The beloved St. Louis institution, Circus Flora, powered by Ameren, returns for its 28th season to present The Pawn, a journey back to the lands where chess began. The World Chess Hall of Fame and the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis join in partnership to help bring the game of chess to life. The show will capture a delightfully imaginative world under the big top next to Powell Hall May 29-June 22.
Drawing from the history of the game, this mythic tale is steeped in the rich sights, sounds and mystique of ancient Persia and India. The audience will journey to a land of long ago, an exotic world where myth and intellect collide, and the stone city surrenders to the desert’s ever shifting sands. Follow the Pawn on his journey through a world of curious creatures and intrigues: knights mounted on steed, bishops zigzagging across colored squares, chess pieces flying through the air. In this world, the chess pieces do not wait to be moved. They have their own adventures to play out under the big top.
This tale is told by a cast of internationally renowned circus artists. This year’s preeminent cast includes a wide array of new performers. In their Circus Flora debut, Andriy Bilobrov and his five Jack Russell Terriers show us man’s best friends like we’ve never seen. The equestrian gypsy bareback rider, S. Caleb Carinci-Asch, balances and flips daringly atop his galloping horse. Hailing all the way from Finland and making their U.S. debut, Duo Kate & Pasi captivates audiences with hand-to-hand and foot juggling finesse. Circus Flora also welcomes six rare, blue-eyed Pied camels traveling all the way from the Canary Islands. This year’s production also brings back Colombian trapeze artists, The Flying Cortes, who will introduce all new twists, spins and somersaults to their trapeze performance, as well as returning favorites like the St. Louis Arches, and the illustrious Flying Wallendas.
This year marks the transition of Circus Flora’s Founder, Producer and Artistic Director, David Balding, to his new role as Executive Producer. After the Board of Directors conducted a nationwide search for a successor matching Balding’s instincts and sensitivities for what makes Circus Flora a performance icon, Jack Marsh will become only the second artistic director in the company’s nearly 30 years. Marsh, recently a lawyer in New York City, performed with Circus Flora since the age of two and has woven his artistic with professional life ever since.
“I am quite excited for the upcoming years”, says Balding. “We have decided on an integrated transition in which I will continue to play a hands-on role while Marsh takes the circus in directions which continue to advance and develop its vision and legacy”.
Tickets start at $12 and go on sale March 3; group tickets are available now. “The Pawn” opens May 29 with a peanut-free preview and runs through June 22. Show times are Tuesday through Thursday at 7 p.m.; Friday and Saturday at 1 and 7 p.m.; Sunday at 1 and 5:30 p.m.; and “Little Top Wednesday” at 10 a.m., a special one-hour show for smaller kids or the “kids at heart.”
Call 314-289-4040 or visit www.circusflora.org for tickets and more information. Tickets are also available at the Circus Flora Box Office in the Centene Center for the Arts & Education, 3547 Olive St. Group discounts are now available for groups of 20 or more.
Founded in St. Louis in 1987, Circus Flora is a nonprofit performing arts organization dedicated to sharing the magic of classic, one-ring circus with audiences of all ages. Circus Flora raises its big top every summer in the arts district at Grand Center. In addition to its main season production, Circus Flora collaborates with a variety of organizations and businesses throughout the year to bring the delight of circus to ever-broader audiences. Through its year-round Clowns on Call program, the healing power of Circus Flora brings laughter and respite to thousands of patients and their families every year at two St. Louis-area children’s hospitals. Visit www.circusflora.org to learn more.
About this season’s partner their missions are unique – the Club promotes the educational benefits of chess while the Hall
of Fame explores the cultural and artistic significance of it – their combined efforts have led to establishing Saint Louis as the Chess Capital of the U.S. and one of the top chess cities in the world. Visit www.stlchesscampus.org for more information.
The Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis and the World Chess Hall of Fame partner to create an exceptional cultural destination in the heart of the Central West End.