When the typical circus clown prowls toward the audience looking for victims, bodies shrink in seats and eyes look away. People worry about being made the butt of a joke or being asked to look dumb in the ring.
This is one of the reasons some folks would rather do their taxes than go to a circus.
But when Bello Nock of the intimate and informal Big Apple Circus points his impossibly upright shock of yellow hair toward his audience, you can feel the whole big top leaning forward in warm anticipation.
This kind and funny performer is that rare, vulnerable humanist clown who does not impose comedy but draws creativity, fun and trust from the audience. (He especially transfixes small children.)
And if anyone is going to take a fall in the sawdust, it’s always Nock himself.
The Big Apple Circus, which has pitched its tent this month at Arlington International Racecourse, has built its 2000 show around Nock, using a frame in which this extraordinary Italian uses his imagination to conjure up an entire circus.
Big Apple never puts out a shoddy show under founder Paul Binder, but this year’s theatrical and thoughtful effort is particularly special. With Nock as its heart, “Bello & Friends” is a delightful celebration of the power of imagination, the dreamy pleasures of creativity and the sustenance of old-fashioned circus traditions.
There are limits to the size, scale and scope of the show, but then audiences at, say, the Cirque du Soleil tend to spend the evening in awe.
Instead of oblique characters and narratives, Big Apple prefers to break up its acts by persuading the audience to play with a huge ball or allowing audience members to conduct the live band.
On Sunday afternoon, Nock coaxed a tiny tyke to come out and shake the baton, unaided, even though she could barely walk. The entire audience was thrilled at the delighted reaction of her parents.
At Big Apple, the animals don’t so much roar as purr and bark, and in this small tent, little hands in the front row can almost touch the ponies and horses. Instead of the traditional elephant tricks, this show has one of the great beasts wolfing down food at a dinner party. And thanks to one other clever touch, the audience feels like it is taking part in the rigging of the trapeze act.
Many seats were empty on Sunday afternoon. That’s perhaps because the non-profit Big Apple lacks the marketing clout of bigger operations and has never tried to go after upscale adults by selling pasta and cappuccino and trying to create a trendy event.
And because kids tend to clamor to see the theatrical spinoffs of their favorite TV shows, such productions often thrive at the expense of groups like Big Apple, which avoids commercial pandering.
This precious circus is about bringing families together in a safe but fantastical place open equally to all.
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The Big Apple Circus “Bello & Friends”
When: Through June 25
Where: Arlington International Racecourse Call: 312-902-1500
