July Goes Jurassic

As Dinosaurs Prepare To Descend On Bridgeport

BRIDGEPORT — July is typically associated with fireworks, picnics and trips to the beach, but you might want to pencil in a few hours to get close up and personal with some very special visitors this July – visitors who have traveled all the way from prehistoric times, that is!

Dinosaurs will return to walk the earth once again in a live theatrical arena show, “Walking With Dinosaurs – The Live Experience,” based on the award-winning BBC Television Series. They will come strolling through in all their fearsome and wondrous glory during nine performances at Arena at Harbor Yard in Bridgeport, July 23-27.

The Creature Production Company CEO Carmen Pavlovic said his presentation will introduce audiences to 15 roaring, snarling “live” dinosaurs, which he describes as “awe-inspiring.”

“This is a show that could only fit in arenas, as the creatures are so absolutely immense in size. Audiences seated in the lower seats are all but overwhelmed by the dinosaurs, while those seated in higher seats can view the entire spectacle and panorama of the production,” Mr Pavlovic said. “It is the closest you’ll ever get to experiencing what it was like when the dinosaurs walked and ruled the earth.”

Ten species are represented from the entire 200 million year reign of the dinosaurs.  The show includes the Tyrannosaurus Rex, the terror of the ancient terrain; as well as the Plateosaurus and Liliensternus from the Triassic period, the Stegosaurus and Allosaurus from the Jurassic period, and Torosaurus and Utahraptor from the awesome Cretaceous. 

The largest of them, Brachiosaurus, is 36 feet tall, and 56 feet from nose to tail. It took a team of 50 — including engineers, fabricators, skin makers, artists and painters, and animatronic experts — a year to build the original production.

 The show depicts the evolution of the dinosaurs, complete with the climatic and tectonic changes that took place which led to the demise of many species. With almost cinematic realism, “Walking With Dinosaurs” has scenes of the interactions between dinosaurs, and the audience sees how carnivorous dinosaurs evolved to walk on two legs, and how the herbivores fended off their more agile predators.

The history of the world is played out with the splitting of the earth’s continents, and the transition from the arid desert of the Triassic period is given over to the lush green prairies and forces of the later Jurassic. Oceans form, volcanoes erupt, a forest catches fire… all leading to the impact of the massive comet which struck the earth and forced the extinction of the dinosaurs.

For more information, visit www.DinosaurLive.com. Video of the show is available at the site under “The Dinosaurs” tab in the middle of the front page. Bridgeport shows will be at 7:30 pm on Wednesday through Friday, July 23-25; at 11 am, 3 and 7 pm on Saturday, July 26; and at 11 am and 3 pm on Sunday, July 27.

Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased by calling 203-345-2400, online at www.ArenaAtHarborYard.com, or in person at the Arena, 600 Main Street in Bridgeport.  Ticket prices are $67.75, $47.75 and $32.75.  All seats are reserved and prices include a 25 cents Facility Fee.

Group discounts are available for the Wednesday, Thursday and Friday; contact Group Sales at 203-345-2307. There is also a Military discount of $10 for select performances.