Cirque du Soleil’s OVO Brings the Antics and Aerial Feats of a Fantasy Insect World to Capital One Arena
It’s what we’ve come to love from Canada’s greatest artistic circus and its troupe of highly athletic, comedic and balletic performers.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Presenting in downtown DC’s Capital One Arena is Cirque du Soleil’s fantastical production of OVO.
For the entomologists among us, and I count myself as an insect enthusiast, this is a naturalist’s imagination gone wild. A colony of crickets, caterpillars, spiders (Was that a tarantula? Did I spy a scarab?), fluttering butterflies, industrious leaf-cutter ants and one sexy, sassy ladybug whose scaly paramour (aptly known as The Foreigner), finds new ways to entice her. Clowns and acrobats, strolling musicians and a horde of gobsmacking, acid-green, leotard-clad male tumblers who synchronize their movements while leaping off a 40-foot rock climbing wall. They are all attended by a comic ringmaster known as Master Flipo.
As expected with Cirque’s mind-expanding crew of artists, there are trapezists performing unimaginable feats of strength and agility high above the stage while catching and throwing a lithe female whose trust level must be dialed up to Mach 1.
Stand out artists include a woman who rises high above the stage suspended by a single cable attached only to her hair, a contortionist whose body twists elegantly into unimaginable pretzel shapes, an intertwined aerial pas de deux as romantic as it is mesmerizing in its precision, a spiderman encased in his web – spinning and weaving while hanging from high above the rafters.
To this visual feast is a mixture of electronika, bug chattering (It’s their way of communicating.), roving musicians and goofy clowns who engage the audience in their kooky antics and playful high jinks.
It’s what we’ve come to love from Canada’s greatest artistic circus and its troupe of highly athletic, comedic and balletic performers.
Now will someone please tell me how the monolithic, giant glowing egg (OVO) fits into the story? No matter. Its pulsing presence is a metaphor for life’s mysteries. And we all need to keep our imaginations firing on all cylinders.
Written, Directed and Choreographed by Deborah Colker; Costumes by Liz Vandal; Set and Props Design by Gringo Caria; Acrobatic Performance Design by Phillippe Aubertin; Makeup Design by Julie Bégin; Composed by Berna Ceppas.
Highly recommended for all ages.
Through September 15th at Capital One Arena, 601 F Street, NW, Washington, DC. For tickets and information visit www.CirqueduSoleil.com.
