Wynn Las Vegas debuts new Lake of Dreams show
Wynn Las Vegas marks the return of entertainment with the new Lake of Dreams, the only show to debut this fall anywhere on The Las Vegas Strip. The show is also staged outdoors in an environmental theater with open-air patios for viewing, making Lake of Dreams uniquely suited for a socially-distanced experience while still providing all the larger-than-life spectacle visitors expect from a Las Vegas show.
Fifteen years after Lake of Dreams first opened in 2005, the new show reunited the original artistic team to create the innovative and immersive 2020 reimagining in a spectacular setting with 12 high-tech artistically-diverse acts that combine magic, lights, film, music, sculpture, and puppetry.
“I am proud that Wynn Las Vegas is the first casino resort to bring back the kind of big, bold entertainment experience The Strip has been waiting for,” said Matt Maddox, CEO of Wynn Resorts.
To deliver the immersive theatrical experience during a pandemic—as well as overcome international travel restrictions—the world-renowned team of creators, including Emmy-winning director Kenny Ortega, production designer Michael Curry, and lighting designer Patrick Woodroffe, worked remotely as much as possible with Woodroffe directing lighting virtually from his studio in London, and Ortega and Curry overseeing the show’s direction and installation at the resort.
“Artistic collaboration, imagination, and innovation in technology have inspired our journey over the past two years to bring all-new state-of-the-art entertainment to Lake of Dreams,” Ortega said. “This one-of-a-kind living theatre features music, filmed live-action, animation, visual effects, and inspired production design coming together in a dazzling spectacle of light and magic.”
A $14 million state-of-the-art upgrade was installed at the custom-built outdoor environmental theater, which consists of a central 45-foot by 90-foot performance waterfall framed by a three-acre lake, 11-story mountain, and 1,500 pine trees – a “lush and serene mountain-scape, waterfall, and lake environment” where, Ortega says, “towering puppetry and animatronics burst to life.”
Each act is also enhanced by cutting-edge equipment, including an invisible overhead 3D fly system, 4K video projectors, elaborate laser mapping, more than 5,500 LED lights, and innovative floating video orbs that project images from the inside.
“The secret of great lighting is to have something great to light,” said Woodroffe. “At Lake of Dreams, we are spoiled to have such a beautiful tapestry of lake, waterfall, and forest as our stage set. The immersive experience for our audience, seated at the very heart of this fantastic world, is unique and unforgettable.”
Joining the show are several new remarkably-engineered animatronics, including Lady Birds – a trio of 28-feet-tall, 17,000-pound show-stopping songbirds. Audiences will also meet Astronaut, a space explorer who navigates her way through an interstellar mission during one of the show’s most ambitious sequences. However, Lake of Dreams wouldn’t be complete without Singing Frog, the iconic 30-foot amphibian (and original cast member) who was rebuilt with advanced robotics and returns to the show with a dapper new look.
“Throughout my 30-year career, I’ve found that people are thrilled by fantastic characters,” Curry said. “After the success of the Lake of Dreams frog […], we wanted to create a female perspective. The fabulous Lady Birds are driven by dozens of computer-controlled servo motors and are decked out in spectacular bejeweled costumes to rival any Las Vegas headliner. They sing, they dance, and are truly one-of-a-kind characters.”
Additional new digital characters are the Emoji Orbs, a duo of whimsical emoticons who joyfully express their love for each other; Electra, the show’s celestial emcee, is made of pure light and flies through the air to interact with the audience; and The Swimmer, an underwater live-action film sequence that follows a mythical mermaid.
The new Lake of Dreams is enhanced by a soundtrack of modern pop hits and classic standards including “Born This Way,” “Lady Marmalade,” “Side Effects,” “New York, New York,” “I Got You, Babe,” and a stirring original cover of “Space Oddity.”
Later this fall, a docu-style video called “Behind The Waterfall” will chronicle the show’s creative process through exclusive interviews with the show’s creators, a visit to Curry’s production studio for an in-depth look at how the massive animatronic characters were created, and the most intimate behind-the-scenes look at Lake of Dreams and its one-of-a-kind theater ever captured on film.
Lake of Dreams at Wynn Las Vegas is complimentary with nightly performances beginning at sundown. Click here for more information.
