The Cirque – Homage to Rock and Belles Oreilles | RBO in crescendo

Cirque du Soleil’s tribute to Rock et Belles Oreilles (RBO) takes a little too long to get off the ground, but once it does, the party “pogne”, as the famous comedy group sings.

It must be said that the colorful, playful and delirious universe of RBO lends itself wonderfully well to the circus. The songs, the costumes, the overflowing imagination… The alliance is natural. But for the irreverent aspect, that still needs work.

Confession before going any further: the last time we went to Trois-Rivières to applaud a Cirque du Soleil show was in 2018 for Just a little nighthats off to Colocs. We did the same in 2015 for Beau Dommage. And that’s it.

In short, our eye is not expert, but it is not jaded either, something that can happen when we watch, year after year, productions of the same series.

Waiting for…

Directed by Jean-Guy Legault, a regular at the “tribute” shows offered at the Cogeco Amphitheatre (Robert Charlebois, Luc Plamondon, Les Cowboys Fringants), The Cirque – Tribute to Rock and Belles Oreilles starts off light in… circus.

There are four acrobats on rollerblades on I Want to Pogne in opening, but we have to wait Stop drinking (Married to Talk About It from Belgazou, a good flash) to hear the first “oh!” and “ah!” from the spectators, their eyes raised to the ceiling, courtesy of the tandem of acrobats at the top of the swinging masts.

The next strong reaction from the audience will be reserved for the two couples of acrobats on aerial straps, to the tune of Wild fire of lovejust before the intermission. The rest of the tableaux in the first act feel like interludes while we wait for the real, punchy numbers that get our pulse racing.

The fake Michael Bolton (long blond mane required) managed to surprise a portion of the audience by juggling balls using only his mouth on Erotic-uglybut otherwise it was a lot of dancing sketches, during which the energy inevitably dropped.

The Circus also brings back several iconic characters from the comedy group, such as Ringo Rinfret, the “dou-dou-dou-dou” extraterrestrial originally played by Yves P. Pelletier, Chef Groleau and Monsieur Caron.

Disappointment: the rereading of the famous Budding geniusesopposing the Saint-Jean-de-Bosco and Entrailles-les-Oies schools, which left us hungry for more, due to the lack of responses as scathing as the original.

This is perhaps the show’s biggest flaw. The circus brilliantly salutes several facets of the group, but for its impertinent and cheeky side, it often misses the mark. Some “provocative” jokes generate laughter; others, less so. Not everyone can be an RBO.

Successful marriage

The second part seems more accomplished. The humor-circus mix works at full speed during the juggling act commented on by Madame Brossard, and in the Icarian games performed by four artists disguised as members of the Slomeau family. Loud and deserved applause.

Speaking of cheers, the first standing ovation came during the hand-to-hand number, which could be described as head-to-head, given the acrobats’ single point of contact. Reserved for closing on Hello policethe wheel of death also proved to be a highlight of the show. We weren’t the only ones holding our breath as we watched the pair of bandits defy gravity.

Songs that sound

Another positive point is that even when the action on stage lacks a wow factor, the songs make up for it. It hit us three-quarters of the way through the show: RBO’s old hits have aged really well. Yes, the new arrangements by Alex McMahon, the show’s musical director, have something to do with it. The musician and director has given the songs a modern touch, without denying their original era: the flashy 1980s.

But if the band’s old hits still resonate today, it’s first and foremost because they offer catchy pop melodies. The kind of super catchy choruses that, 40 years later, still hit the mark. We salute Patrice Dubuc, Gaëtan Essiambre, Jocelyn Therrien and other architects behind these verses of (Rock et Belles) oreilles.

The Cirque – Tribute to Rock and Belles Oreilles is presented at the Cogeco Amphitheatre in Trois-Rivières until August 17.