OBA OBA
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The publicity for Oba Oba heralds the show as “the Brazilian extravaganza,” and that’s no lie. Part 1950s movie musical, part folkloric ballet, part ethnomusicological display, and part nightclub revue, Oba Oba is an unabashed exercise in spectacle. With its bare-breasted dancing girls and bare-chested muscle men, its mountains of glitter and chiffon and spandex and Velcro, and even a collection of towering fruit hats, Oba Oba is totally unafraid to wallow in kitschy excess. But there’s plenty of talent here, too, and an unending supply of the charm of Brazilian music.
Musically, too, variety is the name of the game here. Brassy jazz flourishes and a bass-heavy samba-rock beat are juxtaposed with thrilling bursts of rhythm from an onstage battery of hand-held bells, wood blocks, and drums; the integration of music with movement is dazzling, by far the most exciting aspect of the show. The singers display the wonderfully self-effacing virtuosity that is a hallmark of Brazilian music as they vocally dance around the rapid-fire tongue-twisting tunes (Adriana Guimaraes, a chunky girl in a gold vest, makes a particularly strong impression).
