|
News & Information
|
For 200 million years the Dinosaurs ruled the earth
Now, they're back roaming the arenas of America
in an extraordinary new theatrical production
Walking with Dinosaurs - the Arena Spectacular
Based on the award-winning BBC Television Series
Comes to Verizon Center for eight performances
only
Wednesday, September 16 to Sunday, September 20
Tickets are on sale now!
Dinosaurs once again roam the earth in a spectacular theatrical
arena show, WALKING WITH DINOSAURS - The Arena Spectacular,
based on the award-winning BBC Television Series. WALKING WITH DINOSAURS
- The Arena Spectacular is now on tour in North America and will
perform eight performances at Verizon Center from Wednesday, September
16 through Sunday, September 20.
More than two million Americans have already seen the production
since it opened in July 2007.
Tickets will go on sale Saturday, June 20 at 10:00 a.m. through
all Ticketmaster outlets including the Verizon Center box office,
online at www.ticketmaster.com or via Phonecharge at 202-397-SEAT,
703-573-SEAT or 410-547-SEAT. For groups, please call 202-661-5061.
The show originated in Australia, where after years of planning,
WALKING WITH DINOSAURS came to life at Sydney's Acer Arena in January
2007. The show proved itself such a sensation, that the North American
tour was fast-tracked and began a short three months after completing
its sold out engagements in Australia.
WALKING WITH DINOSAURS - The Arena Spectacular is brought to North
America by The Creature Production Company, headed by CEO Carmen
Pavlovic. Pavlovic said, "The BBC Series was a brilliant blend
of special effects, escapism, excitement and information. Our show
brings together all of that, plus something extra - it's live! In
this production, fifteen roaring, snarling "live" dinosaurs
mesmerize the audience - and are as awe-inspiring as when they first
walked on earth."
Pavlovic continued, "The dinosaurs are life-size, making the
show so immense, it could only fit in arenas. It's a $20 million
arena spectacle of unprecedented size and quality, which captivates
young and old alike. With Walking with Dinosaurs, we really believe
we have created a new genre in entertainment and we hope to continue
to bring new product to arenas for years to come."
WALKING WITH DINOSAURS - The Arena Spectacular has sold out performances
and broken records in arenas all over America - generating $100
million in ticket sales to date. It has been seen on "The Today
Show," Good Morning America," "Live with Regis and
Kelly," and has been written about in Newsweek, The New York
Times, the Christian Science Monitor and the Wall Street Journal.
It was the subject of a Discovery Channel "Really Big Things"
episode and a video clue category on "Jeopardy".
The production has won the THEA Award for Outstanding Achievement
in Touring Event (2007) and the Billboard Touring Award for Creative
Content (2008) as well as the Pollstar Concert Industry Award for
Most Creative Stage Production (2009). The THEAs recognize excellence
in
the creation of compelling educational, historical, and entertainment
projects; and both the
Billboard Touring Award and the Pollstar Concert Industry Award
recognize a show or tour that creatively expands what is offered
on the road.
Artistic Director William May developed the creative vision of
the show based on an original idea by entrepreneur Bruce Mactaggart
to create an arena version of the Walking with Dinosaurs television
series.
A talented and experienced team of creative artists came together
to produce WALKING WITH DINOSAURS - The Arena Spectacular. The show
is directed by Scott Faris, a Broadway veteran who has worked side
by side with Harold Prince, Trevor Nunn, Michael Blakemore, Gene
Saks, John Caird, Tommy Tune and Jerry Zaks. The creatures are designed
and built by Sonny Tilders; the set and projected image design are
by Peter England; the show's lighting is by John Rayment, the score
is composed by James Brett; and Warner Brown wrote the script.
Tim Haines, creator and producer of the original BBC series, which
was seen by a worldwide audience of 700 million, serves as Project
Consultant to WALKING WITH DINOSAURS - The Arena Spectacular. The
series won six Emmy's and three BAFTA Awards.
Ten species are represented from the entire 200 million year reign
of the dinosaurs. The show includes the Tyrannosaurus Rex, the terror
of the ancient terrain, as well as the Plateosaurus and Liliensternus
from the Triassic period, the Stegosaurus and Allosaurus from the
Jurassic period, and Torosaurus and Utahraptor from the Cretaceous
period. The largest of them, the Brachiosaurus, is 36 feet tall,
and 56 feet from nose to tail. It took a team of 50 - including
engineers, fabricators, skin makers, artists and painters, and animatronics
experts - a year to build the original production.
The show depicts the dinosaurs' evolution, complete with the climatic
and tectonic changes that took place, which led to the demise of
many species. With cinematic realism, WALKING WITH DINOSAURS has
scenes of the interactions between dinosaurs, and the audience sees
how carnivorous dinosaurs evolved to walk on two legs, and how the
herbivores fended off their more agile predators.
The history of the world is played out with the splitting of the
earth's continents, and the transition from the arid desert of the
Triassic period is given over to the lush green prairies and forces
of the later Jurassic. Oceans form, volcanoes erupt, a forest catches
fire - all leading to the impact of the massive comet, which struck
the earth, and forced the extinction of the dinosaurs.
It took 50 artists and technicians one year to build the show.
The 15 dinosaurs were originally "hatched" by Tilders,
the head of creature design, in a Melbourne Docklands workshop big
enough to park a 747. For the North American tour, the only building
large enough to house rehearsals for the dinosaurs - some as large
as 36 ft tall by 56 ft long, was the Greater Tacoma Convention and
Trade Center.
Sonny Tilders, who designed and built the creatures has been, for
the past decade, one of the major creative forces of the high-tech
world of animatronic puppetry for film and television. He was one
of the lead animatronics engineers for Jim Henson's Creature workshop
on the Farscape series, followed by work on Star Wars: Episode III
- Revenge of the Sith, Peter Pan, Ghost Rider and The Chronicles
of Narnia.
Ticket Information: Tickets for Walking with Dinosaurs -
the Arena Spectacular range from $19.50 to $65.00 (plus applicable
service charges) and are on sale now. Shows are at 7:00 p.m. on
September 16-18, 11:00 a.m., 3:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. on September
19 and 1:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. on September 20. Tickets are available
through all Ticketmaster outlets including the Verizon Center box
office, online at www.ticketmaster.com or via Phonecharge at 202-397-SEAT,
703-573-SEAT or 410-547-SEAT. Children 2 years and older require
a ticket. Group sales are available by calling 202-661-5061.
Accessible seating is available for patrons with disabilities by
calling 202-661-5065. For more information, please visit www.dinosaurlive.com.
|
