The Super American Circus 2025 is in Hawaii, showcasing some of the world’s most amazing spectacles.
Look for the big top at the Afook-Chinen Civic fairgrounds in Hilo on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and at Old Kona Airport Park on Feb. 21, 22 and 23.
Cornell “Tuffy” Nicholas, the show’s presenter, lived in Hawaii for two decades, presenting the Cirque Hawaii and Cirque Polynesia shows.
“I’m excited to be back,” Nicholas said Friday. “I love it here. It’s my favorite place on Earth.
“The easiest way to get acts is when you tell them, ‘We’re going to Hawaii.’ Everyone wants to come here.”
The Super American Circus came to Hawaii last year, but Nicholas promises “an all-new show, no repeat acts.”
“We’ve got some amazing performers from ‘America’s Got Talent,’ from the Ringling Brothers circus, from the best of the best around the world. Even stuff I’ve never seen before, we have this year,” he said. “We have a Russian fellow named Illia Strakhov. He does a headstand on a bottle without any devices between his head and the glass bottle. Imagine how much that would hurt and how much balance you have to have to stay on your head. He just set a record in the Guinness Book of World Records.
“We bought a bunch of new equipment, like brand-new bleachers. They are much more comfortable than the benches that we used to have. They’re high-backed, comfortable seats. We have a new stage, back curtains, lights and sound system.
“It was a great show before, but we’ve really upgraded. You always have to top yourself, and we continue getting better.”
The Morales Brothers and the Double Wheel of Danger is one of those big-topping, showstopping acts.
“This one has two wheels on both sides. It’s like a pendulum, but it goes all the way around,” Nicholas said. “These guys are running around this thing, outside, blindfolded, doing somersaults.
“It’s amazing to watch the fearlessness that these folks have to do these incredible tricks.”
For those who prefer their daredevils to defy gravity from the the big top’s canopy, there are the dazzling aerialists Nicole Montgomery and Lexy Cody — as well as Kathia, who performs her breathtaking aerial act while entirely suspended by her hair.
Nicholas said his favorite act in this year’s spectacle is probably the “trampoline wall.”
“These guys are from Ukraine, and they do ridiculously hard tricks from the trampoline onto a building facade next to it. They jump in and out of the windows.,” he explained.
Circuses are popular worldwide and, according to Nicholas, bring people together in a way some might find incredible.
“Believe it or not, we have people who are from Ukraine and people who are from Russia who are working on the show, and they are like brothers and sisters. The war has nothing to do with them,” Nicholas said, proudly.
Circus lore is filled with legends who ran away and joined the circus — for example, Houdini. Nicholas didn’t have to do that.
“My parents were in the circus; I grew up in the circus,” he said. “I did seven different acts. You name it, I’ve done it in the circus.”
Asked about the lasting allure of the circus, Nicholas said, simply, “It’s fun.”
“It’s fun to get the family together,” he said. “It’s the kind of show where the babies to the great-grandparents can go, especially here in Hawaii. The whole family comes, as a group — sometimes two or three carloads. There are not that many shows that are specifically for families. And if you’re an older person, you remember going to the circus and having fun when you were a kid, and you pass that on.
“The entertainment is amazing. The clowns are hilarious. You’re laughing. You’re eating popcorn and cotton candy and having fun.”
And it’s all for a good cause: Make-A-Wish Hawaii will benefit from every ticket sold. This organization grants life-changing wishes for local children with critical illnesses.
Showtimes in Hilo are 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. Friday, 1 p.m., 4:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, and 1 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. Sunday.
Kona showtimes are 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. Feb. 21, 1 p.m., 4:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Feb. 22, and 1 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. Feb. 23.
In addition, the 2025 Hawaii Tour of the Super American Circus is also scheduled for performances at Blaisdell Center Arena in Honolulu on Feb. 28, March 1 and 2, on Maui at Oskie Rice Event Center on March 7, 8 and 9 and at the Kauai Community College Performing Arts Center on March 14, 15 and 16.
Online general admission is $50 adults, $25 children 3 to 12; preferred seating online is $60 adults, $30 children; a family pass for two adults and three children is $119, online only; and VIP ringside seats are $75 regardless of age.
Door prices are $10 more per ticket.
That said, there are ways families can save on tickets, according to Nicholas.
“They can get free kids’ tickets at different stores. Some of the schools gave them out. And you can get them on our website,” he said. “The kids’ 12 and under are free with a paid adult, one child free with every paid adult.
“All they have to do is show that free ticket from our website on their phone or print it. And that’ll save them at least $25.”
For tickets or more information, go to Superamericancircus.com.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
