All photos courtesy of Feld Entertainment
Grab your cape, mask, helmet or hammer and fly on over to the Canadian Tire Centre! Marvel Universe LIVE! is coming to the Capital for six thrilling performances at the CTC from July 31 to August 2. This spectacular and technologically advanced touring production brings more than 25 of your favourite Marvel heroes together with an original plot that will put you on the edge of your seat the entire time.
“I think this is the most exciting show that I’ve ever done,” says Chris Nobels, director of show operations. “It’s also, I would say, the most technically complicated show I’ve ever done.”
Projection mapping, car chases, motorcycle and aerial stunts, martial arts, advanced pyrotechnics, and the largest flying system on a live tour; this show has it all and more!
“We’re really breaking in new ground on a new genre of family entertainment, something that really encompasses the entire arena and really immerses the audience into the show,” Nobels says.
“We kind of took from all of the properties under the Feld umbrella: the Ringling Circus, the motorsports division, Disney on Ice, and Disney Live! and took everything we learned from the last 145 years and put it into this new, spectacular event, drawing on the latest technology all at the same time,” he says.
It’s every kid’s dream: all of their favourite superheroes battling it out right in front of their eyes, bringing the comic book characters and blockbuster bad guys to life.
Matthew Elm, who plays the role of the evil and manipulative Loki, says being in the show reminds him of playing make-believe in his backyard as a child.
“It takes me back to those days,” Elm says. “Its fun to be evil and say and do things I wouldn’t do as the person that I am.”
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But Elm says this show isn’t just for kids to enjoy. It’s an “exhilarating thrill ride” for all audiences.
Nobels agrees: “The show is for the moms, the dads, the grandparents and the boys and the girls. There is really something for everybody.”
The show is also great for both the big-time Marvel fans and newcomers.
“I feel that we did an excellent job bridging the gap between those two types of fans,” Nobels says.
The story is an epic battle over the ever-powerful ‘Cosmic Cube’. Thor destroys the cube, but his brother, Loki, finds a way to replicate its power, threatening the universe. The Marvel heroes must work together to reassemble the pieces of the cube in order to defeat Loki and his fellow villains.
Both Elm and Nobels note the show is all about teamwork.
“The only way that all of our superheroes are able to defeat Loki and his other evil villains is to come together and work together,” Nobels says.
Teamwork is not only important for the characters, but for the cast and crew of this extremely intricate and complex production as well.
“We have 49 crewmembers and 53 performers and it takes every single one of them to make the show happen. Not one person could do it alone,” Nobels says.
Elm says the whole group has become very close.
“Heroes and villains alike, we’re there for each other as family,” he says.
The team has worked incredibly hard to make this show come to life. It took nine months of research and development, plus three months of demanding rehearsals to bring it together.
Recalling the rehearsals, Elm says, “It was definitely an exhausting experience, but definitely one that I would never want to change.”
“It’s such a thrilling accomplishment,” Nobels says. “All that hard work, watching it pay off, it definitely makes me happy.”
Elm says he hopes the audiences walk away from the performance feeling inspired.
“I want them to feel like they saw their favourite heroes out there and feel like they can be a hero themselves.”
Buy your tickets now at CapitalTickets.ca or call 613-599-FANS (3267) or 1-877-788-FANS (3267). The show will have six performances, each last two hours with a 15-miunute intermission.
For more information on Marvel Universe LIVE!, visit marveluniverselive.ca.