We Sat in the Presence of Dinosaurs at Jurassic World Live and Made It Out Alive
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Jurassic Park, a cinematic achievement in its own right, is the sort of film best enjoyed at any time because dinosaurs are endlessly entertaining and Laura Dern’s acting deserves a retroactive Oscar (her win for Marriage Story does not do her entire body of work justice). The appeal of Jurassic Park and its attendant spinoffs, sequels, and strange world extensions are, of course, the dinosaurs. They were so large! So lifelike. So vicious. Imagining what it would’ve been like to be there at Jurassic Park is a fun exercise, but even more entertaining is Jurassic World Live, an immersive theater experience intended for children, but best enjoyed by adults, sitting front row, eating pretzels and drinking a fountain soda on a cold Friday evening in Brooklyn at Barclays Center—home of the Brooklyn Nets and, for one night, six or so dinosaurs.
It’s safe to say that neither one of us knew what to expect from our experience, but I feel confident in saying that we got exactly what we came for.
Megan: I had no intention of seeing Jurassic World Live because I missed the press preview and then promptly forgot that it was even happening. But when you offered me the extra ticket to attend this event, I remember agreeing with something approaching gusto. I love Jurassic Park, but I love spectacle more; Jurassic World Live offered spectacle, and it also offered the promise of being up close and personal with “dinosaurs.” Seemed like a nice way to spend a Friday evening, in the company of good friends, hundreds of children, and a bunch of working actors who might have been having the time of their life.
Tell me one thing, though: why on Earth did you get tickets for this in the first place?
Rich: I really enjoy the kinds of shows you see at theme parks: Your Indiana Jones™ Epic Stunt Spectacular!, your (now sadly canceled) Beetlejuice’s Graveyard Revue. I like spectacle, I like cheese, and I like the experience of theatre with an atmosphere laid back enough to allow me to eat a soft pretzel and comment on what is unfurling before me. I had a feeling the Jurassic World Live tour would provide this, and oh it did. That made me glad.

What I didn’t realize was that it would involve a cast of performers whose rather extensive dialogue was all prerecorded, which meant the entire show was lip-synced.
There was a rather convoluted plot that I was never quite sure I was understanding because it was so… stupid? A raptor named Jeannie was taken from Jurassic World to the chagrin of several of the park’s workers, including a prototypical strong woman, who had a special bond with the dino, a la Chris Pratt’s character in the film series. Here she is kicking butt:
The workers had to rescue Jeannie and get her back to Jurassic World to reunite her with her eggs because… she had a strong hankering to be a mom? If we’re being honest, the dino did NOT remember those eggs after being hoisted over an ocean and placed in foreign territory, but whatever. I’ll allow it. It was unclear to me when in the Jurassic World timeline this was supposed to take place—I’m assuming some time between the first JW movie and second, but maybe we missed the exposition, as we were late sitting down. The show started at seven o’clock sharp, the time on the tickets. I’ve never seen that happen before. Dinos wait for no one.
Did I get all this right? What were your impressions?