History-Making Showman Serves As Ringmaster At New Circus Vargas Show

SAN DIEGO, CA — Circus Vargas is back in Southern California, with Ringmaster Johnathan Lee Iverson leading the way.

The traveling circus kicked off its new "Hollywood Dreams" show over the weekend in National City. The show, which pays homage to Tinseltown's Golden Age, is also headed to San Diego and Temecula.

The two-hour production features world-renowned artists, aerialists, acrobats, comedians, daredevils and more. The show is led by Iverson, who has worked in the circus business for more than 25 years.

"For me, Circus Vargas is special because it is deeply rooted in the spirit of family," Iverson told Patch. "There's a sense of fidelity that even our audience is a part of."

Even before joining the circus, Iverson traveled the globe, performed for world leaders, and shared the stage with legendary entertainers.

Iverson started his career at the age of 11 as a member of the Boys Choir of Harlem. He then studied voice performance at The Hartt School, a performing arts conservatory of the University of Hartford in West Hartford, Connecticut. After graduating, he met the director of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey while on the way to an audition for a theater show.

"The rest, as they say, is history, quite literally," he said. "I became the youngest and first Black American in that company's storied history to don the top hat as ringmaster."

Iverson served as ringmaster until the circus originally closed in 2017, making him the last ringmaster in the history of the iconic circus, known as The Greatest Show On Earth.

He is known as the "Last Ringmaster," a phrase he coined in honor of the late Col. John Herriott, another legend of the American circus.

"I have been deemed the 'Last Ringmaster' due to the fact that I am the last of an era, much like the great John Herriott was," Iverson told Patch. "It's always a tremendous privilege to be a part of history."

Now, Iverson tours with Circus Vargas, which has been a staple of California since 1969.

Inspired by the glitz and glamour of Hollywood's heyday, the company's new show includes the high wire, the globe of death, and unicycle stunts, among other acts.

"No one at Circus Vargas has one job," he said. "All hands are always on deck for the mission of offering, not only a spectacular and renowned show, but an atmosphere of unadulterated joy, merriment, and escape for children of all ages, faces, nations, and abilities."

Shows will run through March 10 at Westfield Plaza Bonita in National City, March 14 through April 7 in Mission Valley, and April 11 through April 28 at Promenade Temecula in Temecula.

"Everyone should attend a circus," Iverson said. "Ernest Hemingway said it best, 'The circus is the only ageless delight that you can buy for money. Everything else is supposed to be bad for you. But the circus is good for you.' It's that simple, Circus Vargas 'is good for you!'"

Purchase tickets at circusvargas.com/tickets.