This show has T-Rex appeal!
An extravagant new show inspired by the beloved movie “Jurassic Park” will transform Barclays Center into a prehistoric playground from Feb. 20 to 23. “Jurassic World Live” introduces a new story set in the Jurassic cinematic universe, and will feature more than 20 life-size dinosaur puppets, according to the show’s tour coordinator.
“The T-Rex is 42 feet long,” said Adrien Baez. “Imagine the size of a school bus — that’s her size.”
The story, which takes place between the first and second “Jurassic World” movies, stars a team of scientists trying to save Jeanie, the world’s smartest troodon, from a group of evil conspirators who want to use her as a weapon.
The performance will use projections and scenery to reproduce the jungles of Isla Nublar, Jurassic World’s home base, inside the sports arena. It will also feature a rich diversity of dinosaurs who look just like their on-screen counterparts, including Blue the Velociraptor, the Tyrannosaurus Rex, a triceratops, and several flying pteranodons, Baez said.
Some dinosaurs will be played by actors carrying 120-pound costumes, while others are fully animatronic, controlled remotely by puppeteers who determine their movement, expressions, and breathing from the sidelines. Many dinos are so big that the tour company has to employ dozens of trucks to move them from city to city, Baez said.
“The T-Rex we have to transport in two trucks that are used to transport Nascar cars,” he explained. “It takes two days to load the dinosaurs.”
The dinosaurs are not only accurate to their antediluvian originals, but they also reflect details from the first movie. The T-Rex puppet, for example, still has injuries from her battle with the Indominus Rex in “Jurassic World,” Baez noted.
“She even has scratch marks from that fight,” he said.
The enormous thunder lizards are a hit with kids, but the live tour has something for everyone, said Baez, including genuinely touching moments between Jeanie the dinosaur and her creator.
“It has action, it has a very cool storyline, it has dinosaurs,” he said. “There’s that connection between Jeannie and Dr. Kate Walker, and you’re at the edge of your seat tearing up.”
“Jurassic World Live” at Barclays Center [620 Atlantic Ave. at Flatbush Avenue in Prospect Heights, (917) 618–6100, www.barclayscenter.com]. Feb. 20 at 7 pm; Feb. 21–22 at 11 am, 3 pm, and 7 pm; and Feb. 23 at noon and 4 pm. $15–$100.
