Oak Park Newspaper

★★★★
"Beaux et magnifiques art, a wonderful time filled with
audio visual delights surrounding kinetic wonders and comedy"
Suburban Journals of Chicago Inc.

review by Ed Vincent

Olympic quality acrobatics and skill overflowing the stage with beautiful costumes and the senses are soothed and excited by the comedy and inventive music.

We have seen Cirque du Soleil shows all around the country and each is unique, always a new look, a different vision and this new show in Chicago is delightful with a new level of skill and talent in areas that could hardly be excelled without the use of a computer on film.

In the beginning, groups of costumed performers enter into the realm of the audience and search for loose insects, bugs with bad behavior. The hunters are hooded and screened and equipped with cages should they find an unwanted visitor.

The music and sound effects tie the drama and action together well and the show is washed in class and charm. The ant jugglers are fantastic, their corn cob and sliced kiwi maneuvers are only topped by their juggling of themselves along with the objects at hand.

The female contortionists are not only bend able wizards. but exotic beauties to capture the eyes of the audience. Spiderman on the slackwire working at varied heights while balancing everything on one hand, a bicycle upside down, or jousting with gravity, is a one of a kind adventure to see.

The show has a half hour intermission and the comfort in the large tent regardless of the weather outside is comfortable. This is a tremendous show, but I would suggest trying to get seats close to the front of the stage if possible.

This is a highly recommended event.

CIRQUE DU SOLEIL RETURNS TO CHICAGO WITH A NEW BIG TOP PRODUCTION!
OVO

IT ALL STARTED TODAY WITH THE SET-UP OF THE GRAND CHAPITEAU AND THE CIRQUE DU SOLEIL VILLAGE

Under the blue-and-yellow
Grand Chapiteau at United Center (Lot K)

The first visible sign of the return of Cirque du Soleil and its live production OVO in Chicago is the raising of its trademark blue-and-yellow Grand Chapiteau and the Cirque du Soleil village. The event took place this afternoon at United Center (Lot K) where a team of 60-plus men and women hoisted more than 100 steel poles from the ground up.

A few technical facts about the Grand Chapiteau and the Cirque du Soleil Village:

The Grand Chapiteau stands 66 feet high and is 167 feet in diameter.

550 pegs are required to hold the Grand Chapiteau firmly to the 4,800 square feet of asphalt and the 4 masts stand at 80 feet tall each.

The Grand Chapiteau can accommodate more than 2,600 people.

The entire site set-up includes installation of entrance, hospitality and rehearsal tents, box office, administrative offices and kitchen.

The Grand Chapiteau, the Tapis Rouge and Artistic tents are all climate controlled with air conditioning in warm seasons or heating for colder seasons.

OVO travels via 61 trailers carrying more than 1,000 tons of equipment for the tour.

Additional performances

Final three weeks of performances has been announced and are on sale for Cirque Club Members. OVO will now be in town from June 29 through August 21 inclusively. Tickets for all shows are now available as of through http://www.cirquedusoleil.com/ovo or by phone at 1-800-450-1480.

Become a Cirque Club Member is simple and free! Registration is quick and simple at cirqueclub.com. Advantages for Cirque Club members include advanced access to the best seats under the Grand Chapiteau, ticket upgrades, partner promotions and insider information on the world of Cirque du Soleil.

Family 4 Packs are available for the following performances: Tuesday through Thursday, Friday 4 and 8 p.m. and Sunday 1 and 5 p.m. These include 2 adult and 2 child tickets starting at $150 plus applicable charges.

Visit http://www.cirquedusoleil.com/ovo for more info.

Crickets, Ants, and roped ballet.......

Posing Crickets with the Egg....

Box office

As part of the Cirque du Soleil village, a box office will be set up at the front of the Grand Chapiteau. As of Wednesday, June 29, between 5:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m., tickets for OVO may be purchased in person.

Regular box office hours starts 2 hours prior to show time and runs 30 minutes after the beginning of the show. It is closed on Mondays.

Performance schedule: Tuesdays through Thursdays at 8 p.m.; Fridays and Saturdays at 4 p.m. and 8 p.m.; Sundays at 1 p.m. and 5 p.m.; and dark on Mondays. Exceptions: No 4 p.m. performance on Friday July 1st; 4 p.m. performance on Thursday July 21; dark on Tuesday July 19.

The work of the Dragonfly is phenomenal.

Sponsors

Cirque du Soleil gratefully acknowledges iShares®, Presenting Sponsor of the US Tour of OVO as well as Infiniti, CGI, XEROX, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, Sun Life Financial and American Express as the Official Sponsors.