Animals out, legendary circus comes back to Las Vegas
Steve Weiss is asked, “What are you doing in the Ringling Brothers show?”
He pauses and says, “That’s a good question. What am I doing here?” Then he laughs and says, “Oh, you mean, what am I actually performing! Got it.”
Weiss is a well-known musician and stage performer over the past decade in Vegas. He plays the role of Stix, a nod to his skills as a drummer, in Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey The Greatest Show On Earth, playing Thomas & Mack Center for a half-dozen shows Friday through Sunday.
Go to unlvtickets.com/eventinfo for times and prices. Tickets vary upon demand, meaning Ringling Bros. is adopting the “dynamic” pricing, which adjust according to market conditions.
Over the past seven years in Las Vegas, the conditions for The Greatest Show On Earth have been totally silent. The circus paused in 2017, as the classic form of live entertainment suffered elevated operating costs and sagging attendance largely due to a growing intolerance of animal acts.
Ringling’s final show with animals was in May 2017 at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Long Island, New York. In May 2022, production company Feld Entertainment announced the Greatest Show on Earth would return in fall of 2023, with no animals.
That is the template for the show returning to Las Vegas. Weiss’s Stix character is one of four main characters who fill the traditional role of ringmaster (there is no single emcee in today’s circus). The female singer Aria, comic acrobat Nick Nack, Wesley the One Wheel Wonder (who breaks his own world record by riding a 34-foot-high unicycle in every show) round out the show’s front four.
“Stix keeps the rhythm of the show, plays drums inspire to dance, and play music to the rhythm of life,” says Weiss, a popular drummer around town who has backed the band at Mondays Dark at The Space, among many projects. “This is a non-traditional career path for a drummer. Usually we’re usually at the back, or underneath the stage, not face-to-face. But in this show, it’s good to be in front, as a drummer, with a character that can pull the focus of the show.”
Weiss’s time in Las Vegas dates to the Recycled Percussion’s run at then-Quad Hotel (today’s Linq Hotel) in 2013. He has popped up in “Zumanity,” “America’s Got Talent Presents Superstars Live” and “OPM.”
Weiss has experienced a few closings, which isn’t rare among veteran Las Vegas performers. He was especially stung to the closing of “Zumanity” at New York-New York in November 2020 during the pandemic. “Mad Apple” has taken over that theater and run successfully for about 2½ years.
“‘Zumanity’ was a real gut-punch,” says Weiss, a musician in the show. “For me that was the greatest mix of artistry and bad-assery. It was difficult to see it close.”
Weiss is joined in the production by fellow Las Vegan Julie Marshall, an aerialist who is also trained in clowning, acrobatics and other circus skills.
Having premiered in 1919 under the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey brand, the circus has emphasized human talent in its return to the stage.
“There is something for everyone. Kids still have sense of awe and inspiration with all all kinds of bright, loud, crazy antics, Weiss says. “Adults will love all the forms of nostalgia, individual talent and death-defying acts.”
Weiss pauses and adds, “You can’t replace human feats of a fantastic nature. I just made that up (laughs), but it’s true in the circus.”
John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. His “PodKats!” podcast can be found at reviewjournal.com/podcasts. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on X, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.