Come and celebrate Ovo, its twenty-fifth Cirque du Soleil production performance written and directed by Deborah Colker, an awardee of the Laurence Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in Dance. It was first performed in 2009 and has since been reworked into a spectacular arena show with new characters, staging, and acrobatics. Ovo is Portuguese and translates as egg. The show’s theme revolves around the birth and life cycle of insects. This production is magical, mysterious, mesmerizing, and just a little bit creepy.
Cirque du Soleil began in the small, quaint, charming town of Baie-Saint-Paul in Quebec, on the northern shore of the Saint Lawrence River. In the early eighties, twenty street performers became a performance group nicknamed by their adoring public Les Encassiers (the stilt walkers) of Baie-Saint-Paul. This crew of circus entertainers also performed as jugglers, firebreathers, dancers, and musicians. Guy Laliberté was one of these buskers. Guy literally ran away from school to join the circus. With this street troupe, he learned to play the accordion, stilt walk, and become a firebreather. In 1984, Guy Laliberté petitioned the Canadian government to finance taking their show on the road to mark the 450th anniversary of Jaque Cartier’s discovery of Canada. With its brilliantly colorful costumes, mystical lighting, and original music, this traveling show was successful throughout the Canadian provinces. Laliberté’s inspiration for the traveling troupe’s name, Cirque du Soleil (Circus of the Sun), came from watching a Hawaiian sunset. He researched the sun’s symbolism of youth, energy, and dynamism, realizing these characteristics perfectly define this company.
In their press release, Cirque du Soleil calls OVO “a headlong rush into a colourful ecosystem teeming with life, where insects work, eat, crawl, flutter, play, fight, and look for love in a non-stop riot and energy of movement. The insects’ home is a world of biodiversity and beauty filled with noisy action moments of quiet emotions.” What makes this impossible glimpse into an insect underworld is the Designer Gringo Cardia’s imagination and inspiration from insect-created nests and colonies. Liz Vandal, OVO’s costume designer, has created vibrantly colored costumes for her butterflies, crickets, and caterpillars inspired by futuristic superhero coats of armor. Vandal also credits Pierre Cardin for the influence of his graphic lines and geometric shapes on her. Japanese designer Issey Miyake gave her the idea to exploit permanent pleating for a certain rigidity to her insect costumes.
There are three main characters: The Ladybug, The Foreigner Fly, and Master Filipo. The ladybug is described as big and strong, full of life, but unaware of her power. She is lonely and looking for love. She is intrigued by the large, strange OVO (egg). The foreigner fly is, of course, in constant buzzing movement. He is overconfident and teeming with misplaced bravado. Master Filipo is the chief of the insect community because he is old and wise. He is well-respected but can be a bit dim-witted. There are a host of other characters, including hard-working ants, a love-sick spider, fleas, beetles, a dragonfly, and the metamorphosis of a butterfly. I was entranced by the cricket’s costumes and their realistic movement. We witnessed amazing, jaw-dropping athleticism feats in this secret, hidden world of insects. The artistry and performances are phenomenal. I firmly believe The Ringling Brothers should relinquish their billing as “The Greatest Show On Earth.” In my opinion, that title should belong to Cirque du Soleil. My favorite acts were the Chinese poles, the tightrope walker, and the contortionist. All the acts were stupendous.
Cirque du Soleil’s appeal is universal. Since 1984, over four hundred million spectators have enjoyed one of their many shows. I hope you are one of them this time around. Cirque has performed in four hundred fifty cities worldwide, eighty-six countries, and on every continent, excluding Antarctica. OVO is headlining in Hoffman Estates at the Now Arena, a conveniently located Chicagoland venue. NOW Arena is an 11,800-seat multi-purpose family entertainment, cultural, and sports center located in Prairie Stone Business Park, 5333 Prairie Stone Parkway in Hoffman Estates, immediately north of the Jane Addams Memorial Tollway (I-90) and west of Illinois Route 59. Seating capacity for the arena ranges from 3,000 to 6,000 for theater shows, 9,400 for football, hockey, lacrosse, and soccer games, 10,000 for basketball games, and 11,800 for concerts. In addition, there are forty-three luxury suites and two lounges. There are 1,000 club seats with a private club. Parking can accommodate 3,200 vehicles, with an additional 1,500 available. It is recommended you arrive early to park to avoid congestion. The only downside to this remarkable evening was the Now Arena not opening its doors at their prescribed time of 6:00 p.m. Seniors and ADA individuals were left shivering in single-digit cold for over 10 minutes. One woman was afraid her oxygen device would freeze. Ticket prices range from $106.00 to $276.00
Photos Courtesy of: Marie-Andrée Lemire and Cirque du Soleil
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Sounds amazing.