Feature: A FANTASY WORLD COMES TO LIFE IN AWAKENING AT THE WYNN LAS VEGAS

On the Las Vegas Strip, Awakening at Wynn Las Vegas transforms the world. This show doesn’t just perform on stage—it pulls in the audience. The visuals are wild, the imagination explodes, and the stage magic comes to life with award-winning puppet master Michael Curry.

Curry, who serves as producer and character designer and is the president of Michael Curry Design, was selected by legendary producer Bernie Yuman and producer/director Baz Halpin. Curry’s combined expertise brings cinematic scope and their vision to the live stage. He spent five years collaborating on the development of Awakening, crafting the larger-than-life creatures and visual elements that define the show’s immersive world.

The production’s visual and technical ambition is matched by its storytelling scale. Performed on a one-of-a-kind 360-degree prismatic stage and narrated by Academy Award winner Anthony Hopkins, Awakening surrounds audiences in a kaleidoscope of color, movement, and sound, sparking anticipation and fascination.

Brought to life by an extraordinary cast of 60 International Artists, Awakening blends mind-bending illusions, original music, dynamic choreography, and grand-scale puppetry into a fully immersive experience that aims to inspire awe and emotional engagement. At the heart of the story is IO, a reluctant hero thrust into an epic journey to confront the forces of Light and Darkness, restore balance, and save the world, fostering a sense of hope and connection.

Curry has spent over thirty years shaping live entertainment, and people recognize him as one of the field’s top creative minds. He’s done it all—worked on theater, opera, dance, Broadway, film, big Olympic events, and theme parks. Along the way, he’s picked up several Emmy and Drama Desk Awards. His list of projects is impressive. For Disney, he co-designed those unforgettable puppets and masks for The Lion King on Broadway with Julie Taymor, and brought Sven and Olaf to life in Frozen. But he hasn't stopped at that stage. He helped create Katy Perry's massive lion at the 2015 Super Bowl Halftime Show with Baz Halpin, and he's contributed to everything from the Olympic Opening Ceremonies and The Metropolitan Opera to Cirque du Soleil and Universal theme parks. His reach is truly global, and his influence is everywhere in live entertainment.

Curry attended art school to become a gallery artist and began making moving sculptures because of his innate mechanical ability. Sculptures that moved in galleries were beginning to be recognized by theater people, who believed the moving sculptures belonged on stage, and this recognition encouraged Curry to consider them for theater and live entertainment.

“I tried it, and I love it and the audience’s reaction,” he laughed. “I love the fact that I was collaborating with other people instead of working alone in the studio. I had early success in my mid-20s, and I met a man named Steve Wynn.”

His relationship with Wynn Resorts dates back decades, beginning with his role as a designer for the legendary Siegfried & Roy production. Since 2006, Curry has served as a creative director for Wynn Design & Development, shaping some of the company’s most iconic entertainment offerings, including Le Rêve, the Lake of Dreams, and the SW Steakhouse Theater in Cotai, Macau.

He is excited to be part of Awakening. “I have a lot of entertainment art I've done for the company. I always wanted to do a show that was up to the technological ability of the times. It is a very uplifting journey story, and we wanted a female-centered story. My two collaborators, Bernie Yuman and Baz Halpin, wanted a story with a female hero. We are super proud of it.”

Another challenge is that the show is performed in the round.

“We did a magic show in the round, and magicians don't work in the round. It's the worst possible decision. We set so many challenges for ourselves that we met them. We're thrilled with it,” laughs Curry. “The show itself is one of my master works.”

In Awakening, Curry's signature style is on full display, with intricate puppetry and imaginative creature design elevating the production into something truly otherworldly. Combined with its innovative staging and international cast, the show represents a bold evolution in Las Vegas entertainment — where storytelling, technology, and artistry seamlessly converge to create a groundbreaking spectacle.

“I've been studying audiences in Las Vegas and around the world for decades. I knew it was the best of my talents. I said to our CEO at the time that we decided to do this, and now I get to see what my best work looks like. He said, ‘You've really thrown down the gauntlet because you've done some notable work.’ The technology can leave people behind, and you can lose track of a story and the simplicity of a connection to the heart.

“We talk about heart, the story, and the characters. I must say, characters are really that glue that takes the big spectacle stage and connects it to the human body.”

The result is more than a show; it’s an experience that invites audiences to step inside a dreamlike universe, where every detail is meticulously crafted and every moment feels larger than life.