HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON Tour Flies Into Milwaukee!

Following critically acclaimed engagements in Australia, New Zealand, and the United States, DREAMWORKS' HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON LIVE SPECTACULAR continues to wow audiences across the US, setting a new standard for live entertainment.

Here's what critic Michael Grossberg of the Columbus Dispatch wrote about the show, which just played the Schottenstein Center this past weekend:

"Leavened with comedy and consistent thrills, the two-act production expertly adapts the popular 2010 3D Dreamworks Animation film based on the 2003 book. In some ways, the more dramatic fight, flight and chase sequences seem even more effective onstage because of the nearly seamless way the creative team blends the live action with giant cinematic projections on a large rear screen and larger football-field floor."

"Impressive effects and epic staging ensure that family audiences get their money's worth"

"Kids of all ages were enraptured by dragons that fly, belch smoke, spout flames and purr with contentment when petted."

"The epic fantasia, in which the dragons just keep getting bigger until a true monster appears near the end, blends technology, cinema, theater, dance, music, pyrotechnics and much more . . . no one has attempted such a complex fusion of elements before in a show, especially on tour."

DREAMWORKS' HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON LIVE SPECTACULAR will celebrate the 150th performance of its world tour on Saturday, October 27th in Milwaukee, Wisconsin at the Bradley Center.

Upcoming dates:
2012
October 25-28 Milwaukee, WI Bradley Center
November 1-4 Saskatoon, SK Credit Union Centre
November 22-25 Winnipeg, MB MTS Centre
December 6-9 Tacoma, WA Tacoma Dome
December 19-22 Fresno, CA Save Mart Center
December 26-30 San Jose, CA HP Pavilion at San Jose

2013
January 3-6 Sacramento, CA Powerbalance Pavilion
January 10-13 Salt Lake City, UT EnergySolutions Arena
January 17-20 Anaheim, CA Honda Center

Visit www.dreamworksdragonslive.com for on-sale dates and other ticket information.

Created by the studio that brought us blockbuster hits such as Shrek and Madagascar, The HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON LIVE SPECTACULAR was produced by the storytellers at Dreamworks Animation, and Global Creatures, the masterminds behind the international phenomenon Walking with Dinosaurs, the #1 grossing world tour of 2010. The tour is exclusively promoted by S2BN Entertainment.

Inspired by the hit movie How To Train Your Dragon, this live event is a never-before-seen production that audiences of all ages will never forget. HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON LIVE SPECTACULAR features more than a dozen dragons, some with wingspans of up to 46 feet, Viking warriors and world-class circus artists and acrobats combined with a heartwarming story that truly delivers a once-in-a-lifetime experience for the entire family.

Fire-breathing action, epic adventure and heartfelt laughter come together in a captivating story set in the mythical world of Vikings and wild dragons. Based on the book by Cressida Cowell, it centers on Hiccup, a Viking teenager who doesn't fit in with his tribe's longstanding tradition of heroic dragon slayers. Hiccup's world is turned upside down when he encounters a dragon that challenges him and his fellow Vikings to see the world from an entirely different point of view.

Sponsored by HP, HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON LIVE SPECTACULAR is brought to life through state-of-the-art technology unlike anything ever seen before in a live event experience. Through Dreamworks Animation's ongoing strategic relationship with HP, HP technology is part of the digital backbone for the production, providing family audiences across the globe with the most captivating live entertainment possible.

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON LIVE SPECTACULAR breaks every rule of theatrical entertainment to fully immerse audiences into the show in ways that have not been attempted before. Barely contained within the arena, HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON LIVE SPECTACULAR utilizes the full venue, maximizing every dimension of the performance space to transport audiences into a mythical world of fire-breathing dragons who soar overhead at great speeds. The state-of-the-art animatronic technology and large-scale cinematic projections interact seamlessly with the live actors, who bring Dreamworks Animation's heart-warming story to life through theatrical storytelling, martial arts and acrobatics.

Young Hollywood actor Riley Miner, an accomplished dancer and musical theater performer, will play the lead role of Hiccup. Joining Miner to share the role of Hiccup is Rarmian Newton, who won a Helpmann Award for his performance in the Australian production of Billy Elliot The Musical (2008). American stunt performer Gemma Nguyen, a third degree Black Belt and six-time world champion in Tae Kwon Do, plays Astrid. Sharing the role of Astrid is Queenslander Sarah McCreanor who has starred in her own comedic productions and performed in a range of musicals and comedy shows. Stalwart Australian actor Robert Morgan plays Stoick, Hiccup's father and the rough and ready old-school chieftain of the brawny Viking tribe. American Will Watkins will star as Gobber; French Kung Fu champion and stuntman Godefroy Ryckewaert plays Snotlout and Texan hip-hop dancer and rapper Dexter Mayfield will play Fishlegs. Australian hip-hop and break-dancer Virackhaly Ngeth has been cast as Ruffnut and Sydney break-dancer Frace Luke Mercado, a founding member of SKB (Street Kulture Breakers), as Tuffnut.

The cast of performers is assisted by an international technical team who has collectively created many of the world's most memorable spectacles. The team is led by award-winning director Nigel Jamieson, who won the 2011 Helpmann Award as Best Director for his production of Opera Australia's La Fanciulla del West, as well as production designer Peter England and costume / projection designer Dan Potra. The dragons themselves are created by Sonny Tilders and his team at The Creature Technology Company, whose work includes Walking With Dinosaurs – the Arena Spectacular. The cast of dragons pays homage to all of the favorites from the Dreamworks Animation film, including the single largest animatronic creature ever made by The Creature Technology Company. The stunning score features compositions from Icelandic singer-songwriter Jonsi from Sigur Ros and Oscar-nominated British film composer John Powell, who created the original score for the feature film.

Dreamworks Animation creates high-quality entertainment, including CG animated feature films, television specials and series, live entertainment properties and online virtual worlds, meant for audiences around the world. Dreamworks Animation is the largest animation studio in the world and has released 23 animated feature films, which have enjoyed both critical and commercial successes. These include the franchise properties of Shrek, Madagascar, Kung Fu Panda and How to Train Your Dragon. Dreamworks Animation became the first studio to produce all of its feature films in 3D and in 2010 became the first Company to release three CG feature films in 3D in a single year. The Company has been named one of the "100 Best Companies to Work For" by FORTUNE® Magazine for four consecutive years. In 2012, Dreamworks Animation ranks #14 on the list. DreamWorks Theatricals was established by Dreamworks Animation in 2007 to develop and produce live stage and arena show productions inspired by the Company's franchise properties. DreamWorks Theatricals productions are guided by much of the creative leadership team that develops the studio's award-winning feature films.

Global Creatures is an international entertainment group that develops new and exciting theatrical productions to take to audiences around the world. The animatronics arm, The Creature Technology Company, invents and deploys the latest in animatronic design. Their hugely successful production Walking with Dinosaurs – The Arena Spectacular, based on the award winning BBC TV series, represents a new entertainment genre all on its own. The production is a spectacle of unprecedented size and quality, which captivates young and old alike. The Walking with Dinosaurs tour was the number one tour worldwide in 2010. Global Creatures has announced King Kong – Live on Stage, which will be produced in co-operation with the estate of "Kong" creator Merian C. Cooper. Global Creatures and Bazmark (the multi-media company founded and owned by Baz Luhrmann and Catherine Martin) have announced a partnership to produce a stage musical adaptation of the first movie of Baz Luhrmann's ground-breaking Red Curtain Trilogy, Strictly Ballroom.

S2BN is an entertainment company specializing in the production of family oriented shows for theatres and arenas. Currently, S2BN has three successful shows in operation, the record breaking smash hit Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark on Broadway, Rock of Ages now in its 4th year on Broadway, recently opened in London, touring throughout North America and on June 1st, 2012 a major Warner Brother Picture Release, and thirdly, Fuerza Bruta, also in its 5th year in New York and touring throughout the world. For 30+ years S2BN's leadership have been dominant and innovative forces in the international concert touring industry, working in exclusive partnerships with renowned, global artist such as The Rolling Stones, Barbra Streisand, U2 and Pink Floyd amongst many others. In that time they have also created and/or promoted a wide range of unique family entertainment attractions in tennis, figure skating, motorsports, boxing and wrestling as well as theatre, opera and symphony.

The RZO Companies group was formed on July 1, 1988 through the merger of Sound Advice, Inc. and Joseph Rascoff & Company, Inc. by their principals William Zysblat and Joseph Rascoff, respectively. For over twenty-five years, RZO and its predecessor organizations have been actively involved in the music business as tour producers and full-service business managers. RZO has represented such illustrious music artists as Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Sting, U2, The Police, Luis Miguel, Patti LaBelle, David Byrne and many others. The Company also represents personalities such as Carson Daly and Iman, along with the Estates of John Lennon and Ira and George Gershwin.

To post a comment, you must register and login.