Windy City Circus kicks off Chicago birthday celebration

• Reprints

David Maas and his wife Dania Kaseeva Maas (both at far left) announced today that their Windy City Circus has cancelled its debut engagement at Navy Pier's Festival Hall.

Updated: February 14, 2012 10:50AM

EDITOR’S NOTE: Windy City Circus announced on Feb. 14 that the Chicago engagement at Navy Pier has been cancelled. All tickets will be refunded at point of purchase. Refunds for tickets purchased at windycitycircus.org will be refunded automatically prior to date of performance.

Chicago turns 175 years old in March. To get the party started, Windy City Circus — the city’s first-ever hometown circus — will make its debut Feb. 17-26 in Festival Hall at Navy Pier as the city’s official birthday kickoff event.

The circus is a longtime dream come true for David and Dania Maas — the famous “Quick Change” duo — both of whom come from circus families. Dania grew up in the Moscow Circus — her family of animal trainers (going back 300 years) was renowned for its black bear act. Animal training wasn’t for Dania though; she gained fame as a hula-hoop artist. David got his start with Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus — his father wrote the circus music. The two met and married while performing in the Big Apple Circus (now in its 34th year), which provided the inspiration for Windy City Circus. Both circuses perform in intimate spaces (all WCC seats are within 50 of the stage) and both are nonprofit organizations that raise funds for local charities.

Though this inaugural run will be indoors instead of out, a big-top ambience will imbue Windy City Circus performances. Guests can arrive an hour prior to each performance and enjoy a midway chock-full of circus food and entertainment, including strolling performers portraying historic Chicago characters, photo and caricature opportunities, and a “money box” in which guests have 20 seconds to grab as much “funny money” (coupons, etc.) as possible.

Three years in the making, Windy City Circus’ role as kickoff event for the city’s 175th birthday happened by happy accident.

“I decided that a great thing would be to celebrate Chicago by bringing a lot of Chicago’s historical characters back to life and telling their story and tying the whole thing into programs that would educational as well as entertaining,” said Barbara Lee Cohen, WCC executive producer and creative director. “David [Maas] loved the idea and the next thing I knew we were moving in that direction.”

Through her ties to Judge Anne and Ald. Ed Burke (she is a longtime Chicago event planner/promoter), Cohen found out about the city’s milestone birthday, and a partnership with the city was formed.

Cohen and Maas both believe that what sets the Windy City Circus apart is that it’s “a circus with a purpose.” Besides entertaining audiences, its other big mission is to give back to the community. Thanks to sponsors, 80 percent of WCC’s net ticket sales will go to the Special Olympics Chicago and the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Chicagoland and Northwest Indiana.

Plans are in the works for a show under the big top this summer, and Cohen and Maas hope the circus will continue to grow after that.

“The idea for me is to run it very similar to Big Apple, to move it in and around the Chicago area — four or five stops each year — and change the program each year so audiences see a different program,” Maas said.

So what will audiences see at Navy Pier? Plenty. Maas will serve as master of ceremonies; he and his wife will perform “Quick Change,” and Dania will do her Hula-Hoop act. International, national and local acts will all get in on the Chicago theme in some manner. For example, the Winn Family daredevils, juggler Vladik, Jonatan Riquelme of Ariel Rola Bola and the Sky Masters, will all take on the personas of notable Chicagoans during their performances, and local performers will bring Chicago’s famous and infamous to life as “walk-around” characters, harking back to circus days of yore.

Chicago mime/performer Gregg Steigmeyer, who is coordinating local actors in their roles as historic characters, will portray Marshall Field. The walk-around characters — Frank Lloyd Wright, Abraham Lincoln, Stephen Douglas and Jean Baptiste Point Du Sable to name a few, are there to “set the atmosphere from the point that people arrive and during intermission to keep the Chicago thing going throughout the run of the show,” Steigmeyer said. “We’re recreating [these characters] to honor Chicago, to honor them, to honor all the things that have added up to make Chicago the great city that it is in a circus atmosphere.”

“What better place to do this than Chicago, where it’s never been done before?” Maas asked of creating the circus. “It’s a beautiful show, a fun time. It’s unique. It’s original. It supports Chicago.”

KIDDING AROUND

◆ From Feb. 10-20, Millennium Park hosts Luminous Field, a video and sound installation by Chicago-based artists Luftwerk. The installation will illuminate “Cloud Gate” and will feature family programming, music and dance in an adjacent heated tent. Call (312) 742-1168 or visit explorechicago.org.

◆ Quest Theatre Ensemble’s The People’s Barnum runs Feb. 10 through March 18 at Blue Theatre, 1609 W. Gregory. Admission is free, but donations are accepted for this true tale of Phineas Taylor Barnum and the circus acts that made him famous. Call (312) 458-0895 or visit questensemble.org.

◆ The Peking Acrobats stop at Aurora’s Paramount Theatre, 23 E. Galena Blvd., for a show at 7 p.m. Feb. 11. Tickets are $25 for kids, $35 for adults. Call (630) 896-6666 or visit paramountaurora.com.

Jennifer Burklow is a local freelance writer.