'Dinosaurs' coming to the Q-C
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By David Burke | Thursday, December 13, 2007 |
VIDEO: Walking with Dinosaurs
Behind-the-scenes look at the upcoming dinosaur event.…
Watch Video
They’re more than 120 million years old, have a larger-than-life reputation and a tremendous following, and they will be invading the i wireless Center in Moline for seven performances during early March.
No, it’s not the Rolling Stones.
It’s “Walking With Dinosaurs: The Live Experience,” a show in which the prehistoric beasts — one of which is 45 feet tall and 75 feet long — come to life through animatronics.
“It’s like nothing we’ve ever had here before,” arena executive director Scott Mullen said Wednesday in announcing the performances scheduled between March 5 and 9.
The $20 million show took six years to create and is an extension of a BBC television series of the same name. Fifteen species of dinosaurs from
10 geologic periods — from the triassic (208 to 245 million years ago) to the cretaceous (85 to 65 million years ago), when the tyrannosaurus rex ruled — will be featured in the show, which is divided into two
40-minute acts.
“Dinosaurs” began touring in July and has broken attendance records at some of the 20 arenas where it has played since then, Mullen said.
Before the March performances, the dinosaurs will set down at the i wireless Center for a week of repairs and rehearsals before beginning the spring leg of the tour.
Bringing “Dinosaurs” to the Quad-Cities is a major endeavor, Mullen said.
The equipment for the show alone takes 27 semi-truck trailers. Even the biggest touring concerts top out at 20 trucks, he added.
Scott Faris, who directs the show, said the performance is as educational as it is entertaining.
“It’s a family show, not just a kids show. It’s not played down to children,” he said by telephone while the announcement was made at the downtown Moline arena.
Mullen said the dinosaurs will take up all of the arena floor, with 5,000 to 6,000 seats available for each performance.
Every seat will provide a different perspective, he said.
“In a building like this, it’s going to take up a lot of room. Everybody’s going to get really close,” Mullen added.
The size of the dinosaurs is in sharp contrast to seeing one human performer far away from the so-called nosebleed seats, Faris said.
“The people in the upper tier are going to be able to look at them in the eyeball,” he said.
IF YOU GO
What: “Walking With Dinosaurs: The Live Experience”
When: 7 p.m. Wednesday through Friday, March 5-7; 11 a.m., 3 and 7 p.m. Saturday, March 8; 1 p.m. Sunday, March 9
Where: i wireless Center, Moline
How much: $67.50, $50, $42.50 and $30; tickets will go on sale beginning at 10 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 15, at TicketMaster outlets, including the i wireless
Center box office, by telephone at (563) 326-1111 and at ticketmaster.com
on the Web.
Information: (309) 764-2000 or iwirelesscenter.com
Also on the Web: dinosaurlive.com
David Burke can be contacted at
(563) 383-2400 or dburke@qctimes.com. Comment on this story at qctimes.com.
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