Lisa Denton and Barry Courter
BARRY COURTER: Lisa, do you still have the trapeze swing in your living room at home? I never actually saw it, of course, but I've heard the wild stories.
LISA DENTON: It wasn't in the living room - and that's all we need to say about that. Although I did try it out on the porch once. Luckily, I thought to put one of those little trampolines underneath, just in case I slipped. Which was good thinking. You'd be surprised how far you can bounce on one of those things when you fall from a trapeze. I landed so far out in the yard, I checked my mail and brought in the trash can before I came in.
BARRY: You are a good neighbor, keeping everyone entertained with your antics.
LISA: State Farm's got nothing on me.
BARRY: Obviously this comes up because Cirque du Soleil comes to town this week. They'll be doing "Ovo" shows Wednesday through Sunday at McKenzie Arena with two shows on Saturday and Sunday.
I got to speak with the artistic director and one of the crickets - all the characters are insects - and I was sort of surprised to learn that all the cast members rehearse their parts daily. I would have thought that the shows were physical enough, but in order to stay fit and keep everything perfectly in sync, they practice all the time.
LISA: Well, I think my experience shows the value of that. I wouldn't need the trampoline if I spent more time on the trapeze.
BARRY: That's true, but having one here might be distracting to some, I should think.
LISA: This is the first time Cirque has come to Chattanooga, but I'm sure there are area residents who have seen the Las Vegas productions or one of the tours in neighboring cities. It's known as a contemporary circus, with no performing animals, and it's very theatrical.
In "Ovo," the message is to be accepting of differences, told from the point of a view of an odd, quirky insect and the ladybug he's attracted to. From what I've heard, "Ovo" might even make mosquitoes, cockroaches and fleas less despicable.
BARRY: Maybe, but you can put them in cute costumes and have them fly through the air all you want, but there is nothing cuddly about a cockroach.
LISA: Agreed.
I also want to give a shout-out to Helen Mirren. She's not coming to town, but "The Audience," a play that won her a Tony Award for her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth II, will be shown Tuesday night at East Ridge 18. This is the original London West End production that was taped for big-screen broadcast by Fathom Events.
Fathom also has the 1968 version of "Planet of the Apes" showing locally Sunday and "Batman: The Killing Joke" on July 25 (with an encore July 27).
The latter film, based on a 1988 graphic novel, was supposed to go straight to video, but it will get a "one-night-only" release (if you don't count the encore) in a few hundred theaters nationwide. It stars Mark Hamill as the Joker, a far cry from Luke Skywalker, but he's been doing the voice of the Joker in "Batman: The Animated Series" and Batman video games since the early '90s.
BARRY: And the Chattanooga Girls Rock Camp Showcase is Saturday at 1 p.m. at Revelry Room. It is, as the name suggests, a camp where girls can go to learn to rock, and not just by playing guitar or singing. They also learn about the music industry from all angles. Pretty cool.
Get event details every Thursday in ChattanoogaNow or online anytime at www.ChattanoogaNow.com.
Contact Barry Courter at bcourter@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6354. Contact Lisa Denton at ldenton@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6281.