The Circus is coming: the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus will perform next week

The circus is coming to town, and it's not the three-ring circus many people remember from childhood.

A troupe of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey's finest performers will star in "Built to Amaze!" on Tuesday and Wednesday at the Show Me Center in Cape Girardeau.

Created for smaller venues, this is a more of a European-style show, where the audience is closer to the action.

"I like the smaller shows because the people are right at ringside and you have a better connection with them," Vicki Zsilak, whose family has worked in the circus for three generations, said in an interview with the Southeast Missourian. "I like the intimacy of the small show."

Ringling Bros. has three circus troupes that travel around the world -- two larger troupes and a smaller one. The smaller troupe will star in the Cape Girardeau performances.

Motorcyclists whiz around the interior of a sphere in the Globe of Steel act. (Submitted photo)

"You can feel the action," Zsilak said. "You cannot just see it. You can feel it. You can smell it. You're right there with the action. I think it's more exciting."

Dancers from Australia, globe riders from Venuzela and Argentina and Peruvian performers in the "Wheel of Death" act all will be part of the show.

Globe riders, three motorcyclists, ride around the inside of a metal globe, where a woman stands in the center as they whiz past her.

Hungarian-born Zsilak is an exotic-animal trainer and works with llamas, kangaroos, donkeys, goats and ponies. She and her husband, Alex Petrov, perform together.

"My parents came to Ringling Bros. in the '60s," she said. "They met here, and I kind of had the same history with my husband."

The couple has children, ages 10 and 17, who attend school provided by Ringling Bros. Their school week, Zsilak said, goes from Wednesday to Sunday, because Monday is a travel day, and the performers are off Tuesday.

Another part of her children's' education is learning to juggle. Both her parents and grandparents were jugglers, so it's part of the family tradition.

The show starts at 7 p.m., and doors open at 6 p.m. During the hour before the show, ticket holders have an opportunity to meet the performers and obtain their autographs, try on costumes and see acts that don't appear in the show.

"It's not the same thing, repeating," Zsilak said. "It's different."

She said the preshow segment is a crowd-pleaser and a part of the evening the circus talent enjoys, too.

"You can talk to the performers, get to know them," Zsilak said. "That's my favorite part."

The elephant star of the circus, Asia, is on hand for the hour before the show, too.

"Asia paints a painting, and you can sign up to win that," Zsilak said.

Of course, clowns are part of the show, as well as tigers, zebras, draft horses and an Italian family of acrobats, the Zoppe, who do stunts on their moving horses.

Zsilak said the circus life is one she loves.

"I love to travel, and I love to entertain people," she said. "That's the most important thing. It's a joy for me to give joy to the audience."

Ticket pricing for stadium seating is $22 for ages 13 and older and $12 from children ages 2 through 12. Ticket purchase is not required for children younger than 2.

VIP seating on the floor is $37. All ticket prices include a $2 building fee.

There is a $10 SAC discount for the first 50 Southeast Missouri State University students with a Redhawks ID.