Photo by Vlad Lorenzo. OVO by Cirque du Soleil.
Presented by Cirque du Soleil
Written, Directed, and Choreographed by Deborah Colker
Director of Creation: Chantal Tremblay
Costumes by Liz Vandal
Composed and music directed by Berna Ceppas
Makeup design by Julie Bégin
Acrobatic performance design by Philippe Aubertin
Rigging and acrobatic equipment designed by Fred Gérard
Set and props designed by Gringo Cardi
Sound design by Jonathan Deans
Lighting designed by Éric Champoux
Jul 19-28, 2024
The Agganis Arena
925 Commonwealth Ave
Boston, MA 02215
Critique by Kitty Drexel
BOSTON — OVO currently playing at the BU’s Agganis Arena is about anthropomorphized bugs falling in love, playing, and working. It features Cirque du Soleil’s famous feats of human athletic and artistic ingenuity. This production runs approximately two hours. A time that is slightly shorter than the touring productions previously housed at Suffolk Downs.
Ovo means “egg” in Portuguese (and many other languages) from the Latin “ovum.” Cirque du Soleil’s references to Portuguese culture end there. Many things hatch from eggs: birds, lizards, amphibians, rare marsupials. OVO is about insects. Temper your purchasing accordingly.
From the OVO website: “From mighty crickets bouncing off trampolines to a hypnotic spider contorting inside her web, OVO exudes extraordinary showmanship to tickle the imagination… Comprised of 100 people from 25 different countries, including 52 artists, OVO brings to the stage high-level acrobatic acts redefining the limits of the human body.” These epic feats are performed to a fantastical bossa nova, samba, and electro-music score by Berna Ceppas.
Between the acrobatic and contortionist acts, there is a hetero-normative buggy romance storyline between three bugs: a confident red ladybug, a pointy, blue egg-toting mosquito-type creature, and a rainbow scarab beetle who aims to rehome the egg. The mosquito falls head over heels in love with the ladybug at first sight. The scarab only has eyes for the mosquito’s giant egg.
Did you know all ladybugs are called ladybugs regardless of their sex? They are beetles in the Coccinellidae family and eat garden pests. Both boy and girl ladybugs are called ladybugs. Gal ladybugs are more butch; they are larger and stronger than the boys. The boy bugs are as pretty as the gals and serve the same functions. They do not conform to human standards of gender identity or expression. In OVO, the ladybug’s gender is never explicitly stated. So while conservative types may be duped into thinking OVO’s romantic subplot is “family-friendly,” our queer community can relax into the insect world’s inherently subversive nature.
OVO is at the Agganis Area. BU’s Agganis Arena feels less intimate than Suffolk Downs. Seats feel farther away from the stage because the show isn’t cast onto large screens on either side of the stage during like it would be at Suffolk Downs. In actuality, despite how it feels, an Agganis Arena audience is much closer to the stage. We were able to see the circus work with our naked eyes from stadium seating without magnification. Patrons wishing for a more intimate experience may purchase floor seating. Or, you could bring fancypants opera glasses to catch all of the minute details.
Speaking of minute details: the costumes by Liz Vandal are both breathtakingly beautiful and durable. The below video from the OVO costume shop shows us the work that goes into creating and maintaining them. Even from far away, the bold costume and sweat-proof makeup designs by Julie Bégin invite the audience into the show’s microcosm.
OVO will differ by performance. Cirque du Soleil’s artistry requires a fully functioning human mind and body working at peak performance during a performance. These artists require proper recuperation after such amazing feats. A regular rotation of acts (in theory) allows artists to take the time they need to prepare for the next performance. Not all audiences will see the same show. Think of it as couture theatre tailored daily for each audience.
