THE NEW CIRCUS RINGLING BROS. HOPES TO THRILL EVEN WITHOUT THREE RINGS.

Byline: Valerie Kuklenski Staff Writer

No three rings. No big cats. And just maybe, by next year, no elephants.

Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey, the country's oldest entertainment company, has made the first major changes to its circus since 1956, when it switched to an arena instead of a canvas tent.

The 136th edition, opening Wednesday at Staples Center, is the first Ringling show in more than 100 years without three rings. It has a proscenium portal at one end of the arena and a single, elongated performance space where everything from the motorcycles in the cage and the stumbling clowns to the Cossack riders is showcased.

Producer Nicole Feld -- daughter of Feld Entertainment chief Kenneth Feld and granddaughter of Irvin Feld, who bought the circus in 1967 -- says the decision to make the first big alteration to Ringling Bros. since the last of its tents folded was not made lightly, but after considerable market research.

She admits there was skepticism among the old guard in the business and some concern inside Feld Entertainment. Despite having promoter extraordinaire P.T. Barnum in its heritage, the show was shrouded in secrecy last fall during its development.

``We had a closed rehearsal for the first time,'' Nicole, 27, said. ``We didn't invite any media down there, we didn't invite friends, we didn't even let people from the company that weren't directly involved in the show come to rehearsal. And we kept everything under wraps. And we had our performers and everybody else sign confidentiality agreements.

``It allowed us to focus on what we wanted to do without any kind of distraction or people questioning it before it was ready to be looked at.''

That meant that Jan. 4 in Tampa, Fla., was a cold opening before the production's first audience.

``We were all on pins and needles at the edge of our seats, because we didn't know if people were going to laugh where we wanted them to laugh or clap when we wanted them to clap,'' she said.

Shanda Sawyer, a veteran of both TV comedy and splashy stage events, said the Felds gave her some basic guidance, from which she wrote and directed the production.

``They have discovered through their market research that families felt like their lives were already a three-ring circus,'' she said. ``So when they go for family entertainment, they want a fun, focused family experience, with a sense of being able to take away tangible memories of really having had a great time together as a family. And the three rings were a bit cacophonous for people.''

Sawyer said she also was told that customers were looking for a story line of sorts rather than just a series of acts with no connection to each other.

So Sawyer added a large screen for graphic elements as well as close-up views of, say, the house cats and birds working together or strongman Herkules' sweating brow, and a ``family'' from the audience whose members fulfill their dreams of taking roles in the show. In addition, Jennifer Fuentes, a second-season ``American Idol'' contestant, serves as a master of ceremonies and storytelling singer.

Sawyer says she came up with the concept after studying Ringling's recent productions and its history, then considering ``where to take the show that would make it new and fresh and exciting, and yet still honor the traditions and give people the kinds of things they come to the circus to see, but in a new way.''

Feld says a lion-and-tiger act likely will return in coming seasons. But a bigger change than the elimination of the three-ring concept looms if animal activists succeed in their efforts to stop Ringling from using performing elephants.

Ringling's own research shows that its strongest attraction is its trained elephants, but they also cause public-relations problems for the company. It touts the 20 babies born in 11 years at its Center for Elephant Conservation in Florida, but four of them have died since the late '90s in circumstances Ringling's opponents say could have been prevented. Animal-rights groups have circulated videos showing Ringling elephants being prodded with sharp bull hooks while their ankles are chained, and they routinely gather with protest signs outside circus venues.

The Animal Welfare Institute, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, the Fund for Animals and others are hoping for a 2007 trial date in their federal lawsuit against Ringling seeking to halt its use of endangered Asian elephants in its productions.

``According to Ringling, elephants are critical to the circus -- and this is a multimillion-dollar industry,'' said Tracy Silverman, an attorney with AWI. ``I believe representatives for Ringling Bros. say you can't have a circus without elephants. We certainly don't believe that to be the case, because of productions like Cirque du Soleil. Whether Ringling Bros. can have a circus without elephants remains to be seen.''

Currently, Ringling has 55 elephants, around 20 of them touring with three circus units. They perform in the new show as well as take part in the traditional elephant parade from the Ringling train to the venue, and in brief appearances before the show as well.

Asked whether the circus' creative staff is anticipating a Ringling show without elephants, Nicole Feld said, ``We don't think like that, actually. Our strong animal record has always been a part of Ringling Bros., and our animals are really a big part of our family. So we take one thing at a time and go from there.''

Ringling spokesman Darin Johnson says Ringling's elephant act is one element that distinguishes this circus from others.

``We have a long-term commitment to the Asian elephant being a part of Ringling Bros., and I don't think it's anything that we're going to walk away from easily.''

Feld studied photography and worked briefly for People magazine, but now that she's back, she will not be running away from the circus anytime soon.

``I've spent my whole life around this, from being baby-sat by clowns. It was fun -- I learned how to sew,'' she says. ``It wasn't until I really spent time away from Ringling Bros. and the family business that I realized how much I really missed it. It really is in my blood, and the kind of feeling I have whenever I'm at the circus ... the sheer passion that's there -- I don't think there's a lot of places you can get that.''

With or without hip-hop-dancing elephants, the Felds are committed to preserving what has long been billed as the Greatest Show on Earth.

``They're very, very dedicated to the future of the circus,'' Sawyer said. ``And they really see themselves as the stewards of this American treasure. ... They're very dedicated to seeing it grow and change and adapt and evolve and still remain current, while still honoring what it is.''

Valerie Kuklenski, [phone]

[e-mail]

136th EDITION OF RINGLING BROS. AND BARNUM & BAILEY CIRCUS

Where: Staples Center, 1111 S. Figueroa St., Los Angeles.

When: Wednesday through July 23 at Staples; July 26-Aug. 6 at Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim.

Tickets: $12 to 85.

[phone]; www.ringling.com.

CAPTION(S):

5 photos

Photo:

(1 -- cover -- color) NOT YOUR FATHER'S CIRCUS

Ringling Bros. brings new focus to Greatest Show on Earth

(2 -- color) Shenzhen foot jugglers bring Chinese acrobatics to the Greatest Show on Earth.

(3 -- color) New video screens enable circus-goers to see strongman Herkules' every move.

(4 -- color) Elephants remain part of the Ringling Bros. show despite opposition from animal-rights groups. The circus maintains its own breeding program in Florida.

(5 -- color) One Ringling Bros. act brings birds and house cats together. Audiences can see close-ups on a big screen.