Ringmaster traded in captain's uniform

Tyron McFarlan is the new kid on the block in this edition of the circus. He's traded the rather plain uniform of a captain in the military for the spangle-encrusted outfit worn by the Singing Ringmaster.

Most recently, after spending 13 years in the military, McFarlan was a professional actor in a dinner theater in Rock Island, Ill. Then he heard about the ringmaster auditions and decided maybe it was time to run away and join the circus.

McFarlan headed to Tampa, Fla., only to find that the auditions had already ended, but they let him try out anyway. He had planned to sing two songs but the airline had lost all of his music, "so I just had to wing it."

He sang Stevie Wonder's "Rhythm in the Sky" and, after the audition team asked him to sing something with character, he came up with "Just a Gigolo."

It must have worked because, seven minutes later, he was told he could have the job.

In addition to acting, McFarlan had also been working as a driver's-license examiner for the state of North Carolina. "My supervisor said I couldn't go, but I was getting fed up with the job anyway, so I just walked away," . . . and into the center ring of 'the greatest show on earth.' "

While he's on the road, traveling from city to city on the circus train, his wife and 4-year-old daughter are living in Columbia, S.C. But his family has flown out to see the show about eight times.