Theater review: With Cirque du Soleil’s ‘Ovo,’ a bug’s life appears to be a good one

By definition, a Cirque du Soleil show is filled with whimsy and magic, comedy and thrills, and more than one moment of “Oh my god he shouldn’t be able to bend like that!”

“Ovo,” the latest Cirque show to make its way to the Spokane Arena, certainly has all of that, artfully set in the world of insects. A sassy ladybug looks for love. A comedic fly buzzes around before finding a home. Spiders slither across the floor and up the wall, and another pedals a unicycle across a slackline. A band of scarabs soars high above the ground, like a trapeze act without the trapezes. (Why worry about wires when you can just throw people, artistically of course, from one platform to another?)

The show moves from one set piece to the other, interspersed with flights of comedy starring our ladybug, the fly – called The Foreigner – and Master Flippo, a leader of the insect community. These characters are funny and sweet, and they bring a sense of joy to the night.

Characters appear and disappear through holes in the stage. Musicians bring their skills to the show, helping set the mood. Then there are the acrobats – performers with an astonishing ability to bend themselves in the craziest of ways, to hurl themselves through the air, to spin upside down while dangled above the stage, to find balance in the most improbable scenarios.

There are so many delightful and awe-inspiring scenes, but my favorite was called “The Wall” toward the end of Act II. Using trampolines and air mats, the performers leap to great heights, and literally walk up walls. It was a remarkable performance.

My companion for the evening, a very active 7-year-old boy, spent the entire show riveted by the scene as it unfolded before us. “How’d they do that, mom?” he said frequently, between peals of laughter and moments of amazement. I did find myself compelled to remind him that he was not, under any circumstances, to try any of the tricks he’s seen on the arena stage. And that, even I had to admit, is the sign of an evening well spent.