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Marking a departure from its own traditions dating back more than 40 years, Busch Gardens Tampa Bay (FIa.) will be premiering a theatrical extravaganza able to rival virtually any Broadway musical production.
The show, titled "Katonga," a place in Africa with a visually vivid landscape, will cost an estimated $5 million to $6 million to produce.
The cast, boasting 18 members, including five principals and five acrobats from China, will be performing in a 1,168-seat house, "the first legitimate theatre to be built in a theme park," says the show's producer, Don Frantz. "The theatre is similar to New York's Marriott Marquis."
Adds Elaine College, vice president of entertainment at Busch Gardens, "We've been doing shows since 1974, but this is surely the most lavish. And it is the first time we've tied our marketing to a new entertainment as opposed to, for example, a new ride."
"Katonga"...