Eye-popping 'Beyond King Tut' show opens in downtown Jacksonville
A tale more than 30 centuries old is being told in downtown Jacksonville this summer, with some high-tech help.
"Beyond King Tut: The Immersive Experience" opens Friday, using photo-projection technology to "immerse" visitors in the story of the Boy King's short life and trip to the afterlife. The show is more linear than "Beyond Van Gogh," which drew more than 130,000 people during a run that closed this spring. It takes visitors through nine chambers, each using photos compiled by National Geographic to describe the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb, his heritage, his rule, his mummification and ultimately, his trip to the grand afterlife.
"This was a perfect fit," Mark Lach, the show's producer, said at a Thursday morning media preview. "This needed to be more storyline-driven, with a beginning, middle and an end."
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Lach knows Tut, having worked with the actual artifacts from the tomb for decades. None of those artifacts are in the Jacksonville show. The Egyptian government has reclaimed artifacts from around the world for the new Grand Egyptian Museum, slated to open late this year, and the 5,398 objects found in the tomb aren't likely to travel again. The museum will be the largest in the world, and nearly half of it will be dedicated to Tut.
Fortunately, National Geographic has followed the Tut story from the initial discovery of the tomb in 1922 and opened its archives for this show.
Ken Garrett is the show's chief photographer. "I've been working with King Tut since 1994," he said. More than 200 of his photos are in the show, some as static displays, others projected onto the walls and floor of the main gallery.
It takes about an hour to see the whole thing, but it's self-guided and visitors can spend as much time as they want inside. QR codes posted around the show lead to additional information. Visitors can play senet, an ancient Egyptian game, and a separately-ticketed virtual reality experience is available.
Tut was just 9 years old when he took the throne, and died around 10 years later. Modern-day CAT scans and DNA testing showed that he was not a healthy guy, likely the result of inbreeding in the royal bloodline. Many images show him seated or with a walking stick because he had a bad case of scoliosis. More than 100 canes showing signs of wear were found in his tomb.
The star attraction of the show is the main gallery, where a huge reproduction of an Egyptian boat sits in the middle of a 90-by-40-foot room. The 22-foot walls and floors of the room and the boat's sail serve as projection screens for a 23-minute loop that details Tut's trip to the afterlife. Images are in constant motion, with stars and feathers falling, a lake of fire erupting and an enormous serpent winding its way around the room as Tut describes what's going on in a voice-over. Subtitles run on the boat's sail.
It also includes a few minutes of "postcards from Egypt" that show how the modern nation blends with antiquity, and some stunning closeups of artifacts from the tomb, blown up to gigantic proportions.
The images blend and move seamlessly, thanks to about three dozen overhead projectors that broadcast them onto the walls and floors — and the show's guests. Anyone wearing solid colors, particularly white, is going to be immersed in ancient Egypt whether they expect it or not.
A handful of benches and seats on the boat provide good perches for watching it unfold, but wandering around gives visitors a chance to see everything. Visitors can walk in during the middle of the loop, or watch for a timer in the mummification room that notes how long until it starts over.
"Beyond King Tut" is at the NoCo Center, a former First Baptist Church auditorium at 712 N. Hogan St. in downtown Jacksonville. The show is scheduled to run through Sept. 3. It is open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sundays. The show is closed Mondays and Tuesdays. No one will be admitted less than an hour before closing.
Tickets start at $33.99 for adults and $24.99 for kids aged 5-15 and are sold in specific time slots. During "peak" hours, rates go to $43.99 for adults and $28.99 for kids. Special rates are available for groups and for students, seniors and military.
"Beyond King Tut” made its debut in 2022 — the 100th anniversary of the discovery of Tut’s tomb — in New York and Boston. The show has also played in Los Angeles, Vancouver and Washington, D.C., and is scheduled to play in Atlanta and Hartford, Conn., later this year.
The Tut show was created by Paquin Entertainment Group, the same company that put together the Van Gogh show. The company, which has signed a multi-year agreement to bring shows to the NoCo Center, also has a "Beyond Monet" show available and at least two others — "Dinosaur Discoveries" and "Marvel Avengers S.T.A.T.I.O.N." — in development.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: 'Beyond King Tut' immersive exhibit opens in downtown Jacksonville
