Superman Don't Come Around Here No More Part Three Music kicks in. A deep foot-tapping rumba beat, with horns and strange stringed instruments filling in the gaps. A shroud of white smoke makes its way across the stage and swirling colored lights round out this sensory mood setting. Sure seems to be working, as the boy's eyes get wider with each passing moment. And his attention remains rapt as the stage boards are crept by the circus' various performers. -- Come on along and suspend your disbelief. If only for a brief spell. We'll see that you are safely returned. Just like that, the show begins. And before it is over the boy will have experienced sights that very few people can claim to have seen in an entire lifetime and witnessed events of such profound daring as to make one question the very fabric of human knowledge -- or so the program claims... To summarize the show would be to attempt the impossible and would do grave injustice to the artistry and professional stature of the performers. Suffice to say that the boy, on that afternoon, had the opportunity to look into the eyes of a mind reader, watch barefoot criminals dance on coals of fire, be dazzled by magicians and hypnotists, wince at sword swallowers, have his heart skip before graceful displays of modern enunciation... He sees people with various animal features -- gills, claws, tails, that type of thing. He sees performing animals with cruel-looking harnesses... he witnesses acts of humiliation and endurance... holds onto his chair as a turban-enhanced master of magnetism seemingly flips the entire circus tent upside down and holds it suspended in mid-air while he skips along the ceiling picking up the many coins now dislodged from the audience members' pockets. Hey, where did this audience come from? The boy realizes he's been aware of an audience for some time now but it does not fully register until he's upside down. Looking around to get a glimpse of his fellow gravity defiers. All having the time of their lives. Returning now to pre-upside down mode, feet on the ground, a bit lighter in the pocket. A breathtaking high-wire acts follows, featuring a married couple performing various acts of suspended frivolity over a transparent pool filled with many ill-tempered crocodiles. The finale proves to be a bit of an anti-climax. A play in four acts which the boy has trouble following due to the fact that the troupe is performing in their native tongue. The plot seems to revolve around the drama of palace politics in a kingdom currently experiencing various bits of turmoil. Probably war or some peasant uprising. The boy is entertained by a recurring comedy bit in which the palace messenger is beaten about the head and neck by the king's guards every time news of any sort is delivered. -- Serves him right, thinks the boy. But this is probably just a manifestation of a level of frustration the boy feels towards the troupe -- wondering why they would perform a play to an audience that would surely have difficult time understanding. Caught up in this line of thinking, the play ends with little notice from the boy. -- And that's the end of our show ladies and gentlemen. We sure hope you had a nice time. Please file out in an orderly fashion and be sure to drop by the concession stand for beverages and cookies. ~ ~ ~ Read Part Four Questions? Comments? Send them to Daily_Editor@hotmail.com. Copyright 2001-2008 © Belowthefold.net