Monday, May 21, 2012

Forget Dinosaurs, Fire Breathing Dragons are Alive and Astounding!






Calling it a show “That is really for the child of the 21st century” (Herald Sun), How to Train Your Dragon Live Spectacular dazzles its audience with digital technology analogous to 3D movies.  Inspired by the fun of DreamWorks Animation’s How to Train Your Dragon cinematic feature, director Nigel Jamieson takes this show filled with flying acrobats and cutting-edge puppetry outside of Melbourne and on its global tour.  The acrobats portraying the beloved characters in DreamWork’s film give a dazzling performance matching that of Cirque du Soliel, but its real mastery burns from the 3D projections of the dragons (from Fishlegs, Ruffnuts, Tuffnuts, and Snoutlouts to the unmatchable Nightfury) created and designed by Dan Potra.  These projections impress people with a realistic performance parallel to that of the Dinosaur ride in Animal Kingdom or the Walking with Dinosaurs production, especially when they come to life in battles with enemies or interactions with characters including events like Hiccup riding Toothless!  As if the life-size projections aren’t enough, the vivid and breathtaking scenery landscaping familiar and fantastical Scotland regions (that once housed many Viking villages) will certainly blow audiences away.  Hollywood actor Riley Miner leads the US version of this production as Hiccup in the show traveling across country this year (2012).  He follows the performance of Rarmian Newton, who stars as Hiccup in the original Australian adventure shown in Melbourne.  Actress Gemma Nguyen (in USA) also delivers an unforgettable acrobatic performance as Astrid, the most skilled dragon fighter amongst the Viking teenage trainees, when she literally flies across stage.  According to the Herald Sun, this show sacrifices story and clear diction of dialogue for visual appeal; nonetheless, it provides a magical performance touching the greatest and wildest dreams of the future viewer hoping to personally witness the next level of Broadway.  Rated 4 stars and spicing the stage with larger-than-life digital dragons, How to Train Your Dragon Live Spectacular unveils a theatrical production nobody can afford to miss!             

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