[dropcap]W[/dropcap]alking with Dinosaurs the Arena Spectacular, based on the award-winning BBC Television Series, features dinosaurs roaming the earth. A special production is coming to The Palace of Auburn Hills for an eight-show engagement from August 6 through 10.
Photo/ Walking with Dinosaurs
Walking with Dinosaurs the Arena Spectacular realistically depicts the dinosaurs’
evolution, featuring scenes of the interactions between dinosaurs, how herbivores were able to fend off their more nimble predators and how carnivorous dinosaurs evolved to walk on two legs.
Changes to the dinosaurs will be showcased in this updated production based on the latest scientific research, including the likely feathering of some species.
This show has been performed for more than eight million people worldwide over 2,000 times in 243 different cities.
Ten species are represented in the show from the 200 million year reign of the dinosaurs, such as the Tyrannosaurs Rex, 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 the dinosaurs is the Brachiosaurus, measuring up to 36 feet tall and 56 feet from nose to tail.
It took a team of 50 people, made up of engineers, fabricators, skin makers, artists, painters and animatronic experts a year to build the production.
The 20 dinosaurs in the show were originally “hatched” by Sonny Tilders, the head of creature design at Creature Technology Company in a Melbourne Docklands workshop
that is big enough to park a Boeing 747 airliner.
“Many of the technologies we are using on Walking with Dinosaurs the Arena Spectacular are borrowed from film,” said Tilders. “The computer software and hardware we have developed is based on the systems used to control animatronic creatures in feature films.”
The puppeteers use ‘voodoo rigs’ to make many of the dinosaurs move. They are miniature versions of the dinosaurs with the same joints and range of movement as their life-sized counterparts. The puppeteer manipulates the voodoo rig and these actions are interpreted by computer and transmitted by radio waves to make the hydraulic cylinders in the actual dinosaur replicate the action, with a driver hidden below the animal, helping to maneuver it around the arena.”
Suited puppeteer specialists inside of the creatures operate five of the smaller dinosaurs.
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 Broadway veteran Scott Faris, the set and projected image design are by Peter England; lighting is by John Rayment, the score was composed by James Brett and Warner Brown wrote the script.
“We take the audience on a journey back in time and show them how the dinosaurs might have actually looked in their prime – huge, sometimes frightening, sometimes comical monsters – that fought for survival every day of their lives,” said Director Scott Faris.
“Our dinosaurs move exactly like they are real – with all the roars, snorts and excitement that go with it. The realism is mind-blowing!”
Tim Haines, creator and producer of the original BBC series, which was seen by a worldwide audience of 700 million, serves as Project Consultant. The series won six Emmy and three BAFTA Awards.
Walking with Dinosaurs the Arena Spectacular was originally produced in Australia by Gerry Ryan, Malcolm Cooke and Jill Bryant and is brought to the world by Global Creatures.
The schedule for Walking with Dinosaurs the Arena Spectacular at The Palace is as
follows:
Wednesday, August 6 at 7 p.m.
Thursday, August 7 at 7 p.m.
Friday, August 8 at 7 p.m.
Saturday, August 9 at 11 a.m., 3 p.m. and 7 p.m.
Sunday, August 10 at 1 p.m. and 5 p.m.
Tickets, priced at $59.50, $49.50, $39.50 and $19.50 are available at Palacenet.com, The Palace and DTE Energy Music Theatre Ticket Stores, as well as at all Ticketmaster locations. Tickets may be also charged by phone to American Express, Discover, Visa and MasterCard by calling 800.745.3000.
More information on Walking with Dinosaurs the Arena Spectacular is available at www.dinosaurlive.com.
