What were they thinking: Taking 18th century entertainment into the 21st century Bob Abelman Cleveland Jewish News, The News Herald, The Morning Journal Member, International Association of Theatre Critics The circus is in town. This simple phrase can’t help but activate sense memories in our inner-child – the giddy excitement felt while walking into the Big Top, the omnipresent sweet and sour smells of animal acts and cotton candy, and the tingle of innocent eroticism and danger generated by scantily clad entertainers performing in and above the three-rings of the “Greatest Show on Earth.” Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, which is celebrating 146 years of performing an art form first introduced to the U.S. in 1793, will be at Quicken Loans Arena from Oct. 20 – 23. Step right up. Or not, for other phrases have worked their way into discussions about the circus of late. For more of this review, go to www.clevelandjewishnews.com/columnists/.