The Big Apple Circus, the popular entertainment which plays to sold-out audiences of parents and children at Lincoln Center's Damrosch Park every year, canceled it 11 AM Nov. 16 performance, throwing many ticketholders into confusion.

A spokesman for the Circus told Playbill On-Line that the show was not exactly canceled so much as rescheduled, along with another 11 AM show on Nov. 29. The reason for the disruption—as with most theatrical irregularities in New York these days—has to do with Sept. 11. Two weeks ago, City Hall issued an edict "limiting the transportation of children in yellow school buses for purposes of field trips." This forced the Circus to reschedule a few shows. According to the spokesman, every ticketholder was notified by mail.

Still, some people showed up for the Nov. 16 show and were angry when turned away. "We are very sorry if anybody was confused or upset by the change in the schedule," spokesman Philip Thurston told Playbill On-Line. "We tried very hare to keep everyone happy."

Thurston added that New York City Schools Chancellor Harold Levy recently commented on the need to resume school trips into Manhattan. Still, the Circus expects a continued downtown in business. Attendance by school-age children is down by 70 percent, said Thurston.

The Big Apple Circus season comprises 114 performances, 11 of them 11 AM shows geared toward school groups, of which two have been lost this year. —By Robert Simonson