast with Bear features Christopher of New York City's "Big Apple Circus"


 * Muppets Ahoy!, the shipboard stage show, featured "Pavarotti", an Italian circus performer dressed in a fat suit.


 * The film MirrorMask features the Campbell Family Circus.


 * Baabra Sheep of Panwapa was displaced by a circus that came to town and took over her field.