Showbiz Pizza Tribute to the Circus (Partially Found Animatronic Show; 1986)

This article has been tagged as Needing work due to its improper formatting and lack of fundamental features.

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The Rock-afire Explosion performing the found showtape segment at Billy Bob's Wonderland, 07/13/24.

Status: Partially Found

Date found: 13 Jul 2024

Found by: Unnamed Contributor/rockafirefan123

Official Releases

Showbiz Pizza's Tribute to the Circus showtape was officially released in 1986 under the title Circus/Monkees and featured what was then its current animatronic show, The Rock-afire Explosion. It included only three segments with no skits, a change from previous tapes:

• "Monkees Medley"
• "Tribute to the Circus" medley
• "The Curly Shuffle"

The issue most fans have with this tape is how short it is, especially since the "Monkees Medley" was recycled from the 1983 Beatles White Album showtape, only with Rolfe and Earl's original intro cut and the ending trimmed. This tape was recorded/released around a time when Creative Engineering and Showbiz corporate were at odds with each other, so new shows from CEI were a rare find; the release of this tape in July would mark the last known new tape released that year. The beginning of the following year would mark Showbiz's continued attempts at replacing the CEI voice actors, a notable downhill turning point for the companies' partnership.

Discovery of Lost Segments

In recent years, it was discovered that the reason this tape appears so short is that it is- the tape was supposed to be a full-length show themed around the circus, much like Showbiz's previous shows Magic Night and Country Night, but most of the segments were never released in an official capacity for reasons unknown. While the three segments officially used in Showbiz Pizza stores are publicly available with full audio and original programming, several sections of the show have never seen the light of day.

The full setlist has yet to be uncovered, but it is known that the circus medley featured in the final tape is actually the "Ride Medley"; the tape in its entirety was going to be Tribute to the Circus before it was cut and "Monkees Medley" was added. There was also going to be an as-yet-unnamed and still lost Rolfe and Earl segment, and a Mitzi cover of Smokey Robinson's "Tears of a Clown". There has been talk of a cover of Leo Sayer's "The Show Must Go On", but confirmation of its existence has yet to be found.

Found Segment

On July 13th, 2024, as part of Billy Bob's Wonderland's 4th annual Billycon celebration, it was announced that "Tears of a Clown" had been found on a physical reel owned by an unnamed contributor about a month before the event. While the animatronics' programming data was not found with the audio, Instagram user rockafirefan123 was able to program the show for audience viewing. "Tears of a Clown", along with several other lost shows from other tapes, debuted that same day on the Billy Bob's Wonderland stage. No news has come of the other lost tapes since.

External Links

• https://www.showbizpizza.com/review/rae/1986_circus.html
• https://www.showbizpizza.com/review/rae/1987_western-movie-rock.html
• https://youtu.be/SCzbQrM4Gx0?si=AMd--RRBAS6M7PUC

Other Resources

• rockafirefan123/Jonah
• Travis Schafer of ShowBizPizza.com, known Showbiz Pizza archivist