WNJ Review: "Walking With Dinosaurs" brings prehistoric giants to life
All photos by David Wheeler, WildNewJersey.tv
By David Wheeler, WildNewJersey.tv
This July, a tyrannosaurus rex attacked an ankylosaurus in full view of thousands in midtown Manhattan. With its armored tail swinging like a wrecking ball, the ankylosaurus bravely fought off the predator, with the help of a rhino-like torosaurus. "Walking With Dinosaurs" had come to Madison Square Garden.
The dinosaurs were physically spectacular, their movements remarkably smooth and natural. The brachiosaurus stood 33 feet tall, reaching well above the mezzanine section. The set design provided an impressionistic backdrop, inflating colorful plants and trees as the eras shifted from harsh Triassic desert conditions to the lush, fertile climates of the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods.
Yet perhaps most impressive was the ingenious way in which the production made science and paleontology accessible to an audience made up almost entirely of families with young children and energetic groups of summer campers.Without dumbing down the facts or over dramatizing with a Disney type of feel-good story, "Walking With Dinosaurs" relied purely on the unsurpassable drama of the dinosaurs' real story.
For the audience, a series of well-lit, massive dinosaur footprints provided the entry into dinosaur times - and into the science of paleontology. "Huxley the Paleontologist," played by Jack Stone, provided enthusiastic and informative narration throughout the journey, at least in the times when he wasn't being chased out of his spot by a towering dinosaur lurking overhead. But for the most part, he left the limelight to the dinosaurs, in keeping with the real-life focus of the production.
The kids in the audience seemed to get it, and if some couldn't necessarily keep track of the different eras and names of each new dinosaur, the general narrative push - dinosaurs rise, climate changes and new dinosaurs reign, dinosaurs fall, people uncover their legacy - was well-explained. For at least one seven-year old, the smoothness of the presentation kept the learning from interfering with the fun - "Of course I understood it all!"
That first-hand experience is valuable, especially with the rich history in paleontology we boast herein New Jersey and the metropolitan area. After all, the first American dinosaur fossil ever found was discovered right here in the Garden State - the 1856 discovery of a duck-billed hadrosaurus in Haddonfield.A pterodactyl fossil was found in Atlantic Highlands, and a Tyrannosaurus rex ancestor discovered along the Delaware River in Burlington County. A Triassic-era fossil fish called a coelacanth was unearthed along Tonnelle Avenue in North Bergen - right near the New Jersey Transit line many of us took into Madison Square Garden.
In"Walking With Dinosaurs," each of the classic dinosaurs received hearty cheers from the audience as they entered, with none louder than the T-Rex, which made its entrance in the grand finale. Like any superstar worth its salt, T-Rex kept the audience waiting until near the end to unleash its timeless growl to the heavens.
Of course, it was a more down-to-earth scene that might have even drew a more lasting reaction from the giggling, squealing audience - and a few days later,the first thing remembered by my three-year old. The highlight - when the paleontologist reaching into a giant pile of "dino dung" to find clues and unearth a dung beetle. Just goes to show, whether it's a Hollywood summer comedy or prehistoric creatures from 200 million years ago, nothing makes a kid - or certain reviewers, ahem - laugh like a well-executed poop joke.
Over 4 million people have seen the show through its ongoing worldwide tour, launched in 2007. Shows will continue at cities around the United States through the remainder of 2010.
For those interested in New Jersey's incredible prehistoric past, there is no better resource than William B. Gallagher's When Dinosaurs Roamed New Jersey. The New Jersey State Museum in Trenton hosts diverse fossil and prehistoric displays. And Riker Hill Dinosaur Park in Livingston hosts a park with real-life dinosaur footprints.
David Wheeler is a freelance writer and founder of WildNewJersey.tv. His book, “Wild New Jersey: Nature Adventures in the Garden State,”will be published in February by Rutgers University Press. He can be reached at dwheeler@edisonwetlands.org.
This July, a tyrannosaurus rex attacked an ankylosaurus in full view of thousands in midtown Manhattan. With its armored tail swinging like a wrecking ball, the ankylosaurus bravely fought off the predator, with the help of a rhino-like torosaurus. "Walking With Dinosaurs" had come to Madison Square Garden.
The dinosaurs were physically spectacular, their movements remarkably smooth and natural. The brachiosaurus stood 33 feet tall, reaching well above the mezzanine section. The set design provided an impressionistic backdrop, inflating colorful plants and trees as the eras shifted from harsh Triassic desert conditions to the lush, fertile climates of the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods.
Yet perhaps most impressive was the ingenious way in which the production made science and paleontology accessible to an audience made up almost entirely of families with young children and energetic groups of summer campers.Without dumbing down the facts or over dramatizing with a Disney type of feel-good story, "Walking With Dinosaurs" relied purely on the unsurpassable drama of the dinosaurs' real story.
For the audience, a series of well-lit, massive dinosaur footprints provided the entry into dinosaur times - and into the science of paleontology. "Huxley the Paleontologist," played by Jack Stone, provided enthusiastic and informative narration throughout the journey, at least in the times when he wasn't being chased out of his spot by a towering dinosaur lurking overhead. But for the most part, he left the limelight to the dinosaurs, in keeping with the real-life focus of the production.
The kids in the audience seemed to get it, and if some couldn't necessarily keep track of the different eras and names of each new dinosaur, the general narrative push - dinosaurs rise, climate changes and new dinosaurs reign, dinosaurs fall, people uncover their legacy - was well-explained. For at least one seven-year old, the smoothness of the presentation kept the learning from interfering with the fun - "Of course I understood it all!"
That first-hand experience is valuable, especially with the rich history in paleontology we boast herein New Jersey and the metropolitan area. After all, the first American dinosaur fossil ever found was discovered right here in the Garden State - the 1856 discovery of a duck-billed hadrosaurus in Haddonfield.A pterodactyl fossil was found in Atlantic Highlands, and a Tyrannosaurus rex ancestor discovered along the Delaware River in Burlington County. A Triassic-era fossil fish called a coelacanth was unearthed along Tonnelle Avenue in North Bergen - right near the New Jersey Transit line many of us took into Madison Square Garden.
In"Walking With Dinosaurs," each of the classic dinosaurs received hearty cheers from the audience as they entered, with none louder than the T-Rex, which made its entrance in the grand finale. Like any superstar worth its salt, T-Rex kept the audience waiting until near the end to unleash its timeless growl to the heavens.
Of course, it was a more down-to-earth scene that might have even drew a more lasting reaction from the giggling, squealing audience - and a few days later,the first thing remembered by my three-year old. The highlight - when the paleontologist reaching into a giant pile of "dino dung" to find clues and unearth a dung beetle. Just goes to show, whether it's a Hollywood summer comedy or prehistoric creatures from 200 million years ago, nothing makes a kid - or certain reviewers, ahem - laugh like a well-executed poop joke.
Over 4 million people have seen the show through its ongoing worldwide tour, launched in 2007. Shows will continue at cities around the United States through the remainder of 2010.
For those interested in New Jersey's incredible prehistoric past, there is no better resource than William B. Gallagher's When Dinosaurs Roamed New Jersey. The New Jersey State Museum in Trenton hosts diverse fossil and prehistoric displays. And Riker Hill Dinosaur Park in Livingston hosts a park with real-life dinosaur footprints.
David Wheeler is a freelance writer and founder of WildNewJersey.tv. His book, “Wild New Jersey: Nature Adventures in the Garden State,”will be published in February by Rutgers University Press. He can be reached at dwheeler@edisonwetlands.org.
Posted by WILDNEWJERSEY at 8/2/2010 6:00 AM 
Categories: WNJ Review
Tags: walking with dinosaurs tyrannosaurus rex madison square garden Triassic manhattan Jurassic brachiosaurus
Categories: WNJ Review
Tags: walking with dinosaurs tyrannosaurus rex madison square garden Triassic manhattan Jurassic brachiosaurus
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