A Circus Comes to Town (Live Show)

A Circus Comes to Town is a live stage show, produced by HiT Entertainment and AEG ThemeStar in the US in 2009, the UK in 2011, the Netherlands in 2012 and 2015 and in Poland in 2020/2021.

The show is similar in its visual style and overall presentation to the live show Thomas Saves the Day, but is of a significantly larger scale, featuring more characters and musical numbers.

Plot
Kuffy the Clown arrives at Tidmouth Sheds and reveals that the circus has arrived on Sodor and will have its first performance that night. The engines are excited but confused, as there was no prior warning that the circus was coming. Kuffy explains that he sent the railway a letter the week prior, but they never received it. Gordon and James are quick to blame Percy because he usually pulls the mail train, but Percy denies any wrongdoing. He then remembers that last week, he was repainted and had Thomas cover the mail route for him. Thomas then remembers that he stopped to take some children to school after Bertie broke down, but forgot to finish the mail route afterwards. As such, the letter was never delivered and nobody met the circus at Brendam Docks. Sir Topham Hatt is unhappy, as he must now make last-minute arrangements to find somewhere to set up the circus. He sends Thomas to shunt trucks on his branch line as punishment. Gordon is chosen to pull the circus train due to its heavy weight. Thomas decides to go to Brendam Docks on the way to his branch line so he can help with preparations.

Percy takes a circus special to Farmer McColl, who has agreed to let the circus tent be set up at his farm on short notice. Meanwhile, Thomas arrives at the docks and meets Kuffy and the other two circus performers, Miranda and the Strongman. When Gordon does not show up, Thomas offers to take the train himself. He runs nicely for some time, but the weight of the train becomes too much. He ends up snapping one of his side-rods and has to stop. While his driver repairs him, Kuffy decides to play a game to pass the time. Thomas struggles to start up again, but manages to successfully get moving. Percy helps Thomas get to the farm.

At McColl Farm, Thomas has an accident, necessitating for the circus to find somewhere else to perform. Thomas and Percy leave with the circus train. Harold is sent to look for somewhere else to set up the circus and it is eventually decided on Tidmouth Sheds. Meanwhile, Thomas and the performers are informed by Harold that the bridge has been washed away and Gordon needs help. Thomas goes to help Gordon, feeling obligated to do so after having had Percy's help. Sir Topham Hatt is chosen to be the ringmaster for the circus. The circus has its first performance at the sheds and is a success. As a reward for his hard work, Thomas is chosen to lead the circus parade.

Characters

 * Thomas
 * Gordon
 * James
 * Percy
 * Harold
 * Cranky
 * Sir Topham Hatt
 * Farmer McColl
 * Kuffy the Clown
 * Miranda the Acrobat
 * The Strongman
 * Edward
 * Henry
 * Toby
 * Emily
 * Trevor
 * Bertie

Locations

 * Tidmouth Sheds
 * Brendam
 * McColl Farm

US voice actors

 * Joel Frank as Thomas, Gordon, James, Percy, Harold and Cranky

US Performers

 * Kevin Sims as Sir Topham Hatt
 * Brendan Malafronte as Thomas' driver
 * Ricky Whitfield as Percy's driver
 * Katie Cortez as Newsgirl
 * Kyle Garvin as Farmer McColl and an unnamed boy
 * Jeffrey Mark Pierce as Kuffy The Clown
 * Andrea Kovelman as Miranda the Acrobat and a railway driver
 * Steve Chazaro as The Strongman and a railway driver
 * Joel Frank as a dock worker

Alternate US performers

 * Joel Frank as Sir Topham Hatt, Percy's driver, Newsboy and Kuffy The Clown
 * Katie Cortez as Miranda the Acrobat and a railway driver

UK voice actors

 * Ben Small as Thomas
 * Keith Wickham as Gordon, James, Percy and Harold
 * Matt Wilkinson as Cranky

UK performers

 * Barnaby Brookman as Sir Topham Hatt
 * Aaron Spendelow as Thomas' driver
 * Michael Meteer as Percy's Driver and a dock worker
 * Rachael Born as Newsgirl
 * Paul Winterford as Farmer McDougall and an unnamed boy
 * Steve King as Kuffy The Clown
 * Tara Stapley as Miranda the Ballerina and a railway driver
 * Andy Medhurst as The Strongman and a railway driver

2011-12 Netherlands performers

 * Peter Lusse as Sir Topham Hatt
 * Mark Haayema as Thomas' driver and Farmer McColl
 * Sanne Selbeck as Percy's driver, a camera girl and a dock worker
 * Femke van der Meeren as Newslady
 * Anna Verschoor as Fleur
 * Martijn Mulders as Kuffy The Clown
 * Maud Mulder as Miranda the Dancer and a railway driver
 * Bas Bovelander as The Strongman and a railway driver

Poland voice actors

 * Janusz Zadura as Thomas
 * Sławomir Pacek as Gordon
 * Waldemar Barwiński as James
 * Grzegorz Drojewski as Percy

Poland performers

 * Radosław Smużny as Sir Topham Hatt
 * Dominik Rybiałek as Thomas' driver and Farmer McColl
 * Teresa Kowalik as Percy's driver, a camera girl and a dock worker
 * Katarzyna Kołodziejczak as Newslady
 * Magdalena Jaworska as Florka
 * Alan Bochnak as Kuffy The Clown
 * Paulina Moś as Miranda the Dancer and a railway driver
 * Mateo Grabowski as The Strongman and a railway driver

Alternate Poland performers

 * Kamil Mróz as Thomas' driver and Farmer McColl

Act 1

 * Thomas' Anthem
 * Ode To Gordon (instrumental)
 * A Fun And Busy For The Engines
 * Sir Topham Hatt
 * It's Great to be an Engine
 * Sounds That Thomas Makes
 * It's Circus Time on the Farm
 * Accidents Will Happen (not in Netherlands, Czech or Poland)
 * Sir Topham Hatt (reprise)

Act 2

 * Really Useful Engine
 * Determination
 * Fun In The Rain
 * Engine Roll Call
 * Party Time
 * Finale (Thomas' Anthem and Really Useful Engine (reprise))

Trivia

 * Individual voice actors (including Ben Small and Keith Wickham in the UK version of the show) provide the voices for the engines.
 * Gordon and James do not properly come out of the sheds. The reason is that it was too expensive to make them as working engines, as well as them likely being too big for most stages.
 * Two sets of engine props were built for the show: one for the US/UK built by The Rolling Stock Company Inc and another for the Netherlands, Czech and Poland by Vorm & Decor. The latter engines are significantly less screen-accurate.
 * Thomas’ first series theme is heard briefly.
 * In some shows, the newspaper person is portrayed by a male.
 * In the Dutch and Polish tours, Percy's driver is female.
 * The remixed instrumentals of Really Useful Engine, Sounds, Another Busy Day On The Engines, Sir Topham Hatt and Fun in the Rain are used for the mobile game Magical Tracks.
 * The songs were re-dubbed but they did not make second CD and they sold first CD recorded from Thomas Saves the Day

Goofs

 * In some performances, Percy has James' whistle sound.