Review: CIRQUE DU SOLEIL-OVO at Giant Center

Cirque du Soleil makes their spectacular return to the Hershey Giant Center with their production of Ovo this week.  Ovo can best be described as an insect based circus show. There were performers festively dressed as ants, bees, spiders, beetles and more doing all sorts of amazing acrobatic stunts for the appreciative audience.

Many of the acts brought to mind what the infamous Spider-Man musical had the potential to be.  There were dazzling flips, aerial stunts, and (my favorite) giant trampolines that propelled performers straight up a two story wall.

There wasn’t a complex story associated with this show, more like a series of acts based around a bug theme. This was probably a good choice, since the show did not have any dialogue.  Events unfolded with the help of music accompaniment or through characters buzzing, chirping, or emoting some sort of bug gibberish. My favorite among the recurring characters was a clown who reminded me of a cross between Danny DeVito and a beetle. 

Sets and costumes were top-notch.  The performance space is situated in a way that suggests intimacy with the audience.  It was designed so that there really wasn’t a bad seat in the house.