The intention from the start was to create not just a show, but a spectacle.
Dolphins jumping through hoops at a trainer’s command, outdoor swimming pools and minor league costumes were for other aquariums – not the one deemed as the largest in the world by the Guinness Book of Records.
So about three years ago, the brass at Georgia Aquarium began visiting other marine attractions and sketching plans for what is now AT&T Dolphin Tales, opening Saturday, April 2.
“One of the things we’ve learned is you never stand still,” president and Chief Operating Officer David Kimmel said in February, at the opening date announcement of the exhibit. “Re-inventing the wheel is not what we wanted to do.”
From the time the aquarium arrived downtown in 2005, Kimmel said, the number one request from visitors was dolphins.
“[Aquarium CEO] Bernie [Marcus] knew this from day one and always wanted to instill the ‘wow’ factor. That’s what this aquarium is all about,” he said.
Representatives at the aquatic haven estimate that the $110-million indoor expansion will increase its 2010 attendance of more than 2 million by several hundred thousand.
The attraction’s centerpiece is an enclosed 1,800-seat theater where the main show will be staged twice daily. The flashy production, featuring a rotating cast of 11 Atlantic bottlenose dolphins performing amid live actors and soaring songs, is a $12.50 add-on to adult aquarium admission.
Though tickets will be sold at the door when available, advance reservations are suggested.
Flipper fans who don’t want to pay extra to watch the 30-minute spectacle – which is prefaced with a 30-minute video pre-show concentrating on educational messages of conservation and marine mammal research – will still be able to glimpse the playfully inquisitive animals.
An airy gallery boasting walls decorated with mini Italian tiles is bordered with a 25-foot-long underwater viewing window, which guests can access for free. Behind it, expect to see any number of ambassador dolphins.
But for those curious about the full experience, the Dolphin Tales show accomplishes Marcus’ goal of highly stylized flash.
The Orlando-based creative team Wow! Works toiled over every aspect of the production, an all-ages affair which focuses on the heroic StarSpinner, a “friend of the dolphins” in a blinking cape, who must fight evil sea creatures jealous of his relationship with his ocean buddies.
As lights zigzag, rain curtains fall, water cannons spurt and dolphins leap like gymnasts and race around the 1.8-million gallon pool, the StarSpinner croons a Broadway-esque tune about the “magic of the sea.”
The music, scored by award-winning film and theater composer Timothy Williams, was recorded by a 61-piece orchestra at Sony Studios in Hollywood.
“This is unique. It’s new. It’s had its challenges [creatively], but it’s surpassed anything I’ve done,” said Roy Luthringer, one of the show’s directors from Wow! Works.
Luthringer, fellow director Gary Paben and Wow! founder Bettina Buckley have pedigreed entertainment backgrounds that include producing four Super Bowl halftimes, productions at the Salt Lake City Olympics and projects for Sea World and Disney.
“We wanted to take the audience on an adventure,” Buckley said. “This is one of the longest projects we’ve worked on…and that’s not a bad thing.”
While minor tweaks to effects and dialogue might occur in the show’s opening months, producers find the nature of its stars the most intriguing element.
“The behaviors of the dolphins will always evolve. What you see in one show, you might not see in another. Dolphins and show girls are not the same,” Paben said. “But the biggest effect added will be when bodies are in the seats and [the dolphins] can hear people clapping for them.”
Staff writer Howard Pousner contributed to this story.
AT&T Dolphin Tales
Opens Saturday, April 2. Dolphin combo ticket $37.45 (adults), $25.95 (children 3-12) and $30.45 (senior 65 and older). Dolphin show is not included in general admission ticket. Georgia Aquarium, 225 Baker St. N.W., Atlanta. 404-581-4000, www.georgiaaquarium.org. Advance reservations suggested.
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