It has been nearly a year since Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus gave its final farewell but that does not mean that the circus experience is lost forever.
Chicago Gay Men’s Chorus (www.cgmc.org) presents “Under the Big Top” on May 20 at the Beverly Arts Center in Chicago.
“In order to try to make it a true circus experience, we have some professional circus performers who are joining us,” said Jimmy Morehead, artistic director of Chicago Gay Men’s Chorus, via phone while driving to a gig in Chicago.
These performers include aerialist and cube act Ray Gunn with the Vertical Side Show, tightwire artist Molly Plunk, hula hoop act Aerial Emery and sword swallower Sally Marvel.
“Under the Big Top” also features 150 chorus members, six dance numbers and more than 30 dancers.
“I was programming the season and came up with the title. It made a lot of sense to do a bunch of circus-themed music from musicals and pop music and build up the show around that,” Morehead said.
Selections include “Razzle Dazzle” from the musical “Chicago,” songs from the musical “Barnum” about Barnum & Bailey Circus co-creator P.T. Barnum, “This Is Me” from the film “The Greatest Showman” that was inspired by Barnum’s circus, and tunes by Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and Billy Joel.
Billy Vitucci, a former Orland Park resident who now lives in Chicago’s Uptown community, is a featured soloist, performing “Before the Parade Passes By” from the musical “Hello, Dolly!”
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“The chorus is a group of volunteers. They are mostly nonprofessional singers who come together in a safe space to create music. We have members from all walks of life and all ages and all sizes and all genders and all shapes,” Morehead said.
Some performers will be dressed as animals during “Under the Big Top.”
“We’re doing a circus parade with all of our specialty performers, dancers, lions and tigers and bears, and the band,” Morehead said.
“This is a perfect kid-friendly show. We’ll have popcorn in the lobby and some photo cutouts so people can take pictures for Instagram or Facebook. We’ll have balloon animals for the kids in the lobby. Everything becomes the circus experience even though it’s not a real circus,” he said.
“The circus has this twofold history. On one hand, it was a space for people who were not from the traditional walk of life. This show intends to give a voice to those people who didn’t have a voice and recognize that we’re all different and that is OK,” he said.
“We are safe and able to do that and validate each other in the Chicago Gay Men’s Chorus because of our differences, not despite them.”
Chicago Gay Men’s Chorus’ next season includes “Holiday Hullabaloo” in December at Beverly Arts Center and partnerships with several groups including Chicago Spirit Brigade, Chicago Tap Theatre, improv team GayCo, Lakeside Pride Music Ensembles, Lakeview Orchestra and Windy City Gay Chorus.
“It’s going to be a huge celebration of our 35 years and we’ve asked these organizations to come join us and celebrate with us and are excited and delighted they will share their talents onstage,” Morehead said.
The 35th anniversary season also includes another celebration for the spring show, which includes a May 2019 performance at Beverly Arts Center.
“We will be celebrating Stonewall 50, which was the beginning of the gay rights movement outside of the Stonewall in New York City,” Morehead said.
‘Under the Big Top’
When: 3 p.m. (2:30 p.m. doors) May 20
Where: Beverly Arts Center, 2407 W. 111th St., Chicago
Tickets: $28 general admission
Information: 773-445-3838; www.beverlyartcenter.org
Jessi Virtusio is a freelancer for the Daily Southtown.