This Is It
By Bruce Stewart and Shawn Connally,
We're in New Zealand, anxiously awaiting the
dawn of the New Millennium. There is the big question, of course,
that is on everyone's mind here… How do
you go about cramming 2,000 years of history into 3 hours of
theater on a 200-foot stage?
That's the task facing This Is It, the
theatrical offering in New Zealand's New Year's Eve package of
grandeur. Their tack is to make It extravagant, invite all their
artistic friends and go for broke.
One of the few events suitable for families on
an otherwise drunken night, this free party will feature theater,
visual effects and a good spot to watch the fireworks shooting out
of the Southern Hemisphere's tallest building at midnight.
The Big Night
The
setting: Auckland's Domain, kind of like Central Park but without
the crime. You've got cricket grounds (a ball game, not a bunch of
insects), a museum and parklands in the center of town. There is
plenty of room for the 200,000 to 300,000 people expected to
attend the extravaganza.
The stage: It is big! We're talking a
200-foot-long stage with an additional 200-foot-long catwalk. It
has to be big to get the 1,000-member cast onto it. There's also
going to be a superscreen some 164-feet wide and 60-feet tall.
There will be lasers and other lighting effects,
large-scale special effects, huge props brought from overseas, and
large props specifically constructed locally for the show.
Specially commissioned original works by cutting-edge filmmakers
and animators will be projected onto the superscreen.
The music: A huge choral rendition of Handel's
Messiah before the show; live music by the Auckland Philharmonic
Orchestra; and new commissions by leading-edge composers such as
Garth Farr. Douglas Wright, Black Grace and others, will
choreograph original dance works.
The plot: This will be a three-hour theatrical
journey through the past 2,000 years. The troop plans to hit on
the usual historical highlights -- the birth of Jesus, the rise
and fall of the Roman Empire, Marco Polo, the Black Death,
Gallileo, Shakespeare, Mozart, Newton, and the World Wars.
This Is It will include a South Pacific
perspective as well, including the epic Maori waka (canoe)
journeys across the Pacific Ocean. Local guy Michael Hurst, better
known to TV fans as Hercules, will narrate.
What the Locals Are Saying
"This is Ben Hur. You cannot do the last
two thousand years in a small way!" said Marie Adams,
co-producer, of Inside Out Productions. "We've been involved
with the arts for 19 years, and have created some pretty
large-scale events in that time, [but] nothing comes even remotely
close to this."
Mike Mizrahi, the director of the extravaganza
(the word keeps popping up but that's what It is, for crying out
loud!) is more than excited.
He proclaims, "An enormous mountain stands
before us now. I must say I'm looking forward to January 1, 2000
when we will have our chance to say 'Wow, we knocked the bastard
off!'"
"This is our Everest... a mad quest to
extend ourselves and everyone we have ever worked with, to create
the most generous work of art any of us could have ever imagined
possible," he added sincerely.
From Beginning to End
The action starts midday on Dec. 31, with a
global village of international food, wine, markets and
entertainment. From 8 to 9:15 p.m., a massive choir will perform
Handel's Messiah with the Auckland Choral Society.
Then This Is It takes over, climaxing at
midnight with a cacophony of fireworks, which will spread out into
the Auckland harbour and ultimately include the Sky Tower and the
Harbour Bridge.
We'll get to the specifics of those massive
fireworks in a couple of weeks. Next we'll take a look at First
Night 2000, a 12-hour carnival and ritualistic celebration taking
place in downtown Auckland.
This article is Part I in a series:
Part I: Kia Ora!
(Hello!)
Part II: This Is It
Part III: First
Night 2000, and Beyond
