Cirque Du Soleil’s Corteo Brings The Funny and The Fantastic In Its Production

With “Corteo,” the latest Cirque Du Soleil production taking camp at the Moda Center from now until March 17th, is it worth going? If you’re a fan of the company’s productions, then the question is almost certainly a “yes.”

As it is with any Cirque Du Soleil show, Corteo keeps audiences from being able to predict what’s coming next – in a good way. If you think you’re going to come into the show and see something you’ve never seen before, you’re probably right. Sure, there are some who’ll tell you that Corteo lacks the usual eccentricities – if not maniacal behaviors – that you might see in other Cirque shows, but by no means should you consider this show tame, or especially haphazard.

If you’re someone that gets vertigo while even watching someone else ascend to dangerous heights, make sure you don’t eat a large meal before the show. A lot of Corteo takes place in the air, including acts in which performers walk upside down on a tightrope while hold a lamp, and people swinging all over the set-up from different things like lights, poles, and anything else that allows them to get around through the air.

But what makes Corteo different, if not atypical to other Cirque Du Soleil shows, is its ample use of humor. After all, the show focuses on Mauro the Italian clown, as he dreams of his funeral. Those dreams include scenes with other circus pals, playing beach-ball with a soccer ball against a human puppet, a midget floating over the crowd thanks to four gigantic balloons, and a slapstick homage to “Romeo and Juliet.” There are even epic pillow fights where the combatants bounce with the hangtime of jumping on a trampoline and the speed like somebody is fast-forwarding the entire ordeal.

One of the best things about Corteo is that the entertainment, wonder, and humor is very fan friendly; in other words, it’s definitely okay – if not recommended – to bring the kids along. Between the eye-catching set design and the impressive feats of the performers, it’ll strike an even bigger sense of amazement in the kids as it would in the more seasoned adults. Think of it is being able to take the kids to a magic show and the circus, all in the same evening and the same venue. Plus, knowing that kids might not have the same attention span and patience as us adults, considering the show is only about two hours long (with a 20-minute intermission), it wraps up before the kids start asking if it’s time to go home yet.

If there’s one criticism of Corteo, it’s that it often tends to be light on story and heavier on spectacle. For all the aerial artists, talented jugglers, and incredibly-trained performers performing near superhuman feats of strength and skill, you’re sometimes left to make the connection of how they tie to the show yourself.

It’s best if you approach the evening with the intention of being wowed by the usual things you’d expect to see from Cirque Du Soleil. If you go in with that sense of enchantment and intrigue, you’ll definitely walk out having those feelings fulfilled.