Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey returns to the South Bay; this time with a futuristic twist. Tickets are on sale now for the West Coast premier this summer. Often billed as “The Greatest Show on Earth,” the company is known for producing head-turning and audience-aweing shows—full of stunts, tricks and animal performances.

This year marks the first season without the beloved but controversial elephants, which were retired last year after being an integral part of the show for nearly a century. While they will be missed, the circus’ producer promises that the absence of the crowd-pleasing pachyderms won’t stop the family-friendly entertainment.

“We’ve gone beyond our thinking of the past by creating a whole new genre of circus,” says producer Alana Feld. “With this version, we recreate what people think of Ringling Brothers, which is exciting for the families of today.”

This year’s theme “Out of this World” is well-suited for the innovative culture of Silicon Valley.

“In creating this show, we wanted something so drastically different,” Feld says—”not just different to us, but to the audience and those coming to Ringling Brothers. What better way to do that than to take audiences to outer space?”

The space theme includes new technologies such as high-tech lighting and new costume design, as well as the time-honored theatrical features of acrobats, animals and clowns. Feld adds that this year’s show separates itself from the shows of the past in that there is a storyline for the audience to follow—and that the traditional elements that they have come to expect, such as the trapeze acts have a more contemporary twist.

The show takes the audience on a journey with the performers, a circus space fleet, who go on a  heroic mission of good versus evil to bring the performers back to earth all while traveling through the interstellar worlds of sand, water, fire and ice.The addition of different elements ice and acrobatics, aim to engage audiences as performers transition from air to ice while interacting with clowns and animals.

“What families can expect is a thrilling and exciting experience. We didn’t just want to create a new show, we wanted to create an experience,” Feld says.”From the moments fans come into the show, they are going to be transported to space.”

In line with the productions technological advancements, Feld says Ringling Brothers has developed an app for audiences to engage before and after the shows tour to connect with the crew behind the scenes. The summer is quickly approaching and Ringling Bros can be a good addition to summer activities to tie in one last family outing before sending the kids back to school.