Review: Step Into the Jungles of Isla Nublar With JURASSIC WORLD: LIVE!

This long weekend, the highly anticipated touring production, JURASSIC WORLD: LIVE, played from May 19th to 21st at Vancouver’s Pacific Coliseum. Filled with thrilling stunts, breathtaking scenery, and (most importantly) many dinosaurs from the Jurassic World franchise, the show was a perfect event for the entire family to enjoy. 

JURASSIC WORLD: LIVE was definitely more than what first-time attendees forecasted it to be. With the privilege of having an arena space to work with, the producers of the show, Feld Entertainment, pulled out everything they had to make the experience truly one of a kind. Without spoiling the entire plot, the show follows Dr. Kate Walker and her team of scientists and interns on their journey through the jungles of Isla Nublar to reunite the Troodon dinosaur named Jeannie with her eggs. Along the way, they run into Kurt Reed, a soldier with differing opinions and bad intentions out to stop their journey. It’s ultimately up to Dr. Walker and her team to save the day and reunite a dinosaur with her children. JURASSIC WORLD: LIVE is filled with an action, love, and thrill and is definitely more than just an opportunity to see dinosaurs up close. 

An hour before showtime, the production offered a special Pre-show Experience that was included with every ticket. Set up on the Arena Stage were some of the vehicles (Jeep and Gyrosphere) along with photo opportunities with the Triceratops, Stegosaurus, and Baby Bumpy from the show! Being able to go down into the staging area was truly a magical experience. The props displayed with the Jurassic World background and iconic score playing had both children and adults excited for what was to come. Not only was this part of the show fun for children and people with families, but also was a very exciting experience for me coming from a mid-20s female perspective. 

On the whole, JURASSIC WORLD: LIVE was incredible and I genuinely loved every part of it. To start, the show was approximately an hour and a half with one intermission, which was the perfect amount of time to capture the attention of the young kids in the audience. Although the story line may have seemed a little rushed, it gave detail to the points in the story that needed it! In addition, the show used a lot of scientific and complex terms that were educational for both kids and adults. In no way was JURASSIC WORLD: LIVE too catered towards kids, the creators of the show did a great job of ensuring it appealed to everyone. In terms of sound, the cast acted to an audio track which allowed everyone in the audience to clearly hear every character. Each cast member had good body language and was able to distinguish themselves as the person talking on the audio track which allowed the audience to get to know each character. 

Right from the start, the production pulled out all of the stops. From the gyroscope to the ever-changing scenery to the pyrotechnics, the show did not skimp to take shortcuts when it came to entertaining everyone. At moments there were motorbikes zooming across the stage or dinosaurs flying through the air. JURASSIC WORLD: LIVE was full of surprises that were unraveled throughout the show. What I really appreciated was the use of props and sets. It is easy to overuse projection backgrounds and effects in our digital era of entertainment; however, JURASSIC WORLD: LIVE had physical moving sets and props that made the experience genuinely worthwhile to see. Depending on where you were sitting, there were moments that weren’t visible to everyone due to some of the sets obstructing the view. However, this did not last for a long period of time as the action moved to different parts of the Arena Stage. Wherever you decide to sit, you are guaranteed to get a view of something exciting! 

The main attraction and highlight of the entire production were the various film-accurate, life-sized dinosaurs that appeared throughout the show. Some operated by actors and some in animatronic form, the show did a great job of giving each dinosaur it's time to shine. Some of the Jurassic World dinosaurs included in the show were: a velociraptor named Blue, a Troodon named Jeannie, Bumpy from Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous, pterodactyls, a triceratops, a stegosaurus, and a 40 foot Tyrannosaurus rex. Anyone who loves dinosaurs should definitely come see the show; seeing them come to life within the story was an unforgettable experience. JURASSIC WORLD: LIVE TOUR was one of the most exciting shows to come to Vancouver this year and definitely worth the money to see. No matter how old you are, the JURASSIC WORLD: LIVE TOUR has something for everyone. 

JURASSIC WORLD: LIVE TOUR made its Canadian debut at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver on May 19th to 21st and will play for one more weekend on May 26th to 28th. For more information about the show and to buy tickets, visit the link below! 

Photo Credit: Sallie Palmieri Rego of Feld Entertainment 

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