The highly anticipated show Awakening premieres at Wynn Las Vegas on November 7, 2022. The show immerses audiences in a 360-degree theater and is created by industry heavyweights Bernie Yuman, Baz Halpin and Michael Curry and produced by Rick Gray. Narrated by two-time Academy Award-winner Anthony Hopkins, Awakening promises to be an unparalleled spectacle for Las Vegas visitors.
A Look at Awakening at Wynn Las Vegas
Fusing elements of theater, acrobatics, special effects and stunning visuals, Awakening takes audience members on a journey through time and space. With such experienced creative minds behind the production, Awakening will surely wow audiences and raise the bar for entertainment in Las Vegas.
“I would like audiences to take a journey filled with mystery, adventure and wonder,” Gray told us. “The uniqueness of Awakening is that we are truly utilizing the settings, lighting, audio and special effects to take the audience on a story-driven adventure that is totally immersive.”
Awakening takes over the space created for the resort’s previous resident show, “Le Rêve,” which closed during the COVID-19 pandemic after 15 years. “The main feature of “Le Rêve” was the centrally located swimming pool and the “in the round” seating,” Gray explained. “Our director Baz Halpin loved the theater, and the configuration, so the only thing we needed to initially do to transform the Le Rêve theater into the Awakening Theater was to drain the pool and remove the Le Rêve scenery. The real theater transformation began with the installation of several audio and visual elements, including the 60-foot prismatic stage made of dichroic glass and custom LED screens that will showcase the show’s journey with elaborate set designs and WynnSonic featuring PHBX Technology™. This technology creates 3D sound with 3,200 individual speakers utilizing the technology.”
Though Las Vegas has seen a multitude of openings this year, Awakening promises to provide a truly unique experience. “The content and the experience is something that you can’t see anywhere else in the world,” Gray said of the show. “In addition to creating a one-of-a-kind, stand-alone show, it is visually story-driven with a narration by two-time Academy Award winner Anthony Hopkins!”
Awakening combines the best styles of performances that audiences can find. Awakening is not a musical or a circus or a magic show, although it has elements of all of these art forms,” Gray told us. “Audiences can expect to be taken on a journey through emotionally rich storytelling by Kelly Sue DeConnick, a fantastic score by Brian Tyler, incredible choreography, never before seen illusions presented “in the round,” acrobatic inspired physical performance and large scale puppetry by Michael Curry.”
No matter what you’re there to see, Awakening transports audiences to another world. “The show starts in a simple way that will draw our audiences into the fantastic worlds that await,” Gray explained. “At the show’s finale, I think our audiences will be surprised to find that they are truly moved by what they have just seen and experienced. Awakening is truly spectacular at the highest level of creation and performance.”
*Interview edited for clarity.
