Big Apple Circus to Return to TD Bank Ballpark with New Jersey Premiere of THE GRAND TOUR, 2/12-3/13

Big Apple Circus returns to Bridgewater, New Jersey for the company's 38th season with the New Jersey Premiere of The GrandTour! Tickets start at $25, and the show runs from February 12 - March 13, 2016 under the Big Top at TD Bank Ballpark, 1 Patriots Park (GPS: 860 East Main Street) Bridgewater, NJ. To purchase tickets or for more information, visit www.bigapplecircus.org.

The Grand Tour transports audiences to the Roaring 1920s, the advent of the modern travel era, when the most adventuresome began touring the world in ships, planes, trains, and automobiles. With every seat less than 50 feet from the stage, audiences will be awed by the world-class entertainers as they perform breathtaking acts from the four corners of the globe. Clowns, jugglers, acrobats, and aerialists from Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, and North and South America appear with ponies, puppies and more; the troupe sets off on a whirlwind adventure, accompanied by the live, seven-piece Big Apple Circus Band at each performance.

Four-time Big Apple Circus ringmaster John Kennedy Kane returns to introduce a variety of stunning performers: clowns Joel Jeske and Brent McBeth; third-generation circus animal trainer Jenny Vidbel with her pony and dog acts; aerialist Sergey Akimov; international juggling sensation AlexanderKoblikov; ninth-generation circus performer Chiara Anastasini with hula hoops; the Dominguez Brothers defying the law of gravity with their thrill-filled act featuring the Wheel of Wonder; Chinese hand balancers The Energy Trio; the African acrobatic troupe Zuma Zuma; and the Dosov Troupe soaring on the teeterboard.

The Grand Tour, conceived and created by Joel Jeske, is directed by Mark Lonergan (artistic director of Parallel Exit, the three-time Drama Desk Award-nominated physical theater company) with choreographer and associate director Antoinette DiPietropolo. Musical direction by Rob Slowik, with clown material created and directed by Joel Jeske. Set and lighting design by Maruti Evans, costume design by Oana Botez, and props design by Katie Fleming.

The company will present two special performances:

Big Apple Circus Embraces Autism will take place on Wednesday, March 2, 2016 at 11am. Big Apple Circus has joined with world-renowned Autism Spectrum Disorders experts to adapt The Grand Tour for families with members on the spectrum and create a joyful experience for all. The adapted show includes the same world-class artistry as the full performance with a shorter running time, adjusted lights and sound, a calming center, pictorial social narratives, and specially trained staff and volunteers to assure a memorable event for everyone! All tickets to this special performance, a 75-minute abbreviated show, are half price ($12.50-$37.50).

The Grand Tour Family Fun Dayperformance will take place on Saturday, March 12, 2016 at 4:30pm. Join Big Apple Circus for Family Fun Daywith interactive entertainment by our Clown Doctors, a full performance of The Grand Tour, followed by dessert in the Ring with the performers. Plus free popcorn for all and free goody bags for the kids! Tickets start at $30. All proceeds support Big Apple Circus Clown Care®in New Jersey.

As a nonprofit performing arts institution, the Big Apple Circus is committed not only to thrilling audiences in the ring, but also to bringing the joy and wonder of circus into the community. Big Apple Circus creates direct, shared connections inside its one-ring Big Top AND in hospitals, nursing homes, and schools, in its New York City home and in cities across America.

Photo by Maike Schulz