Chicago Tribune - Highly Recommended
"...“Ovo” is more family-friendly than most Cirque shows (it rivals “Mystere” in that regard). Kids around me were engrossed. Even young kids — generally a mais non at costly Cirque shows — will have something to watch. The clowning ladybug (Michelle Matlock) talks like one of the Teletubbies and all the color and cocoons combine to create the psychedelic quality one associates with kiddie networks like Sprout. Conversely, if you look to Cirque for sensual foreplay on a date night — a la that famous beautiful flying man of years back — all of these ants, spiders and dragonflies might not help with that, the zesty Samba-influenced score notwithstanding."
Chicago Sun Times - Highly Recommended
"...The production is long — 21/2 hours (including a 30-minute intermission) — and some of the children around me grew restless as the show neared its conclusion. But smiles and wonderment were pretty much on everyone’s faces as the show’s finale, a trampoline rock wall inhabited by a troupe of incredible acrobat “crickets,” sprang to life in frenetic leaps and bounds."
Chicago Reader - Somewhat Recommended
"... But the trademark Cirque fantasy narrative seems tacked-on here. The central romance is trite both in conception and realization, the egg that gives this circus its title is indeterminately used, the insect-world motif is often vague, banal or irrelevant. Though design elements may occasionally make you catch your breath, they never quite take it away."
Chicago Stage Review - Highly Recommended
"...Cirque du Soleil treats this summer to an infestation of the sublime. This hive of happiness is buzzing with brilliance and swarming with spectacular delights! OVO imagines a marvelous microcosm of enchanting insects whose captivating movement makes for entertainment of the highest order."
Time Out Chicago - Recommended
"...The latest Cirque show to pitch its tent outside the United Center may prompt you to ask which came first: the title or the egg? Set in a teeming rainforest society of insects, 2009’s family-friendly OVO takes its name from the giant egg that arrives strapped to the back of a goofy mosquitolike newcomer (Barthélémy Glumineau). Glumineau and the show’s other clown characters, a sassy ladybug (Michelle Matlock) and the putative ringmaster (Simon Charles Bradbury), ogle it, fight over it and make its name a kind of all-purpose mantra in their gibberish speak: “ohhhhhh-vohhhhhh.”"
Chicago Theatre Addict - Highly Recommended
"...Ovo is a family friendly spectacle, filled with color, humor and buggy beauty. They’ve erected a giant tent in the United Center’s parking lot. It’s a huge venue with teensy little seats, so go on a diet before you attend. But the effort is well worth it: from the jaw-dropping aerialist duo in the first act to the bouncing grasshoppers on trampolines that serve as the rousing grand finale, this is one amazing night out. Director Deborah Colker also fits in some stunning transitional moments, including a performer high above the stage who emerges from a cocoon as a butterfly, and flies away. The live band, flanking the back of the organic-inspired stage, keeps the pulse going."
ChicagoCritic - Somewhat Recommended
"...The high flying act was breathtaking and the aerial silk and straps duo were amazing but there was too much contortion and insect-inspired dance for my taste. But, then the audience seemed to enjoy this show more than I did. I liked the trampo-wall act that ended the show. The techno music worked to create the proper atmosphere but, once they add more circus acts and cut the tedious clown bits, OVO will emerge as a terrific show. There was too much slow moments for me. Perhaps I’ve seen too many Cirque Du Soleil shows?"
Chicago Stage and Screen - Highly Recommended
"...Cirque du Soleil’s summer run of “Ovo” here in Chicago is a sure fire hit that the entire family will enjoy. Audience members old and young can find a commanding sense of excitement with this dynamic circus performance. The tickets may be priced a little high but in return you receive a powerful punch of entertainment. “Ovo” has one of the best lighting and sound designs I’ve ever experienced in a live performance such as this and along with some of the most amazing circus stunts in the world I can confidently say that you cannot go wrong with Cirque du Soleil."
Let's Play at ChicagoNow - Recommended
"...This show is as fascinating as bugs get! It captivates as a vibrant, magical spectacle. The only pesty problem for me was the ongoing love story between two bugs. Especially in the second act, the story is lengthy and the clown bug addition doesn’t help. Call me unromantic, but I don’t care if bugs mate. I’m more interested in the ones that are a centipede away from being splat or swat into oblivion. OVO does many amazing things but perhaps the biggest marvel is how it transforms adults into kids! This summer run away to the cirque and find your younger self!"
Around The Town Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...Director Deborah Colker, the first woman to tackle a “Cirque” production moves this show at a smart clip and even has her talented performers prepared for ad-libs should the need arise. And guess what? On opening night there was a glitch in bringing up the net for the flying act ( an amazingly talented Russian group) and the insects managed to keep us entertained while assisting the tech crew in getting the net unravelled. It was a solid cast making the most of a situation- almost as if it had been planned. Perhaps , knowing that these things can and do happen, Ms Colker has rehearsed options. If she did, Bravo! It kept the flow of the two hour plus show intact and made the audience even more aware of the fabulous teamwork that makes these shows as successful as they are."
Chicago Theater Beat - Highly Recommended
"...Newly prosperous in a sixth visit to the United Center parking lot, the blue-and-yellow “big top” chapiteau of the Cirque du Soleil provides a happy home for the insectivorous marvels of Ovo, a show to make you itch with delight. Writer-director Deborah Colker creates a dazzling, inventive fantasy of eight-legged lives aspiring to become circus legends and literally hit the heights. As the first female director for Cirque du Soleil, she also brings a less flamboyant, more nurturing quality to the spectacle: This “colony” is a happy place with less of the precious whimsicality that sometimes made past Cirque offerings a tad precious and arch. These disparate but beautiful bugs work and play together very well."
