Project Title:  Beyond All Boundaries - Theater
Museum/ Institution: The National WWII Museum, New Orleans, LA 

Media Category: Theater

Program Created: November 6, 2009 

Program URL (if available):  http://www.nationalww2museum.org/victory-theater/index2.html 

Project Image(s) and/or Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K41NKriFJdA

Media Source(s)/Credit(s):

Video produced by The National WWII Museum and hosted by YouTube

Image source: http://blog.svconline.com/briefingroom/2010/04/06/electrosonic-helps-%E2%80%9Cbeyond-all-boundaries%E2%80%9D-deliver-unique-theatrical-experience-at-expanded-national-world-war-ii-museum/

Program Description: (150-250 words)

“Beyond All Boundaries” is an immersive theater experience created for the National WWII Museum’s Solomon Victory Theater. Using film projected on a 120-foot wide screen, 4D technology, digital effects, life-sized props, and atmospherics, “Beyond All Boundaries” incorporates state-of-the-art immersive technology to transport audiences to World War II. According to the museum, “audiences will feel the tank treads rumbling across North Africa’s deserts, brush snow from their cheeks during the wintry Battle of the Bulge, and flinch as anti-aircraft fire tries to bring down their B-17 on a bombing run over Germany” (http://www.nationalww2museum.org/victory-theater/beyond.html). Tom Hanks served as Executive Producer and Narrator for this show, and many other Hollywood stars lent their voices to it, including Gary Sinise, Brad Pitt, and Jennifer Garner. In order to create an experience as authentic as possible, the museum and the show’s production team incorporated the stories of real people who experienced WWII first-hand and rare WWII footage from worldwide film archives. Props were designed and constructed with authenticity in mind also; a concentration camp guard tower was built for the show using the design of actual towers at Buchenwald and Auschwitz. An 18-foot deep pit allows props to emerge from the theater floor. This theater experience is available seven days a week, hourly from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. General admission tickets for adults cost $18, but the price is discounted to $14 for seniors and $9 for K-12 children, college students, and members of the military.

Firsthand or secondary review/critique: (150-250 words) 

“Beyond All Boundaries” is an apt title for a show which appears to extend far beyond the usual limits of museum theater to deliver an extraordinary cinematic experience. There are many features of this show that may appeal to multi-generational audiences. The cutting-edge special effects will likely appeal to younger generations who may know little about World War II beyond what they have learned from history books. The celebrity voices may capture the attention of people who enjoy movies, but may not necessarily watch many documentaries or historical films. The show’s use of rare footage and stories from real WWII participants will attract history buffs and people who appreciate the powerful experiences that arise from being immersed in history as seen and told by the people who lived it. However, this show is not for the feint of heart. It incorporates fog and lighting effects, sudden chair movements, loud noises and graphic imagery, which may be unsuitable for some audiences (particularly children and anyone with medical conditions that may be aggravated by these special effects). While the show’s intensity will exclude some museum visitors from participating, its’ immersive nature can more closely convey the actual experience of World War II by engaging the mind and senses. Considering the expertise, technology, and labor that were used to produce it, this show must have been very expensive to create and is likely expensive to maintain also. However, if it is as captivating and unique as it sounds, it may be attracting audiences willing to pay the price of admission for an educational journey unlike anything they have ever experienced.

Technologies incorporated: 

4D digital effects, animation, video, audio, lighting, and atmospherics

Internally or externally produced:

Produced externally by the Hettema Group

(see http://www.nationalww2museum.org/victory-theater/the-production-team.html for more details) 

Entry Contributor and Date: Caitlin Markey, 4/20/2011 

Related projects:  
"This Must Be Hell," Minnesota's Greatest Generation Exhibit at the Minnesota History Center in St. Paul (see http://www.minnesotahistorycenter.org/exhibits/minnesotas-greatest-generation 

and This Must Be Hell - Immersive Multimedia for more information)