‘Whoa, I felt Bob’: Hope Road evokes spirit of Marley at Mandalay Bay

If it achieves its vision, Bob Marley Hope Road is inspiring guests to move in a different manner in a casino. Forget walking, loping or sashaying. The idea is to float.

The vibe will be peaceful, light and (spiritually) high in the new Bob Marley-themed attraction at Mandalay Bay.

“Physically, Bob could not be here. But when you come here, you’re going to feel his spirit,” says Amanyea Stines Jones, a featured performer among the show’s 41-member cast. “It’s going to be bold. It’s going to be strong. It’s going to be something that when you leave, you’re going to probably say, ‘Whoa, I felt Bob.’ ”

Hope Road is a full-hearted tribute to the late reggae legend’s music and cultural influence. The dual, immersive experience opened to the public Wednesday night and will run multiple times daily and nightly (dark Sundays).

Sharing Marley’s story

The first piece of the project, The Show, runs at night and is first to open. The Experience during the day, launches July 4. Ages 18 and younger must be accompanied by an adult.

The uniquely inspired attraction takes over the Bayside Buffet space, just off the casino floor. Where a yogurt bar once stood, you can now experience a custom-designed 1973 Volkswagen bus that was Marley’s touring vehicle early in his career — Marley’s daughter and a lead visionary in the venue, chose the exact orange color from the original.

A soccer game breaks out, smoke rings fill the venue, and you float into Trench Town. This is where Marley’s story takes off, in the legend’s neighborhood in Kingston, recognized as the birthplace of reggae.

This is just a sample of Hope Road’s whimsical, seemingly boundless production. Hope Road features two “personalities.”

In the daytime Experience, visitors revisit Marley’s performances through digital and analog installations. At night, The Show features live performances from a cast that includes several Jamaican artists, performing in such multicolored sets as the Dance Hall at the entrance.

Some 100 to 150 ticket holders will have a preshow experience of 15 minutes, then enter the space, on a guided tour of dancing and music, traveling through Marley’s career, a total of six rooms — or chapters — designed to pull guests from Anywhere USA into reggae culture. The show runs 75 minutes.

An intimate experience

Hope Road is created by FiveCurrents production company, which has developed some 63 international ceremonies and has worked on 15 Olympic Games. Primary Wave Music is co-producer — the independent music publisher is home to Marley’s catalog.

FiveCurrents CEO and Chief Creative Officer Scott Givens leads the Las Vegas production. He’s entering a competitive environment in a city already home to so many “immersive” experiences that entertainment observers are becoming weary of the term.

The city’s predominant venue, Sphere, is the league leader, with its claim that the guest is the content.

“What we really wanted to hang our hat on is the intimacy of emotions, rather than spectacle,” Givens says. “We are on the end of the spectrum of being immersed directly in the performance and very intimate. You’re three feet away from the performers, if you choose to be.”

Don’t expect to be as good as the singers and dancers in this cast. But you can try.

“In each of these rooms, you will have an opportunity to watch a performance, but you will also always have an opportunity to sing or dance along in every room,” co-director Amy Tinkham says. “So you get an option. You don’t have to, but you can sing as loud as you want. You can dance as loud as you want within every room that you’ll walk through. So you’re going to watch really cool stuff. Then you can also jam in there with the performers.”

One love

One of those performers is Jamaican artist Melbourne Douglas, aka Burnz in his stage persona. He is the show’s DJ, and already an able ambassador.

“In Jamaica, our motto is ‘Out of Many People,’ which means Jamaica is made up of people from many places. We have Chinese, we have Indians and Africans that make up Jamaica,” Burnz says. “Vegas kind of gives me that energy, because when I come here, I meet so many different people from so many different places.”

A universal community is in Marley’s legacy. You can feel what Burnz is talking about even as the cast moves around the resort. At the end of a media preview Friday morning, yours truly was waiting for a double espresso at Starbucks when a figure arrived at the end of the line.

“Hello! I just saw you!” It was Burnz, taking a break for a beverage and offering a hug. Another guest asked who this dreadlocked man was.

He is in the Hope Road experience. Get to know him.