Interview: Lauren Irving & Alex Stickels of RINGLING BROS AND BARNUM & BAILEY CIRCUS at The Honda Center

The Greatest Show on Earth is Back... but it's not the same circus it was in 2017 when it ended its 146-year run due to reportedly high operating costs and controversy over its use of animals. Today's new incarnation of the famed spectacle has no ringmaster, no animals, and no clowns. Consequently, circus-goers may not know what to expect when they buy their popcorn and sit down to watch the show, which runs in Orange County August 16-18 and in LA August 23-25. 

Show "Guides" Lauren Irving and Alex Stickels talk to BroadwayWorld about the circus' new look: 

Hi! I'm super excited to talk to you because I grew up going to the circus. But I’m old, so I went to the ‘old’ Ringling Brothers circus. How is this one different? 

Lauren: Well, I'll say you're not old; you’re experienced. Obviously, we haven't been around from the beginning of the 150 year history, but there is this iconic understanding of what Ringling is itself. When you think of the word circus, you do think of Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey. And I do believe that while there are differences now — there's no ringmaster, there are no animals—the presentation itself is very different. It's modernized. It's more fast-paced. 

But what everyone says is that the soul of what Ringling has always been is still there.  So for me, being a spectator when I was a child to now actually being amongst these incredible performers from all over the world, I can say that that is a truth, that soul has never left. 

And what do you think that soul is?  

Alex: Well, people have all these stories of what it was like going to the old Ringling and the old circus growing up. And there definitely is a soul and a spirit there and something that we want to capture. 

Ever since I came into this entire world, it has been this big, bright, fun, energetic, family-friendly, multi-generational experience. There are performers who are at the height of human accomplishment; they are pushing their bodies to the absolute limit. 

And now that we're in arenas as opposed to tents, we really get to play with that space. We really get to put people in unique spaces with unique staging and play with how can we create something magical out of the environment that we're in. 

Interesting. And there are no animals at all, not even horses, right? 

Alex: Well, we've got a special surprise for you on that front. But…Technologically speaking, there are no live, living, breathing animals anymore. 

And no traditional clowns? 

Lauren: That’s true. We have a trio of comedians. It’s a more modernized way, but when you really pay attention to what they're doing, they are like the clowns you remember from before. There's no face paint on them, but their physical humor and their comedic timing are just impeccable. We never know what to expect from them and that is what makes it so fun each and every show. 

Why take out the traditional ringmaster? Why take out the clowns?  

Alex: This is a 157-year legacy at this point. And there are multiple points throughout that 157 history where we've had to evolve, we've had to update what we're doing, modernize what we're doing. And, you know, the last time Ringling was on the road was 2017. The world is very, very different, even in that short amount of time from 2017. So it was important that the show that we put back on the road reflected those changes and was leading the charge into the future.

Okay. So tell me about your role as a ‘Show Guide.”  

Lauren: For me, I play the role of Aria, and I'm the vocalist in the show. I'm also immersed in all of the action. And for me, just to see what these incredible performers are capable of doing — we sound like a broken record, but to see this physically being done before our eyes — we can't be anything but amazed every time. 

How did you get here? I mean, what are the prerequisites to being a Ringling Brothers guide? 

Lauren: Alex and I have a very unique story as to how this happened, because I think, well, for the both of us, I can say this is not the world that we came from. We did not grow up with this circus life or with going to circus school like everyone else. 

So for me, a manager I had in my first professional contract at Walt Disney World was a casting director for Disney on Ice. And her colleague was casting for Ringling, and he was describing the type of person he was looking for, for this role, and thank God I came to mind. And she said, ‘Hey, are you busy right now?’ 

I had just completed a contract doing Six the Musical for Norwegian Cruise Line, so I was literally at home thinking about what cake I wanted to bake that day . . . And they offered me the contract, and we had to keep it a secret for a very long time. It was worth it. 

What about you, Alex? 

Alex: Yeah, I got an email randomly. Talk about being thrown into a whole new world! Obviously, I knew Ringling existed, but I didn't know, as a drummer, that the circus was a path available to me. So I got an email that said, ‘Hey, we saw some of your videos on social media. We think you'd be great for this role. Can we hop on a phone call and talk about it?’ And that's really where the show guide thing was explained to me. They said, as the drummer, you have to be larger than life, which I think for drummers isn't a problem. I've been too loud for every venue that I've ever played in my life. 

So what do you do, exactly? 

Alex: I don't think most people trust drummers with a microphone or to get up from behind the drum kit — and for good reason. But I do play guitar in the show as well, so there's some of that. So it's an interesting skillset that the role ended up being. And one of the really beautiful parts, and Lauren can attest to this too, is that when we showed up to rehearsal, they said, ‘Look, this is how we see it, but let's use your skill sets. What are you comfortable doing? You really get to craft the character and make it your own.’ 

Did you get to tell your friends and family, ‘Hey, I'm running away with the circus'? Because that's kind of what you have to say. 

Alex: Absolutely. Yeah. It still sounds like a joke when I tell people. Even the other day when we were all flying here — there's over a hundred of us that get on a flight — and eventually a ticketing agent or somebody will look at us and be like, ‘Who is this group?’ And we'll say, ‘We're the circus.’ And they don't know whether to believe it or not.

There are so many movies, books, and stereotypes about what the circus is like behind the scenes. How much of that is true? 

Lauren: Sometimes I'll say, ‘Oh yeah, I'm in the circus,’ and somebody will say, ‘Oh, like The Greatest Showman.’ I'm like, ‘No, no, no. The Greatest Showman was created based on the circus that I'm currently in.” 

Well, I'm imagining this very mysterious place where everyone is like a big family.

Lauren: There's a truth to it being like a big family. But surprisingly, it's not as mysterious and wondrous a picture as one might paint. You know, there's still business to be had. We still have to take care of different things in between shows.

But I will say that, for sure, not knowing what to expect coming to this type of environment, it has been just completely wonderful. Everyone really has fun. If you see a smile, a laugh, or just some sort of relationship happening before your eyes, that is so genuine. All of us really do just have a fun time.  

The other stereotype — at least in Greatest Showman lore — is that the circus is made up of misfits. Is there truth to that? 

Alex: I don't know if it's that, but as a musician, I have felt like a misfit my entire life, which is how I ended up even gravitating towards music to begin with. That was my felt soothing and my way of expressing and making sense of the world. And I think wherever you go, you find other people who end up being able to express themselves through their movement, through their art, through their skill. 

I think that's why everybody has worked their entire lives to be the absolute best in the world at what they're doing. I don't know if that makes us misfits, but there's definitely an element of, yeah, we for sure are doing something that doesn't feel normal. 

So what are some of the best, biggest, and most dangerous acts in the show? 

Lauren: Where do we begin? Um, it's definitely, I don’t know, my goodness. I'll say, I'll say I'll start with the trapeze. 

So everyone has seen the trapeze before, but — without spoiling too much — this is a crisscross trapeze. We've modernized it. Instead of just going side to side or front to back, they're going side to side, front to back, and the other way. So it's literally crisscrossing, and they're in the air changing directions. I hold my chest every time I watch because you think: If that person was one second late, they would have a hit in the air, but their timing is impeccable. 

Alex: That's just one though. I don't know if our tagline can be like, ‘Danger at every turn,’ because it is just edge-of-your-seat moment after edge-of-your-seat moment.  

Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey will be at the Honda Center August 16-18 and Crypto.com Arena August 23-25. Tickets are available here. 

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