Local Clown Returns to Perform

Photo by Randy Urick.

By Broadside Correspondent Evan Benton

When I used to threaten my mother by telling her I would join the circus if I did not get my way, I was operating under the impression that the saying was a meaningless one. I mean, no one has actually made good on it, have they?

Well, James McGrath didn’t run away and join the circus. He didn’t even go looking for it. The circus found him.

Hailing from Fairfax, Va., McGrath’s earliest ambitions were to become a Muppet and a rock star. Three years ago, he was invited to participate in the Barnum & Bailey Greatest Show on Earth where he found a way to wear a costume, crazy hair and tour the world all in one.

McGrath found himself back in his hometown from April 9 to 19, hanging out with the many elephants, fierce tigers and flying dogs of B&B’s Over the Top performances at the Patriot Center.

Under the big top, McGrath transforms into the wacky and whimsical “Cricket the Clown,” entertaining the crowds at the pre-show, which gives him and all the clowns a chance to showcase their talents.

“When the crowd’s into it the job is so worthwhile,” said McGrath.

McGrath also makes appearances after the pre-show, albeit well under the spotlights focused on the amazing acrobats and myriad of talented animals that have characterized the circus for the last 138 years.

Not invited to the show, but also along for the ride, were the protesters that show up each year, determined to continue the legacy of protesting that many other groups around the world have been doing since P.T. Barnum was still alive and kicking.

Their main arguments are that circus animals are prodded and whipped into submission and then prodded and whipped again to perform when, according to many, they should not be there for our entertainment in the first place.

“I understand that the people that protest have the best of intentions,” said McGrath. “But many times, they are relying on outdated facts and hearsay things that may not have happened at all.

Having majored in psychology with a minor in religious studies at his alma mater of Christopher Newport University in Newport News, Va., McGrath has more education as a clown than many of Wall Street’s best (and morally worst) stockbrokers.