We went in knowing that The Polar Express event at our favorite Colorado cultural institution—the Colorado Railroad Museum—is a BIG DEAL.
Mostly, because of the not-inexpensive ticket prices.
But, honestly, we were impressed.
More than just another train ride, the staff of the museum—supported by a bevy of volunteers and an actual acting troupe—transformed the museum grounds into a fairly compelling train depot bound for the North Pole. (The early darkness of standard time helped: the grounds of the outdoor museum were obscured.)
As my wife remarked, the closest thing like it in our experience is when we saw the infamous Sleep No More in Manhattan some several years ago. That performance was avant-garde, experimental theater at its peak: actors and audience mixing throughout dozens of rooms across several stories of a disused building somewhere in downtown Manhattan. Oh, and all of us were wearing masks.
This was not that…but it was somewhere in the same ballpark.
Between a cabaret show, a series of skits, a dedication to improvisation, and a recreation of scenes from the movie, I found myself struck with the curious concern that I not lose my ticket—lest I get booted off the train, as threatened in the movie.
Taylor Coe 