SeaWorld goes showbiz
By JAY CRIDLIN
Published May 11, 2006
What you need to know about Believe, the lavish new killer whale show opening today at SeaWorld, is that Shamu is still the star.
"We're not going to overcomplicate this thing to the point where it's lost its heart and soul," says Dave Goodman, the park's vice president of entertainment. "The big whale will jump, and people will get wet, just like always."
Apart from that, Believe is like nothing you've seen at SeaWorld.
For what SeaWorld calls "the most ambitious entertainment project in the brand's 41-year history," the whales' performance arena has been upgraded to include a 100-speaker sound system, a three-story whale tail fluke, and four moving 20-foot video screens offering unparalleled views of the whales' jumps and behaviors.
But the new technology is only the window dressing for a show focusing much more on emotion and narrative than pure educational value.
Gone are the emcees who describe what the whales are doing as they're doing it; in their place are "choreographers," Goodman says, who train the whales as "dancers." An original filmlike score will accompany the performance, which centers on a young boy developing the courage to chase his dream of swimming with killer whales.
"The presentation style we may have had with our animal shows is passe - it was more of an aquarium approach to doing business," Goodman says. "We are not going to shy away from education and educational elements, because it's still a key part of our park, but when you do a show like Shamu, we can go further than that."
Trainers have spent two years developing whale behaviors, 100 of which will be part of the new show. For example, there's the Houdini, which involves a trainer balancing on a whale's nose at the bottom of the tank, then springing up through the water toward the audience.
The music, story line and ambitious presentation mirror those of other SeaWorld shows, such as the acrobatic dolphin display Blue Horizons and the Cirque du Soleil-ish Odyssea.
Goodman said Believe is not too complex for young children to appreciate. Toward the end, one child will be plucked from the crowd to come down and interact with the whale. If nothing else, he hopes the show's theme of self-discovery will spark discussions between parents and children.
"We can educate," he says, "but we can also entertain in a way that actually gives you a feeling when you leave, an emotion when you leave, that hopefully you want to come back and feel over and over."
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SeaWorld, Interstate 4, Exit 71, Orlando. Toll-free 1-800-327-2424 or www.seaworld.com. Hours vary. $61.95 adults, $49.95 children. Florida residentdiscounts available.