photo via https://twitter.com/Cavalia
photo via https://twitter.com/Cavalia

I had a chance to see the opening night of Cavalia’s Odysseo last night and if you’ve been on the fence about buying tickets?, do it. Seriously. Absolutely fantastic. You won’t regret it.

Here’s a couple things that it would have been handy to know going in though.

  1. Parking is going to cost you $5-10. Don’t think you’re being sneaky and park on Wilkes. When we went on opening night the city had been kind enough to give warnings instead of parking tickets but you know that won’t be happening every night. You can pre-buy parking for $8 here, otherwise you’re paying $10 day of or $5 if you pay a nearby business to park in their lot.
  2. If you’re worried about being cold because it’s in a tent, don’t. I wore a giant burka-like turtleneck, tunic sweater and I was melting. That tent is so well insulated it’s just like being at a show at Centennial Hall. As far as dress code goes, it’s a lot like shows there too – some people were dressed up to the nines and some were in jeans. Wear what you would normally wear to the theatre.
  3. If you’re sitting in the front row, be prepared to get a little bit wet. Not like SeaWorld wet or anything, but there’s definitely some splash back. Show your watermarks with pride and brag that you could see every detail of those beautiful horses and dancers.

It’s an amazing show. I was never horse crazy as a little girl so I’ll admit to going with very low expectations. I wasn’t sure what to expect.

Have you ever read a romance novel and the talk about the gypsies coming to town and performing a show with dancing, horse tricks and acrobatics? This is what Odysseo made me think of, except with modern day technology, a beautiful dreamscape and the romance of Celtic fairyland and African savannas. It blew me away.

The one line I kept saying, and hearing everyone around me saying was, “Oh my god!” Whether it was a crazy acrobatic feet, some insane horse trick or just absolute amazement at the stage and how it managed to evolve, the whole audience was just constantly being impressed.

And if you do have a horse crazy little one at home, definitely take them. This will blow their mind!

W