January Circus Cabaret

Everyone’s talking about the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus announcement that they’ll be closing down in May after over a century of The Greatest Show on Earth. But what many New Yorkers don’t realize is that the circus is always in town in Brooklyn—no, we’re not talking about Cirque du Soleil, but the much less expensive shows that occur regularly at Big Sky Works in Williamsburg and House of Yes and The Muse in Bushwick.

We’ve caught some pretty interesting shows at all of these venues, and tonight we rode the subway to Wilson Avenue for the latter’s January Circus Cabaret—the new year’s first edition of a recurring variety show with more acts than we deserved for the $10 pre-sale tickets we snagged just hours before the show! Hosted by “The Baron of Boylesque” Matt Knife, the event featured aerialism by Troy Lingelbach, Alisa Mae, Jess Hill, Stacy Smith Eginton, Torrie Rose Ogilvie and others, alongside burlesque by Knife, Kita St. Cyr and Mademoiselle Estelle, to name a few. Throw in acrobatics by Angelica (Cardone) and Naomi, live music, Knife’s comedic Mastering of Ceremonies and the all-around great vibe that The Muse always delivers, and you have yourself a great way to spend a Sunday evening—easily worth the long ride down the L train.