Brace yourself for Volta:
30 years ago, Cirque du Soleil came to Chicago for the first time with its show Cirque Réinventé; the love affair between Chicagoans and the Canadian company is still going quite strong in 2019 with Volta, the company’s 25th production. There’s nothing quite like a big top show, and Cirque remains firmly unmatched in terms of filling every inch of this kind of gargantuan space with energy and jaw-dropping talent. (Cirque’s tent, situated right outside of Soldier Field, can seat more than 2,500 people!)
The main character, as it were (since there are oh-so many story arcs and characters that one would be hard-pressed to choose a “main” one), is a young man named Waz and his absolute killer audition on a widely televised talent show. Soon, however, it comes out that his talents aren’t the only unusual things about Waz; he also happens to have blue feathers for hair.
What ensues is a search for identity and acceptance through the medium of street sports and some cheerfully “outsider” superstars. Ela, a wildly clad roller girl, helps inspire him along the way, as do some downright insane athletes as they fling themselves from the trampowall, suspend and fly from the ceiling, do BMX bike tricks so intense you’ll be fairly certain you’re watching animation and not real life and, in the case of the hair suspension artist, completely defy gravity. Video montages are presented as flashbacks so lovely you may just find yourself wanting to call your Mama, and the high intensity action is broken up by welcomed clowning and physical comedy. (Here’s a post-show dare: Try to refrain from answering everything without a dramatic “Wowwww” a lá the exuberant game show host Mr. Wow.)
Photo credit: Matt Beard
The physical acts aren’t the only ones soaring; the music, composed by Anthony Gonzalez of M83, is an evocative soundtrack, especially as performed by a duo of ethereal- and impressive- vocalists.
The team at Cirque du Soleil has always been exceptional at mood-setting via powerful themes, and Volta brings a welcomed message of putting down the phone and living up to your potential.
(And maybe to pack a pair of kneepads, just in case.)
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If you go:
Runs through July 6th, 2019
in the Big Top at Soldier Field, South Parking Lot, Chicago
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