Clowns to the Left of Me, Dancers to the Right

The Children's Circus of Middletown, formerly known as the Oddfellows Children's Circus, presents "Circus Out of this World" 5 p.m. tonight at Spencer Elementary School, 207 Westfield St.

Directed by Jake Weinstein, the circus involves over 200 (!) local children ages 8 -14 and a 15-piece Orchestra, ably conducted by Dirck Westervelt. The staff, crew, and talent have been rehearsing for 5 weeks in preparation for this extravaganza and, unless it rains, you won't be disappointed. There is a storyline about a stolen birthday cake and the plot blazes up into a flurry of juggling, unicycling, acrobatics, clowning, dancing, and much silliness, proving once again how far people will go for cake. Seriously, what audiences will see is just how talented the cast is and how hard they have worked to make the Circus look good.

If it does rain, the Circus will be postponed until the next day, Saturday August 2, at 12 noon. For ticket information, call 860-347-6143.

"Footloose: The Musical", inspired by the 1984 Kevin Bacon movie, will be performed by a dedicated cast of Middletown High School students tonight through Sunday. Directed by 2007 MHS graduate Greg Laucella, the show is a fundraiser for the Christine Marcelli LaRosa Scholarship Fund, named for the very popular language teacher who died in 2007, just days before graduation.

The show takes place in the auditorium of Middletown High School, 370 Hunting Hill Avenue. Performances are 7 p.m. tonight and Saturday night as well as 2 p.m. on Sunday. Tickets are available at the door. To read more about this production, click here for Melissa Pionzio's Hartford Courant iTowns blog and here for Sloan Brewster's article in today's Middletown Press.

Both of these endeavors have been supported by grants from the City of Middletown's Commission on the Arts.