Cirque du Soleil’s “Ovo” an unreal visual, aerial array for Now Arena and the entire family

Photos provided by Marie-Andrée Lemire

When Cirque du Soleil created “Ovo” as its 25th production to mark a silver anniversary, organizers made sure it was extra astonishing, resulting in 4,000 or so performances to date all around the globe.

The Now Arena in Hoffman Estates is the Canadian company’s latest home after already lighting up Las Vegas for multiple times through Sunday, February 16, where on opening night, the semi-circle configuration of the gigantic stage ensured the endless action was evenly distributed and always incredible.

With a title taken from the Portuguese word for “egg,” the program signifies life’s natural cycle, particularly the birth of numerous insects decked out in lovingly exaggerated costumes.

The Ladybug, The Voyager and Master Flipo lead a cast of 53 awe-inspiring performers and a crew of nearly as many across several nature-inspired scenes, three of which are entirely new since resuming post-pandemic.

Front half highlights include a troupe of foot-juggling ants, a hand-balancing dragonfly, a contorting cocoon and a pair of butterflies flying gracefully in the air.

Following an intermission, the marvels continue via a stunning slinky-like creation, a tightrope-styled spider web stunt, crickets who can conquer the unimaginable bouncing between a trampoline and climbing wall, plus a lavish banquet finale when each of the characters come together over a blast of confetti.

It’s all set to the alluring rhythms of composer Berna Ceppas, combining bits of bossa nova, samba, funk and electronic music, interspersed with samples of actual creatures and accented by a seven-piece band.

The results are a symbiotic spectacular that need to be personally seen and heard in order to be fully believed, which by the end of almost two-hours, could be described as nothing less an unreal visual and aerial array for the entire family.