Michele StuevenIf you were anywhere near Manhattan Beach over the holiday weekend, you may have spotted skywriting that read “Surrender Dorothy”, which could be seen as far as Long Beach.
In celebration of the upcoming The Wizard of Oz at Sphere, a fully immersive experience opening on Thursday, August 28 in Las Vegas, the stunt paid homage to the original 1939 film where the Wicked Witch of the West writes “Surrender Dorothy” in the skies over the Emerald City.
The Wizard of Oz at Sphere will transport audiences, making them feel like they are traveling down the yellow brick road alongside Dorothy and her friends on an adventure in Oz to get to the Emerald City.
Courtesy The Sphere Las Vegas
The original film, shot for a 4:3 movie screen in the 1930s, will fill Sphere’s 160,000 square foot interior display plane, which wraps up, over, and around the audience to create a fully immersive visual environment. The show will utilize the venue’s haptic seats, environmental effects, and custom scents to make you feel like you are part of the movie and have landed in Kansas and Oz. The film’s original songs have also been remastered and their orchestrations re-recorded to take on new clarity via Sphere Immersive Sound’s 167,000 speakers.
To create the experience, Sphere Studios, the immersive content studio dedicated to developing experiences for Sphere, built a team of more than a thousand artists, technologists, and researchers to leverage Sphere’s technologies. Using the film and key pieces of source material, including schematics, set plans, and scores, the approximately 75-minute film experience will maintain the integrity of the original while bringing it to life in an immersive environment.
The creative team behind the extravaganza includes Academy Award and Emmy-nominated producer Jane Rosenthal (The Irishman); Academy Award-winning visual effects specialist Ben Grossmann (Hugo); Academy Award-winning editor Jennifer Lame (Oppenheimer); and Creative Director Zack Winokur (Little Island).
In a celebration that matches the size and scale of The Wizard of Oz at Sphere, an installation where the venue has landed on the Wicked Witch of the East is on display now, with her 50-foot-long legs and 22-foot-tall ruby slippers, are complemented by a display on the venue’s Exosphere featuring the scene where Dorothy’s farmhouse falls out of a twister and onto the witch. The legs are on view to the general public outside Sphere now, with daily times listed on thesphere.com.
There will be multiple showtimes daily, tickets start at $104, and are on sale now at thesphere.com.
Courtesy Sahara Las Vegas
Poolside at the Sahara in July…
Now through Sunday, July 13, fans are invited to watch the World Soccer Finals live poolside as the globe’s top teams compete in the ultimate showdown. With doors opening daily at 9 a.m., guests can catch every goal and cheer on their favorite countries at one of the best viewing locations on the Las Vegas Strip. Hotel guests of all ages can enjoy the main deck at The Pool, premium bungalows, and daybeds. For those seeking a more exclusive experience, the 21-and-older cabanas offer a private retreat for adult guests. Entry for locals is limited to those 21 and older. To reserve a bungalow, daybed, or cabana, click here.
MALA VIDA FRIDAYS
The Pool
Mala Vida Fridays continue at The Pool in July. Every week, visitors can enjoy hookahs as well as the hottest Latin nights in Las Vegas with DJs Shark, !Amlou and Beto. Doors open at 10 p.m. Guests can RSVP for free admission here.
Chickie’s & Pete’s Crabhouse and Sports Bar
Available the entire month of July, Chickie’s & Pete’s will offer the Hotlink Havoc Burger as its burger of the month. Including an 8-ounce beef patty, Silva hot link sausage, jalapenos, caramelized onions, cheddar cheese, and hot honey served between a jalapeno cheddar bagel, this burger will be available for $23.